Admission Requirements for PhD

Admission to the PhD program in English requires a Master's degree from an accredited institution. Students with baccalaureate degrees who wish to pursue a PhD must submit evidence of an MA degree, or be admitted first to the MA program. Other qualifications appear below. Applicants should be mindful that meeting the minimum standards for admission does not guarantee admission.

Students are admitted in particular areas of specialization (composition and rhetoric, creative writing, film, literature, TESL, linguistics, rhetoric and professional writing). If a student wishes to move from one area of specialization which has different program requirements from the one into which he or she was admitted (such as, for example, from literature into creative writing or from creative writing into composition and rhetoric); or, if a student wishes to move from one degree program into another degree program, the student must submit an application to and receive approval for that change from the Admissions Committee. The application must include a new statement of purpose and a new writing sample, which will be considered along with the rest of the student’s graduate file. Since this application will be an internal English Department matter, students will not pay an application fee. If the Admissions Committee does not grant the request, the student will have the option of continuing in the program or area of specialization into which he or she was admitted.

Provisional Admission. PhD students are admitted provisionally and must take the First-Year PhD Exam during the second semester following their initial enrollment. Students who do not take the First-Year PhD Exam during the second semester following their initial enrollment become ineligible for a doctoral degree from the OSU English Department.

Applicants with an English MA from OSU. Students who have either a general MA in English or an MA in English with an option in TESL from OSU and who wish to pursue a PhD in English at OSU must request that the English Graduate Office submit an admissions dossier to the Admissions Committee. The dossier will include copies of the MA Qualifying Exam or the MA/TESL exam (the questions, student responses, and readers’ reports), and all end-of-semester evaluations by faculty who have taught the applicants in graduate courses. If the Admissions Committee decides to admit such students to the PhD program, they are admitted fully and do not have to take the First-Year PhD Exam. However, OSU students who complete the MA degree with an option in Technical Writing and who wish to pursue the PhD in English at OSU must, for admission purposes, follow the procedures for students with MA degrees from other institutions. Admission to the MA program at OSU does not guarantee subsequent admission to the PhD program.

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu

Admission Checklist:

Apply to OSU Graduate College.

Submit transcripts to:

OSU Graduate College
202 Whitehurst Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078

Send Statement of Purpose to English Department:

English Graduate Programs
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078

Have three references send letters of recommendation to English Department.

Non-native English speakers must also submit TOEFL or IELTS scores to the Graduate College.

View English Proficiency Requirements

View Assistantship Information

Application Deadline

For fall admissions, the priority deadline for applications is January 15. Later submissions will receive consideration but the availability of assistantships and incentive packages diminishes after the deadline.

For spring admissions, the priority deadline for applications is October 15.