English-Rhetoric and Composition - Ph.D. Download to print

The Ph.D. in English–Rhetoric and Composition is focused on literacy, rhetoric and social practice. Grounded in rhetoric and language study, students complete coursework and research centered on how advanced literacy is embedded within and constitutive of communities of work and citizenship in contemporary culture. Given the historical and institutional link between composition instruction and the humanities, the program attempts to forge close connections between language and literacy at the university and in the work and lives of students and communities.
 

Official transcript(s), GRE, goal statement, three letters of recommendation and a 8-15 page writing sample relevant to the field of study. All requirements are reviewed and evaluated holistically. Please refer to the University policy for graduate admissions.
 

Students admitted to the Rhetoric and Composition doctoral major complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of doctoral-level coursework across five areas: introduction to the study of writing and rhetoric, theoretical foundations, language and linguistics, research methods, and literate practices. Students, with guidance from faculty, complete a language requirement and a qualifying examination before writing a dissertation prospectus. The language requirement can be satisfied by either a second language or a representational system, if the latter is relevant to the student’s course of study. Upon the successful completion of the qualifying examination, students form a dissertation committee whose members direct the student through the dissertation and the completion of the degree.
 

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate effective teaching skills.

2. Demonstrate the knowledge and professional skills needed to work as researchers and teachers.

3. Understand, apply, and interpret the theoretical and applied knowledge of the field.

4. Communicate their research and findings in the field.

5. Demonstrate an understanding of and apply the interconnection of Rhetoric and Composition to other disciplines.

6. Demonstrate thinking capabilities that reflect both critical awareness and creative potential.

7. Demonstrate collaboration with others in both research and writing.

8. Apply the methods and practices of research in the field.

The English Department offers the M.A. in TESL, M.F.A. in Creative Writing, the M.A. in English (Literature and Writing, Concentration for Teachers and Comparative Literature) and the Ph.D. in English.