Application Procedures for Ph.D. Programs and Doctoral Assistantships
The Department of English offers a doctor
of Philosophy degree in English with three options: Applied
Linguistics, Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature.
Admission to the Ph.D. program is a two-step process.
STEP 1. Applicants must
first satisfy the requirements of the
Graduate
School (or, for international students, the
Office of International Programs). The Graduate School
application
is available online.
STEP 2. Applicants must also satisfy the requirements of the
Department of English by submitting the information listed below to the
department, addressed to the Graduate Office, RB 295.
International students should submit all documents to the Office of
International Programs.
A. A letter explaining your interest in admission indicating
specific Ph.D program and/or doctoral assistantship.
B. A statement of purpose (750-1000 words) detailing the
applicant’s academic and intellectual biography and his or her purpose
in seeking the graduate degree at Ball State University.
C. Sample of your scholarly or critical writing, preferably
a paper written for a class. The writing sample should exemplify the
applicant’s best work. The writing sample can be a revised class paper
or a section from an undergraduate or MA thesis. It should reflect the
applicant’s ability to write well, analyze, and engage with scholarly
debates and research. Students who do not have samples of academic work
available should write a new paper on a subject related to the previous
or proposed field of study.
Suggested page length: 8-10 pp. for MA, 10-15 pp. for PhD.
D. Three letters of reference, to be sent directly from your
recommenders to the Director of Graduate Programs in English.
E. Records of your standardized test scores.
Applicants in applied linguistics must provide scores for the Graduate
Record Examination (native speakers of English) or the TOEFL (non-native
speakers of English.
Applicants in composition must provide scores
for the GRE (general test).
Applicants in literature must provide scores for the GRE (general test
and the Subject Test in Literature); non-native speakers of English
must also provide TOEFL scores.
For information about standardized tests, contact the Educational Testing
Service: GRE (609-771-7670) www.gre.org
or TOEFL (215-750-8050) www.toefl.org.
For applicants sending GRE scores electronically, the GRE code for Ball
State University is 1051 and for the Department of English is 2599.
Apply early; transcripts and test scores take weeks, often months, to
arrive. We review applications throughout the year, except applications
to the Linguistics & TESOL programs, which are not reviewed until February.
However, if you wish to be considered for an assistantship, we recommend
that you complete your application by February 1.
Assistantships: If you are a new applicant and wish
to be considered for an assistantship, be sure to check the appropriate
box on the Graduate School application. If you are a continuing
student, pick up the assistantship application form from the Graduate
Programs Office and turn it in by Jan. 31. Decisions about
assistantships are generally made in March and announced in April.
More information on assistantships.
For all programs, departmental approval for admission will be based upon
evaluation of these criteria. NO INCOMPLETE FILES WILL BE CONSIDERED;
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOUR ADMISSION FILE IS COMPLETE.
While we cannot routinely contact you about missing items, you may visit
the English Graduate Office (RB 295), email us (srsewell@bsu.edu),
or telephone us (765-285-8415) to check on the status of your file.
International
applicants should contact the Center for International Programs at (765) 285-5422
or by email (Trinity Firth,
tlfirth@bsu.edu).
We will notify applicants about admission decisions as quickly as possible.
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