PhD Careers & Outcomes

Our PhD graduates go on to do amazing things. From tenure-track positions in research universities to teaching in the secondary education system, working in communications to public service, our alumni have found positions where the expertise and skills of an English PhD are invaluable.

In our department we celebrate diverse careers. While our program focuses on training students to be professors, we also employ a wide range of resources at the university to facilitate placement in many different occupations, always helping our students achieve their desired career.

Job Placement

Supplementing the professional advice offered students by their dissertation director and readers, the job placement committee offers extensive resources for students seeking employment. The committee provides overviews of the state of the job market, advises on the assembly of a dossier of professional recommendations, and provides guidelines and workshops for the composition of cover letters, CVs, dissertation abstracts, and teaching portfolios. In addition to counseling on traditional job searches, in which the candidate pursues tenure-track appointment across an international pool of academic institutions, the committee advises on application for post-doctoral fellowships and on searches targeted to employment in particular geographical locations or in particular sectors of the academy.  The committee advises on how to prepare for professional interviews, enlisting faculty from the English Department and from across the Humanities in offering practice interviews and assembling audiences of faculty and students for practice “job talks.”  In effect, the Placement Committee provides individualized professional advice at all stages of a doctoral students’ search for professional employment.

Since 2008, our PhDs have accepted tenure-track jobs at colleges and universities including Louisiana State University, Columbia University, St. Mary's College, Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, University of Sydney, University College Dublin, St. Andrews University in Scotland, St. John’s University in Minnesota, Trinity University in Texas, Wesleyan University, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. Other post-2008 graduates have won highly competitive postdoctoral fellowships, including (for example) several Volkswagen Fellows in Germany and postdoctoral fellowships at University College, Oxford, and the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies in Berlin. Still others have taken recurring non-tenure-track teaching positions at Bucknell University, New York University, Tulane University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Some of our most recent PhDs have also entered non-academic careers from corporate communications to labor organizing.

We believe that we are successful in placement because of the unusual level of support we offer in the first critical years of graduate work, and because of our faculty’s commitment to careful mentoring in the years beyond them. The long-term value of such mentoring can be measured in the publication records of our PhDs, several of whom have issued books with major university presses including Cambridge, Chicago, Notre Dame, Oxford, and Yale.

PhD Alumni Directory

2024

 

Ann Marie Jakubowski
PhD 2024
Postdoctoral Fellow
Valparaiso University

 

Charlotte Fressilli

PhD 2024

Senior Tutor

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Marc Blanc

PhD 2024
Postdoctoral Fellow

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Negeen Nikravesh
PhD 2024
Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature
University of Texas at Dallas

 

Stephen Reaugh

PhD 2024

The Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellowship

Georgia Tech

 

2023

 

Thomas Howard
PhD 2023
Assistant Professor in Cultures, Civilizations, and Ideas
Bilkent University

 

Matthew Thompson

PhD 2023
Lecturer in English,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

 

2022

 

Meredith Kelling

PhD 2022

Assistant Director of Student Research and Engagement

Center for the Humanities

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Anwesha Kundu

PhD 2022

Assistant Professor of English,

Centre College

 

Ana Quiring
PhD 2022
Learning Innovation Specialist
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2022-2023), Washington University in St. Louis

 

2021

 

Joshua Brorby
PhD 2021
Visiting Assistant Professor of Victorian Literature,
University of Missouri (Columbia)

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2021-2022), Washington University in St. Louis

 

Anna Preus

PhD 2021

Assistant Professor of English (Tenure-Track)

University of Washington

 

Thomas Sawyer

PhD 2021

Writing Specialist,

University of Chicago Writing Center

 

Deborah Thurman

PhD 2021

Assistant Professor of English (Tenure Track),

Marshall University

Previously: Advisor and Instructor (Honors Program), University of South Dakota

 

Grace Lillard

PhD 2021

Academic Advisor,

University of Oregon

Previously: Lecturer, Washington University in St. Louis

 

2020

 

Emily Barth

PhD 2020

Assistant Professor of English (Tenure Track)

Wagner College
 

Katie Collins

PhD 2020

Pursuit Manager,

Deloitte Insights

Previously: Assistant Professor, Nichols State University

 

Jared Klemp

PhD 2020

Instructor,

Arizona State University

 

Jonathan Koch

PhD 2020

Assistant Professor of English,

Pepperdine, Seaver College

Previously: Humanities Collaborations Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2020-2021, 2021-2022), Caltech-Huntington

 

Daniel Normandin

PhD 2020

Assistant Professor of English

Marshall University, Huntington, WV

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023), George Mason University

 

Samantha Pergadia

PhD 2020

Assistant Professor of English (Tenure-Track)

Southern Methodist University

 

2019

 

Pedro Fernandez

PhD 2019

Law Student,

Cornell University

 

John Ladd

PhD 2019

Assistant Prof of Computing and Information Studies,

Washington & Jefferson College

Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor, Data Analytics, Denison University

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020, 2020-2021), Northwestern University

 

Rose Miyatsu

PhD 2019

Assistant Director of Communications, Baskin School of Engineering Genomics Institute

UC Santa Cruz

Previously: Assistant Director, Marketing Communications PBSci, UC Santa Cruz

Previously: Communications Assistant, UC Santa Cruz, Jack Baskin School of Engineering

 

Melanie Walsh

PhD 2019

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)

School of Information, University of Washington, Seattle

Previously: Assistant Teaching Professor, Information School, University of Washington, Seattle

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020 and 2020-2021), Cornell University

 

Corinne Zeman

PhD 2019

Assistant Professor of English (Tenure Track)

Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

 

2018

 

Benjamin Meiners

PhD 2018

Claims Assistant,

Principal Financial Group

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020), Volkswagen Postdoctoral Fellowship at Technische Universität, Dortmund

 

Margaret Tucker

PhD 2018

Senior Medical News Writer,

Siteman Cancer Center

 

Merrill Turner

PhD 2018

Instructor of Fiction,

Wonderworks Houston

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020), Washington University in St. Louis

Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor, Colorado College

 

Hannah Wakefield

PhD 2018

Associate Professor of English

University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

Previously: Assistant Professor of English (Tenure Track), University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

 

2017

 

Claire Class

PhD 2017

Assistant Teaching Professor, English and Writing,

University of Tampa

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020), Washington University in St. Louis

 

Kenyon Gradert

PhD 2017

Assistant Professor of English,

Samford University

Previously: Volkswagen Fellowship, Heidelberg, Germany

Postdoctoral Fellow (AY 2019-2020), Auburn University

 

Joseph Kreutziger

PhD 2017

Head of School,

St. George Episcopal School, New Orleans

Previously: Middle School Director, The Birch Wathen Lenox School, New York

 

Kelly Oman

PhD 2017

Assistant Director of Research Communication,

University of Virginia

Previously: Media and Marketing Administrator, Washington University Medical School in St. Louis

 

Amy Reynolds

PhD 2017

Adjunct Instructor,

Missouri Institute of Science and Technology

Field: Medieval

Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington University in St. Louis

 

2016

 

Annelise Duerden

PhD 2016

Visiting Assistant Professor,

College of William and Mary

 

Jonathan McGregor

PhD 2016

Lecturer,

Southern Methodist University, Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences

Previously: Assistant Professor of English, 20th c. American, Newberry College

Previously: Assistant Professor, United States Air Force Academy

 

Lauren Robertson

PhD 2016

Associate Professor of English and Comparitive Literature,

Columbia University

Previously: Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature (Tenure Track), Columbia University

 

Yuki Tanaka

PhD 2016

Lecturer,

Hossei University, Tokyo

 

Elisabeth (Beth) Windle

PhD 2016

Lecturer in English, 20th c. American & WGSS

Washington University in St. Louis

Previously: Adjunct Instructor, Washington University in St. Louis

 

2015

 

Courtney Andree

PhD 2015

Executive Director,

Massechusetts Center for the Book

Previously: Marketing and Sales Director, University of Massachusetts Press

Previously: Publicist, Yale University Press

 

Lauren Barbeau

PhD 2015

Assistant Director for Learning and Technology Initiatives,

Georgia Institute of Technology

Previously: Assistant Director, Faculty Development & SoTL, The University of Georgia

Previously: Instructional Services Coordinator, Faculty Development, Georgia Southern University

 

Meredith Beales

PhD 2015

Lecturer,

University of British Columbia, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media

 

Noah Cohan

PhD 2015

Assistant Director of American Culture Studies,

Washington University in St. Louis 

Previously: Lecturer and University College M.A. Program Coordinator in American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

 

Margaret (Meg) Dobbins

PhD 2015

Assistant Professor, English & WGSS,

Eastern Michigan University

 

Jessica Rezunyk

PhD 2015

Teacher of English, Theory of Knowledge and Science/Biology,

Upper Canada College

 

Jennifer Romney

PhD 2015

Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

2014

 

Barbara Barrow

PhD 2014

Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer of English, Docent,

Lund University, Sweden

Previously: Assistant Professor, Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA

 

A.K. (Ashley) Maher

PhD 2014

Assistant Professor,

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Previously: Stevenson Junior Research Fellow in English, University College, Oxford

Previously: Lecturer in English, University of Sydney

 

Lauren McCoy

PhD 2014

Assistant Professor,

Lindenwood University

 

Nicholas Miller

PhD 2014

Middle School English Teacher,

Sayre School

Previously: Assistant Professor, Valdosta State University

Visiting Assistant Professor, Hollins University (2016-2018)

 

Michael O’Bryan

PhD 2014

Senior Lecturer,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

2013

 

Mary Stewart Atwell

PhD 2013

Lecturer,

Cal Poly, College of Liberal Arts

Previously: Assistant Professor, Virginia Military Institute

Author, Wild Girls (Scribner 2012)

 

Anna Deters

PhD 2013

Secondary School English Teacher,

Kingston Grammar School, London

 

Kate Fama

PhD 2013

Director of Greaduate Research, Tenured Assistant Professor,

University College Dublin, School of English, Drama, and Film

Previously: Volkswagen Fellowship, Free University Berlin

NEH Research Fellow, Winterthur Museum and Library

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow, University of Konstanz

 

Dustin Iler

PhD 2013

Lecturer in Writing 1,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Shannon Koropchak

PhD 2013

High School English Teacher,

John Burroughs High School, St. Louis

 

May Peckham

PhD 2013

Learning and Development Manager, Baseball Operations,

Boston Red Socks

Previously: Manager of Corporate Learning and Development, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Previously: Chief of Curriculum Development, General Dynamics Electric Boat

 

Heidi L. Pennington

PhD 2013

Associate Professor of English (Tenure Track)

James Madison University

Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor, James Madison University

Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington University in St. Louis

 

J. Lee Spitzer

PhD 2013

MD 2017

Resident Physician

Department of Internal Medicine,

Tulane School of Medicine

 

Délice Williams

PhD 2013

Assistant Professor of English,

Associate Director of Composition,

University of Delaware

Previously: English Department Head, St. Andrew's Episcopal School

 

2012

 

Kate Bloomquist

PhD 2012

Lecturer in Writing 1,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Abigail Horne

PhD 2012

Associate Professor,

Hampden-Sydney College

 

Amy Sattler

PhD 2012

Assistant Teaching Professor,

Pennsylvania State University

 

Victoria Thomas

PhD 2012

Senior Lecturer in English,

Director of University College Programs in English,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

2011

 

Erica Delsandro

PhD 2011

Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies (Tenure Track)

Bucknell University

 

Kate Parker

PhD 2011

Associate Professor,

University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse

 

Lawrence Revard

PhD 2011

Lecturer in Writing 1,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Anna Teekell

PhD 2011

Associate Professor,

Christopher Newport University

Field: 20th c. British and Irish Literature

 

 

 

 

 

2010

 

Benjamin Cooper

PhD 2010

Associate Professor of English,

Lindenwood University

 

Elon Lang

PhD 2010

Lecturer, Humanities Honors Program,

University of Texas at Austin

http://hocclevearchive.org

 

Katie Muth

PhD 2010

Assistant Professor, Digital Humanities and Modern Literature,

University of Durham, England

Previously: Teaching Fellow in American Literature, Department of English Studies,

Durham University

 

Birgit Noll

PhD 2010

Associate Dean in College of Arts and Sciences,

Teaching Professor in Modern Languages,

University of Missouri, St. Louis

 

Courtney Weiss Smith

PhD 2010

Associate Professor, Department of English,

Associate Professor, Science in Society,

Wesleyan University

 

2009

 

Matthew Augustine

PhD 2009

Senior Lecturer,

University of St. Andrews

 

Richard Godden

PhD 2009

Assistant Professor,

Louisiana State University

Field: Medieval Literature

Previously: Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Tulane University

Visiting Assistant Professor in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Loyola University - New Orleans

 

Keya Kraft

PhD 2009

Consultant,

Opportunity Alabama

Previous: Assistant Professor, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama

 

Robert Patterson

PhD 2009

Director of The Writing Center,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

2008

 

Crystal Alberts

PhD 2008

Associate Professor,

Director, UND Writers Conference,

University of North Dakota

 

Amanda J. Bradley

PhD 2008

MFA 2011, The New School, Poetry,

Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing,

Director of the Honors Program,

Keystone College

www.amandajbradley.com

 

David Callon

PhD 2008

English Teacher,

St. Louis University High School

 

Gregory Hazleton

PhD 2008

Visiting Assistant Professor,

Trinity University

 

Peter Monahan

PhD 2008

Director of the College Writing Program,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Daniel Plate

PhD 2008

Associate Professor,

Lindenwood University

 

James Williams

PhD 2008

Senior Writer, Alumni and Development Communications,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

2007

 

Matthew Shipe

PhD 2007

Senior Lecturer,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Ryan Shirey

PhD 2007

Associate Teaching Professor,

Director of The Writing Center,

Wake Forest University

 

2006

 

Erin Finneran

PhD 2006

Senior Lecturer,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Michael Flynn

PhD 2006

Associate Professor,

University of North Dakota

 

Sif Rikardsdottir

PhD 2006

Professor of Comparative Literature,

University of Iceland

 

2005

 

Matthew Calihman

PhD 2005

Professor of English,

Missouri State University

 

Lanya Lamouria

PhD 2005

Associate Professor,

Missouri State University

 

Daniel Medlin

PhD 2005

Associate Professor,

The American University of Paris

 

David Shmitt

PhD 2005

Gregg H. Benidt Memorial Professor of Homiletics and Literature,

Professor of Practical Theology,

Field: Early Modern/Christianity

Concordia Seminary

 

2004

 

Christopher D’Addario

PhD 2004

Associate Professor,

Gettysburg College

Previously: Assistant Professor, Towson University (2007-2012)

 

Debra Rudder Lohe

PhD 2004

Director at Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching,

St. Louis University

Previously: Director of Composition, Washington University in St. Louis

Program Admin for Undergraduate Writing, Washington University in St. Louis

 

2003

 

Anita Hagerman

PhD 2003

English Teacher,

John Burroughs School

Previously: Adjunct Instructor, Washington University in St. Louis, University College

Adjunct Instructor, University of Missouri - St. Louis

Adjunct Instructor, Webster University

 

Susan Bussey

PhD 2003

Associate Professor of English,

Georgia Gwinnett University

 

Matthew Harkins

PhD 2003

Professor,

St. Benedict & St. John’s

 

Heidi Kolk

PhD 2003

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track),

Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts

Washington University in St. Louis

Previously: Writing 1 Director, Washington University in St. Louis (2003-2008)

AMCS Associate Director, Washington University in St. Louis (2008-2018)

Visiting Assistant Professor of Early American Literature, SIUE Carbondale (2002-2003)

 

Benjamin Myers

PhD 2003

Crouch-Mathis Professor of Literature,

Oklahoma Baptist University

Field: Early Modern

 

Bonnie Carr O'Neill

PhD 2003

Associate Professor,

Mississippi State University

Field: 18th and 19th c. American

Previously: Wake Forest University, Visiting Assistant Professor (2004-2008)

 

2002

 

Jennifer Arch

PhD 2002

Senior Lecturer,

Washington University in St. Louis

 

Misty Beck

PhD 2002

Professional Woodworker & Painter

Previously: Assistant Professor, Learning Commons Coordinator,University of Maine at Farmington

Instructor in the Writing Program and Environmental Studies, Bates College, Maine

 

Matthew DeVoll

PhD 2002

Assistant Dean, College of Arts and Sciences,

Washington University in St. Louis

Previously: Assistant Professor of English, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2003-2005)

Assistant Professor of English, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park (2005-2008)

 

Kristie Hochwender

PhD 2002

Associate Professor,

Director of General Education,

University of Evansville

Research Areas: c19 British; c19 American; Children's Literature

Previously: Assistant Professor, University of Southern Indiana

 

Elaine McGirr

PhD 2002

Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy,

Head of Theatre,

University of Bristol (2017-present)

Field: 18th century & theatre history

Previously: Head of Theatre & Reader in Theatre History, Royal Holloway University of London (2015-2017)

Senior Lecturer in English and History, Royal Holloway University of London (2008-2015)

Lecturer in English and History, Royal Holloway University of London (2004-2008)

Visiting Lecturer in English, University of Hertfordshire (2003-2004)

 

Randolph Robertson

PhD 2002

Associate Professor,

Susquehanna University

Field: 17th c. British

 

Rachel Schwartz

PhD 2002

Associate Professor of Public Health,

Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Center for Online Learning,

Field: 18th c. British

Georgia Southern University

 

Adam Sonstegard

PhD 2002

Associate Professor,

Cleveland State University

 

2001

 

Sarah Pogell

PhD 2001

Professor of English,

Tri-C (Cayuga Community College),

Cleveland, Ohio

Previously: Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,

Visiting Assistant Professor, Goucher College, MD.

 

Noel Sloboda

PhD 2001

Professor of English,

Pennsylvania State University – York

Field: 20th c. American/Drama

 

Susan Stiritz

PhD 2001

Associate Professor of Practice,

Chair, Specialization in Sexual Health and Education,

The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis

Previously: Senior Lecturer in WGSS, Washington University in St. Louis

 

2000

 

Cynthia Westerbeck

PhD 2000

Professor of English,

Walla Walla University

Field: Victorian Literature

 

1999

 

Lisa Eck

PhD 1999

Professor, Department Chair,

Framingham State University, Massachusetts.

 

Randall Fuller

PhD 1999

Herman Melville Distinguished Professor of Nineteenth-Century American Literature,

University of Kansas

 

1998

 

Eleanor DesPrez

PhD 1998

English Department Chair,

John Burroughs School

 

1997

 

Anne Cotterill

PhD 1997

Associate Professor of English and Technical Communication,

Missouri University of Science and Technology

 

Annette Gilson

PhD 1997

Associate Professor,

Oakland University

 

1996

 

Lynnea Brumbaugh

PhD 1996

Lecturer in WGSS,

Washington University in St. Louis

Private life coach

 

1994

 

David Blake

PhD 1994

Interim Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Planning,

Professor of English,

College of New Jersey

 

Charu Malik

PhD 1994

Vice President – Education, Research, and Special Rights,

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Washington, D.C.

 

Edward Schwartzchild

PhD 1994

Associate Professor,

State University of New York – Albany

Previously: Assistant Professor of English, Film Studies Director, and Honors Program Director, Sweet Briar (1994-1998)

Wallace Stegner Fellow, Stanford University (1999-2001)

 

1993

 

Andrew Hazucha

PhD 1993

Professor of English,

Division Chair of Arts and Humanities

Ottawa University

 

1990

 

Robert Crafton

PhD 1990

Professor Emeritus,

Slippery Rock University

 

1989

 

Francis Ingledew

PhD 1989

Professor,

Fairleigh Dickinson University