DA degree in English Pedagogy

Improve your professional practice with the Doctor of Arts in English Pedagogy at Murray State University. The 48-hour degree program embeds advanced coursework in the content areas of English and Literacy within a framework of pedagogical theory and reflection with a special focus on the school to college transition.

Online English Doctoral Programs

Designed for people who work. Primarily for current teachers in the field of English at secondary and postsecondary levels, the program has a core of foundation courses tied to the aspects of work that teachers and other professionals actually do and encourages students to use their professional environments as sites of reflection and imaginative inquiry. Our purpose is to help great teachers become even better.

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Doctor of Arts (DA) vs PhD vs EdD

Like the PhD and EdD, the DA is a research-led terminal degree recognized by accrediting agencies and governmental bodies such as the National Science Foundation; however, the DA, while grounded in content, is more pedagogically focused than the PhD and more disciplinarily centered than the EdD.

Online Doctorate in English

Four specializations.

A broad range of electives allows for both exploration and specialization. Students may specialize in Language, Literacy, Literature or Writing. Of course, we encourage students to explore outside of a single specialization.

Two routes.

Traditional DA: 48-hour route for students who already hold a master's degree.

Accelerated MA to DA: 66-hour route for students who hold a bachelor's degree but want to complete both the MA in English and the DA in English Pedagogy with a Literature specialization more quickly than by completing each degree separately.

Study where you are.

The program may be completed entirely online through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous courses. No residency is required. Please be aware that as a result of changes wrought by the pandemic, our on-campus courses will be extremely limited for the foreseeable future. We cannot guarantee that on-campus courses will be available. 

Cohort model.

Join a mutually supportive cohort of students from various states and countries whose camaraderie transcends thousands of miles and many diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our students include consultants, writers, journalists, materials developers and teachers from middle school to university; some just love the field of English.

Rolling admissions.

Applications are accepted year-round. Students may begin elective coursework during the next term following admission and may begin the pedagogical core sequence with a cohort during the next available Fall semester. Students admitted after cohort capacity has been reached may nevertheless begin elective coursework.  

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Graduate Programs Cost of Attendance

Cost competitive.

Tuition rates for 2024-25 are $644 per credit hour for Kentucky residents on-campus and $593.50 per credit hour for online students worldwide. All online courses will have an additional $50 per credit hour online course fee.

Requirements for Admission

Applicants must comply with the Murray State University graduate admission requirements.

For non-native speakers of English, a TOEFL score of 20 for each section of the iBT, an IELTS score of 6.5 with no band lower than 6.0 is required; however if non-native English speakers submit English proficiency test scores below the minimum, English proficiency will be interpreted in light of other evidence of English proficiency, such as prior degrees from higher education institutions at which English is the language of instruction, publications in English, interviews, and/or on-site evaluation.

Additional requirements for unconditional and conditional admission are: 

• Unconditional
  • Master’s degree in English, English Education, TESOL or closely related discipline (including Education with significant coursework in English language arts such as reading, writing and literacy), with 30 graduate credit-hours and a graduate GPA of 3.2 or higher;
  • Completion of a graduate-level research skills course in English, English Education, TESOL or closely related discipline with a grade of 3.0 or higher;
  • Sample of writing in the field judged to be indicative of likely success in an English doctoral program;
  • Portfolio of teaching or other professional materials of the applicant’s own design indicative of professional ability; 
  • Three satisfactory letters of reference, at least two of which address the applicant’s academic ability and at least one of which addresses the applicant’s professional ability;
  • Satisfactory interview with graduate faculty.
• Conditional
  • Master’s degree in English, English Education, TESOL or closely related discipline (including Education with significant coursework in English language arts such as reading, writing and literacy), with 30 graduate credit-hours and a graduate GPA of 3.0;
  • Departmental judgment of probable success based on
    • Sample of writing in the field judged to be indicative of likely success in an English doctoral program;
    • Portfolio of teaching or other professional materials of the applicant’s own design indicative of professional ability; 
    • Three satisfactory letters of reference, at least two of which address the applicant’s academic ability and at least one of which addresses the applicant’s professional ability;
    • Satisfactory interview with graduate faculty;
    • Other evidence such as teaching experience, professional achievement, GRE General Test scores indicative of likely success in an English doctoral program;
    • and/or a planned program of prerequisite courses.

Please note: Meeting the above criteria does not guarantee admission to a cohort. The program may also defer admission to a later date.

Doctoral core course work

The core of the Doctor of Arts program comprises 24 hours of theoretical, methodological, and practical courses specific to the discipline of English distributed through all stages of the program. The following table illustrates the order of core courses once the student begins the doctoral core sequence:

Semester	Course	Hours
Fall 1	ENG 900 Methods of Analysis and Reflection in English Teaching	3
Spring 1	ENG 907 Theories of Curriculum Design and Application in English	3
Fall 2	ENG 908 Assessment in English	3
Spring 2	ENG 977 Instructional Technology for English	3
Fall 3+	ENG 997 Applied Practice I	6
Spring 3+	ENG 998 Applied Practice II	6