Welcome!
This Web site provides a brief introduction to the Ph.D. degree as
well as information about financial aid. You can request a
more detailed guide by contacting the Department of English, Director
of Graduate
Studies by phone at 252-328-6660 or email Dr. Janice
Tovey, Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies at toveyj@ecu.edu.
Program Emphasis
The Doctoral Program in Technical and Professional Discourse at ECU offers a broad-based approach to the study of discourse, integrating studies of language, culture, pedagogy, and technical and professional communication. In the context of this program, “discourse” includes spoken as well as written texts, graphic as well as language-based texts, and multimedia as well as single-medium texts. Thus students can take advantage of unique opportunities to explore varied aspects of discourse and textuality.
The program is particularly well suited for students who are interested in the study of discourse in the public interest and related textual processes such as public policy formation, environmental advocacy, patient-doctor communication, community outreach, and various practices of reading and writing—literary, technical, and professional—for social awareness. Students interested in the historical development and cultural basis of specialized discourses—for example, the emergence of early modern discourses of exploration and science, the linguistic development of Caribbean dialects, or the changing visual rhetorics of video gaming—will also find a congenial home in the program.
Program Opportunities
Doctoral students benefit from the diverse strengths of ECU faculty both within and beyond the Department of English through cooperative agreements with affiliate departments, elective courses, collaborative and field research, and the dissertation process. This interdisciplinary degree provides students opportunities to span a variety of fields while focusing on complex interactions among discourse, rhetoric, professional communication, and the contexts in which they occur.
In conjunction with faculty in the Department of English and in affiliate departments, students can pursue research in such areas as
- discourse studies that examine scientific or technical issues, e.g., the role of Rosalind Franklin in the discovery of DNA,
- the application of social science methods to the study of incorporating communication technologies into the workplace,
- the role of communication in risk assessment, mitigation, and management,
- social and cultural studies of rhetorical and multicultural interpretations of public discourse, and
- pedagogical studies that explore how we learn to write based on cultural contexts and available and emerging communication technology.
Through interdisciplinary course work and research in the theory, practice, and analysis of discourse, the program prepares students to
- develop interdisciplinary approaches to discourse analysis,
- investigate and analyze discourse in a variety of settings,
- function in information research and development departments, and
- serve as faculty members at various educational levels.
The English Department offers graduate programs at the master's level online and on campus. The PhD program is a campus program that includes courses offered face-to-face, online, and in combination.
The East Carolina University Graduate Catalog offers further guidance about the Graduate School's requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Graduate School applications can be acquired by phone at 252-328-6012, by email at www.gradschool@ecu.edu.