The Doctoral degree in English is one of the strong programmes currently being run by the Department.  Ever since the programme was introduced in the year 1964, the Department has continued to insist on maintaining extreme rigor and high standards in its research scholars: from the time that scholars are admitted to the programme through the period of research to the time of completion of the project and the process of evaluation.  As a result, among those who have obtained their PhD degrees from the Department, several have gone on to make a significant mark in diverse fields at national and international level. 

Over the years, in response to global shifts, the thrust areas of doctoral research at the Department have both shifted and evolved.  Earlier the Department used to promote researches in canonical areas.  Since the archival resources for such researches were located in England and America, the prospective doctoral scholars were encouraged to go abroad to conduct their research. However, with growing archival material available online, this too has altered. In addition, the Department has also taken cognizance of newer areas such as researches across the media, post-colonial studies and Literature in English, Translation Studies and Cultural Studies with their interdisciplinary orientation, and research in these areas are being encouraged.  Consequently, we at the Department have opened our Doctoral programme to newer areas and methodologies and welcome a greater numbers of research scholars from India and abroad. 

We have also begun encouraging relatively younger scholars to get enrolled as doctoral students.  An indication of the last mentioned shift is the recent restructuring of both the M.Phil and PhD programmes. An M.Phil student can now directly enroll in our PhD programme before completing his/her M.Phil in the first semester provided he/she meets the eligibility criteria laid down (please see guidelines for M.Phil Ordinance, VI-A).