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STATEMENT OF GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Rhetoric & Writing Program focuses on preparing women and men for professional careers in rhetoric, writing and teaching.
William Covino, Professor of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago, once described the BGSU Rhetoric & Writing program
as "distinctive for its clear emphasis on the teaching of writing," adding that "as dozens of programs have emerged in the
last decade, BGSU's has maintained its mission and distinction." This broad mission is embodied in seven program goals (listed
in the Placement Objectives section), which serve as the basis of curricular planning, advisement, student assessment and
self-assessment, and the development of student career portfolios.
This mission includes opportunities for BGSU's Rhetoric & Writing students to teach first-year and other writing courses in
traditional and computer-mediated classrooms, as well as opportunities to gain experience in areas such as Writing Program
Administration and Writing Center tutoring. Beyond teaching experience, students in our doctoral program gain expertise in
composition and rhetorical theory, and begin working in a variety of scholarly and professional contexts.
ADMISSION STANDARDS:
The Rhetoric & Writing program encourages applications from students committed to the teaching of writing in a range of contexts
and levels and to scholarly inquiry into the historical, theoretical, and methodological influences on contemporary composition
pedagogy. Because such influences reflect a broad interdisciplinary spectrum, we welcome applicants who can employ multiple
modes of inquiry in the theory and practice of writing and literacy instruction as well as those who have a prior educational
or professional experience in teaching composition.
To assess the potential of our applicants to develop careers as Rhetoric & Writing specialists, we require that all students
to submit GRE scores with verbal and qualitative scores at a minimum of 500. Additional requirements include the submission
of three letters of reference that attest to the applicant’s ability to conduct advanced graduate study and the current or
potential ability to successfully teach college-level composition. All applicants must submit official transcripts from each
institution they have attended and a 10-15 page writing sample from recent analytical academic work.
To be considered for funding, applicants must submit the appropriate Department application form that requires a succinct
statement of purpose. This document should make reference to the goals of the program as it explains applicants' reasons for
entering a graduate program in English and details their specific areas of competence and interest within rhetoric and composition
as a discipline. This statement is crucial in determining whether student interests and course demands can be adequately meshed
with current faculty and degree offerings and therefore should be constructed thoughtfully and carefully.
The Rhetoric & Writing program has been very successful in recruiting diverse applicants both nationally, with past and present
students from California, Nevada, Washington, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Michigan,
and internationally (including Haiti, Kenya, and Vietnam), with several being awarded Presidential Fellowships. All non-native
English speaking applicants must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Those applicants with TOEFL scores
below 550 will rarely be admitted.
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE STATE/REGION:
The Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program’s focus on the teaching of writing means that its graduates are well prepared for and professionally
interested in faculty positions emphasizing undergraduate education. A significant number of graduates take this preparation
and commitment to faculty positions in Ohio and surrounding states (around 40% in the past 7 years), for instance Owens Community
College, Lima Technical College, Lorraine Community College, Cedarville College, University of Findlay, BGSU (Writing Center
Director, College of Business writing specialist), and institutions in Michigan (Western Michigan University, Northwestern
Michigan College), Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania College of Technology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, St. Francis College)
and Kentucky (Lindsey Wilson College). Some graduates now working at area colleges are new to this region, having been attracted
from other parts of the country by the program’s reputation for preparing scholar-teachers for faculty positions in composition
studies. Other area colleges and their students have benefited by the ability of faculty to pursue doctoral study part-time
in the Rhetoric & Writing Program. For instance, one graduate took his entire program while a faculty member at Lima Technical
College, where he has since been promoted to Professor while leading several EECAP programs for area high school teachers
and serving as a leader in the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges. Currently, one faculty member at Mercy College is at
the dissertation stage of her study, and faculty from Bluffton College and the University of Findlay are in the first years
of the program.
The Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program contributes to Ohio in other ways, as well. Program faculty are significantly involved
in the preparation of high-school and middle-grades teachers by, for instance, teaching of ENG 484 Foundations of Teaching
Writing and ENG 381 Grammar and Writing and by working as the coordinator and advisor of the Integrated Language Arts major.
Some faculty and graduate students also serve as workshop leaders in area schools and other community organizations on topics
such as writing across the curriculum, writing portfolios, online learning, grant writing, and the assessment of student writing,
and others are developing--for teachers across the region--web-based graduate courses, such as The Teaching of Teaching Writing
and Online Learning for English Educators. Rhetoric & Writing Program students also make contributions to the education of
students in the region. Recently, for instance, students and/or faculty have evaluated writing portfolios of students from
Bowling Green High School, developed writing-related workshops for new graduate assistants in other departments as part of
the annual GradSTEP program, taught the grant-funded PCC program for future middle-grades teachers and utilized background
from the Computer Mediated Writing graduate course to help BGSU faculty develop web-based courses, or written successful grant
proposals for a writing center at an area college and computer literacy program for the Wood County Committee on Aging.
PLACEMENT OBJECTIVES FOR GRADUATES:
In addition to general English Department learning outcomes, the Rhetoric & Writing Doctoral Program has developed the following
program planning goals for doctoral students:
- Graduates are prepared to teach a range of rhetoric and composition courses.
- Graduates are prepared theoretically and practically to work in computer environments in their professional and scholarly
lives.
- Graduates are familiar with research in a variety of methodological systems
- Graduates understand and can discuss major competing theories and contested issues within Rhetoric & Writing
- Graduates understand and can discuss the rhetorical tradition and significant disciplinary texts and authors/theorists that
shape the field of composition.
- Graduates understand the impact of rhetorical history on contemporary rhetorical theory and composition practice.
- Graduates are oriented to the place of scholarship in faculty work and rewards and they have begun to work in professional
contexts by developing ideas for submissions to editors and conferences chairs and by giving conference papers.
These goals have prepared our students well for careers in tenure-track positions at such institutions as Western Michigan
University, Minnesota State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Black Hills State University (SD), University
of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, State University of West
Georgia, Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, University
of Texas-Brownsville Century College (MN), Truman State University (MO), Dixie State College (UT), Nazareth College of Rochester
(NY), Mary Mount College (CA), Cedarville College (OH), and the University of Findlay (OH). In such positions, many of our
graduates have assumed administrative leadership roles, including positions as Composition Director, Writing across the Curriculum
Coordinator, and Department Chair.
In our most recent English Department program review conducted in 2001-2002, the Rhetoric & Writing Program was identified
as one of two “signature programs” within the department, based on the quality of curriculum, the national reputation of the
program, and the placement of our graduates. Although our department is not scheduled for review until 2008-09, the Rhetoric
& Writing Program is continually engaged in programmatic assessment, one very recent example including the award of an internal
Student Assessment Grant. This grant funded the visit of an external consultant to meet with graduate students and assess
their preparation for the academic job market, as well as to prepare a report for the Rhetoric & Writing faculty about building
on our accomplishments and ensuring that our curriculum fosters the goals we have set for our graduates, including the development
of an electronic professional development portfolio.
PROGRAM REVIEW:
In our most recent English Department program review conducted in 2001-2002, the Rhetoric & Writing Program was identified
as one of two “signature programs” within the department, based on the quality of curriculum, the national reputation of the
program, and the placement of our graduates. Although our department is not scheduled for review until 2008-09, the Rhetoric
& Writing Program is continually engaged in programmatic assessment, one very recent example including the award of an internal
Student Assessment Grant. This grant funded the visit of an external consultant to meet with graduate students and assess
their preparation for the academic job market, as well as to prepare a report for the Rhetoric & Writing faculty about building
on our accomplishments and ensuring that our curriculum fosters the goals we have set for our graduates, including the development
of an electronic professional development portfolio.
Contact Information:
Please direct all requests for information, or questions about the program to:
Dr. Richard Gebhardt, Rhetoric and Writing Program Coordinator, or
Mary Ann Sweeney, Graduate Secretary
Room: 212 East Hall
Phone: 419-372-6864
Visit the program website at:
http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/english/
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