How to Apply
NEW: We are extending the Fall 2012 APPLICATION DEADLINE for the English M.A./Ph.D. program until December 15, 2011 due to new technical considerations in coordinating the online document submission system with ApplyTexas. The deadline to apply for Fall 2012 admission to the English Creative Writing M.F.A. program remains December 15, 2011.
Beginning with the Fall 2012 application, all admission materials will be processed electronically. The ApplyTexas application needs to be completed and submitted first. Then the application fee needs to be paid. After that, applicants will be able to upload documents through the Application Status Check. A paper application packet is no longer required and sending paper copies of documents you have uploaded will significantly delay the processing of your application. All materials will be entered online or uploaded through the Application Status Check. The online application for Fall 2012 is now available. The major code for the M.A./Ph.D. program in English is 639300 and for the M.F.A. in English Creative Writing, it is 639302. Please see the Graduate School's instructions and guide (pdf) when preparing to submit your application materials.
The English Department requires the following materials to submitted:
1. Statement of purpose (also called a personal statement)
A short essay discussing your specific areas of interest and professional goals.
2. Writing sample
For the M.F.A. in English-Creative Writing program only, a maximum of either 15 pages of poetry or 25 pages (double-spaced) of prose.
For the M.A./Ph.D. in English program, all fields, a sample critical essay of 10-15 pages demonstrating the ability to perform literary or rhetorical analysis. The Admissions committee will evaluate the essay's methodological rigor and the extent to which it demonstrates the candidate's self-consciousness of his or her chosen principles of explication, analysis, and argument.
For the M.A./Ph.D. rhetoric field, the writing sample should be a sustained and persuasive argument that demonstrates skill at anticipating the needs of a specific audience regarding purpose, historical context, claims and evidence, genre and style. The paper may make use of any method of scholarly inquiry.
For the M.A./Ph.D. literature fields, the writing sample should be an in-depth inquiry that demonstrates skill in using literary analysis to support a scholarly argument. When reviewing the critical essay, the Admissions Committee will assess the applicant's skill at explicating a text in a manner reflecting a sophisticated appreciation of its formal attributes, figurative language, and historical context. Papers written primarily to survey the existing criticism or to conduct bibliographic and source-study research will not serve the committee's purposes.
3. Letters of recommendation
We suggest three letters from individuals familiar with your academic work. When you complete the “References” portion of the online application for admission, you will provide the names and email addresses of those individuals which you have asked to provide a recommendation. Be sure that the email addresses are current and accurate. Upon submission of the completed application and its receipt at the University, an e-mail message will be sent to the addresses you provide and your recommenders will be asked to visit a web site where they can complete a questionnaire. Your recommender will be informed if you have not waived your right to view his/her letter of recommendation.
We do accept recommendation letters from Interfolio and other credential services. The service would send a link for the recommendation letters to our admissions coordinator, Amy Stewart (amy.d.stewart@austin.utexas.edu).
4. List of relevant courses you have taken or are currently taking in English, American, or Anglophone literature and theory (Students whose transcripts do not show two years of college credit in one foreign language should also add a brief explanation of how they have equivalent knowledge to meet the Program's foreign language requirement or how they will acquire the equivalent knowledge.) This information needs to be entered on the Apply Texas application instead of being uploaded through My Status Check.
5. Transcripts
Please see the Graduate School's instructions for uploading and submitting transcripts. You must have a B.A. from an accredited United States institution or proof of equivalent training at an institution outside the United States to begin graduate study at UT-Austin. If you are a college senior and have not graduated yet, please upload your current transcript. If you are admitted, you will be required to submit a final official transcript that states the B.A. degree has been awarded by the time you enroll.
6. General GRE
The General GRE (verbal and quantitative) is a requirement for all graduate applicants at UT-Austin. All applicants to the English graduate programs (M.F.A. in English-Creative Writing and M.A./Ph.D. English literature and rhetoric) must take the general GRE and submit an official score report to UT. The GRE school code for UT is 6882.
Note: GRE scores are good for 5 years from the last date taken
7. GRE Subject Test
The Literature in English subject test is required for all M.A./Ph.D. English literature applicants, except for applicants to the Rhetoric and Digital Literacies fields. The subject test is not required for applicants to Rhetoric and Digital Literacies. The subject test is not required for M.F.A. English-Creative Writing.
Note: GRE scores are good for 5 years from the last date taken
Because of the ETS testing and score release schedule, we will accept subject test scores after the deadline. You may send subject test scores to us through the end of January. We will not accept them after February 1 as we anticipate completing the first phase of our review process by then. We will not disqualify or otherwise hinder your application if it is missing the subject test score and it will be considered equally in competition with the rest of the applicant pool. An application lacking a required subject test score however will be at a disadvantage in comparison to applications with a subject test score.
All application materials must be submitted by the deadline to be considered for Fall 2012 admission. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all of these materials are submitted by the deadline. Because of the volume of applications, the English Office cannot confirm the receipt of individual items. Applicants are normally notified of the Program's decision by early April.
