Welcome

The Department of English, located on Treaty Six territory and traditional Métis homeland, offers a full range of graduate degrees. We value place, people, and community, and we support our students in their growth as writers, researchers, and teacher-scholars through a close-knit and collegial atmosphere.

Our M.F.A. in Writing program offers individualized mentoring that has facilitated award-winning creative work. Our M.A. Thesis and M.A. Project-based degrees prepare students for further academic study while developing valued transferable professional skills. Our Master’s students have become publishers and editors, sessional instructors and learning specialists, communications officers and social media coordinators.

Our Ph.D. program offers specialized, focused support in diverse fields and methods. As well as research facilitators, lecturers, and writers-in-residence, USask Ph.D. holders have become permanent and tenured faculty members at institutions such as Queen’s University, the University of Kansas, the University of Regina, Vancouver Island University, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Areas of Research Concentration

Our courses reflect our commitment to diverse historical, theoretical, and textual approaches. In addition to traditional, period-based literary studies, the Department of English cultivates innovative interdisciplinary research with concentrations in:

  • Indigenous Literature
  • Digital Studies
  • Modernist Studies
  • Canadian Literature
  • Cultural Studies

See our Graduate Supervisors page for a full list of faculty who can supervise M.A. or Ph.D. projects in a range of specializations. Our award-winning researchers work on projects including: 

  • Women of the Apocalypse: Writing the End of the World in Canada (Wendy Roy, Canadian Literature)
  • “We’re Still Here”: Amplifying Urban Indigenous Stories in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and St. John’s through Indigenous-led Partnerships (Kristina Bidwell, Indigenous Storytelling)
  • Non-Separatist Separatists: A European Tendency (Jerry White, 20th British, Irish and European Studies)
  • The Hard Press: Allotment Debates in Indian Territory Newspapers, 1866-1906 (Jenna Hunnef, Indigenous Literatures)
  • The Note Books of a Woman Alone (Ella Ophir, Modernist Studies)
  • Grub Street Project (Allison Muri, 18th C. and Digital Studies)
  • GEMMS: Gateway to Early Modern Manuscript Sermons (Brent Nelson, Digital Studies)
  • The Canterbury Tales Project and the Textual Communities Project (Peter Robinson, Digital Studies)
  • Medieval Codes Project (Yin Liu, Digital Studies)

Professionalization Opportunities

The Department of English has a reputation for research excellence and teaching excellence. We are committed to ensuring that our graduate students gain authentic teaching and research experience in their degree programs.

Research Assistantships are available for a series of different faculty-led, Tri-Agency-funded projects. Teaching Assistantships enable Master’s and Doctoral students to lead weekly tutorials and grade first-year work with faculty supervision. Graduate students are also employed as tutors through the University Library’s Writing Centre, through which we offer a limited number of Writing Centre Assistantships. Our upper-year Ph.D. students are strongly encouraged to apply for the Teacher-Scholar Doctoral Fellowship, a competitive university award that sees students engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning before leading their own course.

Funding

All students accepted into the M.A. and Ph.D. programs are automatically considered for Funding and Scholarships. Funding packages in the Department of English combine scholarships with professionalization activities: Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, or Writing Centre Assistantships. Our goal is to support both independent academic work and the development of transferrable professional skills.

Ph.D. students in good standing are guaranteed funding of at least $25,000 each year for four years. Outstanding M.A. students may be offered a funding package of at least $20,000.00 for one year. M.F.A. in Writing students are eligible for both Teaching Assistantships and departmental scholarships and awards.

With significant top-up awards for CGS-M and CGS-D holders, with scholarships specific to Indigenous students, with highly competitive Graduate Tuition Rates, and with several forms of Travel Funding available at any stage of the degree, we take supporting our students seriously. See our Funding and Scholarships page for more information.

Graduate Student Life

All Department of English graduate students are supported by the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The Grad Hub is a crucial resource in starting, continuing, and finishing your degree program, offering resources on navigating Saskatoon and campus life, completing coursework and independent projects, and defending and submitting the dissertation.

The English Course Council or ECC is the Department of English’s graduate student organization and offers a vibrant social community as well as an important voice on departmental policy and decision making. Graduate student representatives are elected by the English Course Council to serve on the department’s Undergraduate Committee, the Graduate Committee, and the Faculty Committee, as well as on the Graduate Students’ Association. In addition, the ECC elects a representative to ACCUTE, the Association for Canadian College and University Teachers of English, a national organization that links Master’s and Doctoral students to their colleagues across Canada.

Saskatoon and the University of Saskatchewan

“The Paris of the Prairies”

Saskatoon is the largest city in the province of Saskatchewan and boasts a growing economy. Located on Treaty 6 territory and traditional homeland of the Métis, it offers a range of amenities, including the Remai Modern Art Gallery, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Persephone Theatre, Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre, and Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan. Year-round parks and recreational facilities are located in a variety of distinctive neighbourhoods, and we enjoy a range of world-class restaurants, craft breweries, local bakeries, and independent coffee shops.

Campus

Information on house, transit, student groups, and on-campus dining can be found on the Campus Essentials page and the Living Here site. The University of Saskatchewan Student Wellness page provides an overview of physical and mental health care resources. Indigenous students can find supports through the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre.

Childcare is available on campus, as are numerous youth programs through venues such as the SCI-FI Science Camps, the Museum of Antiquities, and the Diefenbaker Centre. In addition to children’s activities, USask Rec offers a range of facilities and adult-directed programs.

International Students

The International Student Guide provides information about arriving in Canada, working and living in Saskatoon, and navigating the resources of the University of Saskatchewan. For more information, consult also the International Student and Study Abroad Centre website.

Links and Resources