Fully Funded PhD Programs in English, Literature, and Digital Humanities: Do you aspire to get a doctorate in English, Literature, and digital humanities? The good news is that numerous universities provide a wide array of fully sponsored scholarships for doctoral degree programs. Tuition costs, housing costs, health insurance, and, occasionally, travel costs are all covered by these scholarships, as well as a subsistence allowance.
With these scholarship awards, students can concentrate on their studies and research without having to worry about money. However, in this article, we’ve put together a list of top institutions that fully support PhD students in English, Literature, and Digital Humanities. Let’s get started!
9 Top Universities with Fully Funded PhD Programs in English, Literature, and Digital Humanities
1. Harvard University
Through the Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University offers a fully funded PhD program in English, providing candidates with a broad knowledge of the field of English, including literary history, critical and cultural theory. The program aims to attract, support and make the university accessible to qualified candidates.
Through this program, PhD candidates receive a generous financial package and grants that cover tuition fees, provide health insurance, and a living stipend for a minimum of five years. This financial support also consists of traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and some other academic grants/appointments.
Host: Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Program: PhD. in English and Comparative Literature
Benefits: Fully funded | Livingstipends | Health insurance | Research support | Training programs
Funding: 5-6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligible Countries: Open to all countries
Application Deadline: January 05, 2026
2. Stanford University
Stanford University gives talented individuals applying for a doctorate degree the chance to receive a five-year full funding opportunity, with the option of competing for funding for a sixth year. The program pays for all tuition expenses, provides living stipends, and may even include health insurance, teaching assistantships, or pre-doctoral research assistantships.
The goal of Stanford’s English Department is to educate students about the importance and history of British and American literature, as well as to increase the knowledge, understanding and appreciation for the language’s varied and extensive literature. Completing the PhD program prepares students to engage fully in the field as literary scholars and critics.
Host: Stanford University
Location: California, United States
Program: PhD in English, Literature, and Digital Humanities
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Health insurance | Research support | Training programs | Research assistantships | Teaching assistantships
Funding: 5-6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligible Countries: Open to all countries
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
3. University of California, Berkeley
UC Berkeley offers a wide range of fully-funded PhD programs in English, Comparative Literature and Rhetoric, with assured financial support for up to six years. Students receive a complete financial support that includes tuition remission, health insurance, a living stipend (which can be $30,000), a travel allowance and $6,000 annual bonus reward for submitting dissertation.
The program aims to ensure that students gain a broad knowledge, as well as the highly developed skills in scholarship and criticism necessary to do solid and innovative work in their chosen specialised fields.
Host: University of California, Berkeley
Location: California, United States
Program: PhD in English, Literature, and Rhetoric
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Health insurance | Research support || Teaching and Readerships | Job opportunity
Funding: 6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligible Countries: Program-specified (Some programs are open to all countries)
Application Deadline: Program-specified
4. Yale University
In most departments at Yale University, including the Department of English, PhD programs are normally fully-funded. Candidates receive financial support that covers tuition fees, healthcare, and a living stipend for a period of five years. These financial assistance are provided in the form of Fellowships, Traineeships, and research assistantships.
Host: Yale University
Location: California, United States
Program: PhD in English and Literature
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Health insurance | Research support | Traineeships | Research assistantships
Funding: 6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligible Countries: Program-specified (Some programs are open to all countries)
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
5. University of Michigan
At the University of Michigan, the Department of English Language and Literature has four graduate programs: PhD in English & Women’s and Gender Studies, PhD in English Language & Literature, PhD in English & Education, and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program.
These programs offer a fully funded PhD degree that includes a combination of teaching assistantships and fellowships. Full tuition coverage, a living stipend, and research support are provided to selected students.
Host: University of Michigan
Location: United States
Program: PhD in English, Literature and Women’s & Gender Studies
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Research support
Funding: 2-6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligible Countries: Open to all countries
Application Deadline:
- English Language and Literature: 10th December 2025
- English and Education: 30th December 2025
- English and Women’s Studies: 15th December 2025
- Helen Zell Writers’ Program: 10th December 2025
6. University of Virginia
The PhD program in English at the University of Virginia is financially supported for a minimum of six years through multiple academic fellowships and teaching assistant employment. The financial package offered to incoming PhD students includes tuition fees, individual health insurance, and $36,000 for the first year for the first five years; in the sixth year, they will get $28,000.
In addition, PhD candidates are eligible to apply for up to $500 annually to attend conferences at which they are presenting papers or leading panels. They could also seek open jobs as research assistants, which may allow them to make up to $3,000 each academic year.
Host: University of Virginia
Location: Virginia, United States
Program: PhD in English Language, Literature, and Research
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Research support | Healthcare Insurance
Funding: 6 years guaranteed full funding
Eligibility: U.S. Citizen or an Eligible Non-Citizen
Application Deadline: Program specified
7. Duke University
Duke University provides a PhD program in Literature and English to support selected students for graduate studies. The student support comes in a variety of forms, which include fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistance over a period of five years.
Financial assistance from the Literature program will be provided for six years; the first five years will be fully funded, while the sixth year will be based on stipends. Tuition expenses, a stipend, health insurance, and recreational costs are all covered by this financial assistance, which is contingent upon good performance.
Host: Duke University
Location: North Carolina, United States
Program: PhD in Literature and PhD in English
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Healthcare Insurance
Funding: Fully funded for the first 5 years; Partially funded in the sixth year
Eligibility: U.S. Citizen or an Eligible Non-Citizen
Application Deadline:
- PhD in Literature: December 1, 2025
- PhD in English: December 4, 2025
8. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California, Los Angeles offers a fully funded PhD program for PhD students in Literatures-in-English. UCLA’s PhD program includes a six-year funding package, with assistantship and fellowship support. The program covers tuition and provides a competitive stipend, allowing students to dedicate themselves to their research. In addition, qualified candidates get to receive healthcare insurance throughout the program.
Additionally, the department of English offers financial assistance for conference travel, summer institute tuition, and summer language study tuition. Furthermore, every graduate student receives a $1,000 travel grant from UCLA’s Graduate Division, which they can use at any time during their UCLA career, from year one to year seven.
Host: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Location: Los Angeles, United States
Program: PhD in Literatures-in-English
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Healthcare Insurance
Funding: Fully funded for the first 2 years, subsequent years will be partially funded for four years
Eligibility: Open to all countries
Application Deadline: December 08, 2025
9. University of Southern California (USC)
The University of Southern California offers a fully funded PhD program in creative writing and Literature support. The program is funded for five years. Only one genre, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry is available for PhD candidates to apply to the program.
Accepted students are offered financial aid and support in the form of fellowships and teaching assistantships, which include a $30,000 stipend, complete tuition fee, and health insurance.
Host: University of Southern California
Location: California, United States
Program: PhD in English Literature and PhD in Creative Writing and Literature
Benefits: Fully funded | Living stipends | Healthcare Insurance
Funding: Funded for 5 years
Eligibility: Be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen.
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025