About the PhD Program in English at BGSU

This page describes admission requirements and those programs that lead to a Ph.D. in English.

Also avalable on-line are the PhD Handbook and the PhD Checksheet.

The Department

The English Department at BGSU places a high priority on teaching and learning as interactive, ongoing processes. Our programs allow students to deepen and broaden their interests while encouraging them to interact with and contribute their discoveries to the profession at large. In this pursuit students work not in isolation but with peers and interested graduate faculty, who are themselves active researchers and publishers in their various areas of specialization.

The English department offers doctoral specialization in Rhetoric and Writing that requires the completion of 60 hrs. of course work past the M.A. degree. These 60 hours may include up to 33-39 hours of course work, 6 hours of preliminary examination study, and 16-21 dissertation hours. The department also requires the demonstration of competency in a research tool (e.g., computer languages) or foreign language.

Our Rhetoric and Writing program features course work in rhetorical theory, rhetorical history, writing pedagogy, and research methodology that prepares students for teaching and research in an increasingly important humanities discipline. Look here for the doctoral requirement checksheet that details course work and other degree completion requirements. It is also available upon request from the Graduate Secretary

Assistantships

Assistantships are available on a competitive basis and for 2000-2001 carry a stipend of $9500. First-year assistantship duties typically involve a three-course teaching load in the General Studies Writing (GSW) program spread over two semesters. Second and third year assistants often serve in administrative, supervisory, research, or editing positions other than in the classroom. Approximately five new assistantships are awarded each year, distributed among the various specializations.

Assistantships carry a tuition waiver of all instructional, general, and out-of-state fees. Summer opportunities for funding are also competitively available, determined by staffing needs and a seniority system administered by the department's Graduate Student Committee.
Assistantships are renewed on a competitive basis. If academic work and assistantship duties are evaluated as fully satisfactory, students in a Ph.D. program may usually expect three years of funding; however, all teaching assignments are dependent upon the availability of funds and appropriate duty assignments, and these may vary from year to year.
Funded students receive intensive in-service training in the classroom teaching of writing in English 602, Composition Instructors' Workshop, during their first semester of work.

Admission and Funding Inquires

Admissions and funding decisions are made annually in the Spring. Students interested in applying for admission and for funding should submit completed files to the Graduate Coordinator's office by February 1st. Incomplete files will result in delays of admission decisions and candidates are forewarned that it is crucial to apply as early as possible.

Because the number of applicants for our programs has continued to grow, we have seen an increase in the number of self-funded students matriculating. Those students admitted but not funded need to be aware that the department has instituted a May 1st deadline for declaring one's intentions to enroll in courses for the following Fall semester. Those self-funded students who fail to do so cannot be guaranteed a place in the program in the semester for which they have been admitted.

For application materials and other inquiries for the Ph.D. contact:

Dr. Sue Carter, Graduate Coordinator
Department of English
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403
or call:(419) 372-6864

How to Apply: Admission Requirements and Information

Graduate College
BGSU
Bowling Green, OH 43403-0180
or call (419) 372-2791

2) Applicants to all degree programs in English must meet the general requirements for admission to the Graduate College. See pp. 13-16 of the 1994-96 Bowling Green State University Graduate Catalogue.

3) All applicants for admission to Department programs must submit scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). (M.A. Plan I Literature applicants also must submit scores from the Literature Subject Test of the GRE.) Those with GRE scores that average below 500 on the verbal and analytical test portions of the exam will rarely be considered for funding. Recently funded students scored on the average of 550 on both the verbal and analytical components of the GRE.

4) All applicants must submit official transcripts from each institution they have attended and a 10-15 pp. writing sample from recent analytical academic work.

5) All applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from persons acquainted with their academicexperience.

6) Those seeking funding must submit the appropriate Department application form (available from the Graduate Coordinator) that requires a succinct, one page statement of purpose. This document should explain applicants' reasons for entering a graduate program in English and should detail their specific areas of competence and interest within the larger field of English Studies.

This latter 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.

7) All non-native English speaking applicants must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). When it is not possible to take the TOEFL, applicants may take the Michigan Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) instead. Those applicants with TOEFL scores below 550 will rarely be admitted.

8) Applications and supporting materials should be received no later than the February 1st before the Fall Semester of the year the applicant wishes to begin study. Later applications will be considered only if positions are available. Applications will be reviewed as early as January 1st.

Admission to a program does not constitute a commitment to funding, nor does it guarantee that a student will be available to matriculate in the semester he or she desires. Enrollment demands and curriculum changes may force limits in the number of students permitted to enroll in each course.

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