Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program Description

Department of English

Bowling Green State University 

Bowling Green State University offers an English Ph.D. with specialization in Rhetoric and Composition.  This sheet gives some Program highlights.  For more information, please check the website mentioned at the end of this sheet, or email Program Director Richard Gebhardt (richgeb@bgnet.bgsu.edu).  For application materials contact the Graduate Secretary, Mary Ann Sweeney, at 419/372-6864 or email  masween@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Rhetoric Faculty 

• Kristine Blair, Professor
  • English Department Chair,
  • Ph.D., Purdue University
• Sue Carter Wood, Associate Professor.
  • Ph.D., University of Texas.
• Bruce Edwards, Professor. 
  • Ph.D., University of Texas.
• Richard Gebhardt, Professor.
  • Ph.D., Michigan State University.
• Lance Massey, Assistant Professor.
  • Ph.D, University of Illinois
• Lee Nickoson-Massey, Assistant Professor.
  • Ph.D, Illinois State University
• Donna Nelson-Beene, Associate Professor
  • General Studies Writing Director. 
  • Ph.D., Bowling Green State University.

Since its founding in 1980, the Program has been committed to preparing its graduates for faculty careers in rhetoric and composition.  The Program utilizes the range of approaches--rhetorical, cultural, empirical, and technological--that characterize the discipline in the twenty-first century.  While writing instruction and writing administration are emphasized in the Program, students pursue a wide range of interests in their dissertation research.

The Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program requires at least 60 semester hours past the M.A. degree, including up to 30 hours of dissertation and preliminary exam credit.  The Program requires eight Core Courses and 3-5 Rhetoric & Writing Electives.  (The Advising Checksheet gives full details.)

Funding Opportunities

PhD-level assistantships carry a stipend of $12,300.00 (in 2008-2009), accompanied by a waiver of all instructional, out-of-state, and general fees; in the summer, assistants have instructional fee waivers whether or not they are teaching. Over several years, assistantship assignments typically give experience in addition to first-year writing classes.  Each year several Non-Service Fellowships are available to support dissertation work in the final year of funding. 

Research Facilities

Library Resources- The Jerome Library houses a collection of more than four million items, including books, journals, periodicals, microforms, government documents, and other materials. It also boasts a wide range of CD-ROM and online databases. The library houses a nationally acclaimed popular culture archive.

Computer Facilities- The University has over a dozen computer labs featuring Macintosh and IBM environments, including a Faculty-Graduate Student Workroom dedicated to supporting research projects.  Students, faculty, and staff have free email accounts, and a range of online research options is available through the Library.  The English Department building has fiber optic and wireless networking, and a graduate student computer room. 

Representative Dissertations by Program Graduates

• Post-9/11 Rhetorical Theory and Composition Pedagogy
• Speaking of Sex: The Rhetorical Strategies of Willard, Woodhull, and Craddock
• Dynamic Criteria Mapping: Rhetorical Values in Writing Placement
• Acquiring Literacy: Techne, Video Games and Composition Pedagogy
• Rhetoric and the Scholarship of Engagement
• The Multimodal Kitchen: Cookbooks as Women's Rhetorical Practice
• Audience Matters: Exploring Audience in Undergraduate Creative Writing Pedagogy
• A Rhetorical Analysis of Change in the Holocaust Memorial Center
• Transitioning Into the Fully Online Classroom
• Rhetorical Analysis of the Framing of Pre-Raphalite Pictures
• A Story of Geography and Composition Pedagogy
• Weblogs, Adolescent Girls, and the Cybermuse Community
• A Descriptive Taxonomy of Police Reports on Conjugal Violence
• The Classical Trivium in Contemporary Contexts
• Exploration of Writing-Teacher Anxiety
• Ethos in the Reflective Voice of James Morris
• Dramatizing Writing: Reinstating Delivery in the Classroom
• The Rehabilitating Role of Buber’s I-Thou in Rhetoric

You can find a list of graduates' dissertations (many with links) at the Students and Alumni button.

Rhetoric & Writing Core Courses

  ENG 6210 Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition as a Discipline
  ENG 7220 History of Rhetoric and Written Discourse
  ENG 7230 Issues in Historical Rhetoric
  ENG 7240 Rhetoric of Written Discourse
  ENG 7260 Research in Rhetoric & Writing
  ENG 7280 Computer Mediated Writing
  ENG 7290 Publication in Rhetoric and Writing
  ENG 7800 one or more special-topic seminar.

  These courses may not be waived or substituted.

 Rhetoric & Writing Electives

Students take from 3 to 5 additional Rhetoric & Writing Courses (depending on whether they already have taken graduate courses in literary theory and linguistics).  Students may take more electives if they wish.  Example courses: 6200, additional 7800s, other special-topic R&W courses, Readings courses, Research Group, Practicum.  A course emphasizing advanced writing pedagogy is recommended.

Note: This is the standard elective approach, one intended to help students develop strong backgrounds in a complex field.

Option 2: Students with MA degrees in composition and rhetoric may, with faculty approval, take cognate courses (up 12 hours) in areas relevant to their research or teaching interests (e.g.: Technical Writing, Literature, Women’s Studies, Speech Communication, Ethnic Studies, Higher Education Administration).

Goals of the Program  (Short Excerpts)

• Graduates understand major competing theories and  disciplinary issues.
• Graduates understand the rhetorical tradition and significant texts.
• Graduates understand the impact of rhetorical history on contemporary theory and practice.
• Graduates are prepared theoretically and practically to work in computer environments.
• Graduates are familiar with research in a variety of methodological systems.
• Graduates are prepared to teach a range of rhetoric and composition courses.
• Graduates understand the place of scholarship in faculty work, and they have begun developing ideas for submission to editors and at professional conference.

Department of English

Dr. Richard Gebhardt, Program Director

Mary Ann Sweeney, Graduate Secretary

Telephone: 419/372-6864

Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program website