Purdue University College of Liberal Arts

Information for

Department of English

Admissions

If you wish to apply to the graduate studies program in the Department of English, you should:

  1. Apply to the Graduate School. Application information is available at the following web site: http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/admissions/
  2. Supply a personal statement of purpose.
  3. Supply a sample of your writing. Your sample should consist of ten to twelve pages from an essay you have written for an English course.
  4. Submit three letters of recommendation from former teachers through the online recommendation system.
  5. Submit two official transcripts from each college or university you have attended.
  6. Submit your scores on the Graduate Record Examination. All scores must be sent directly from the testing center.

International students must submit an official TOEFL iBT score (sent directly from the testing center). The minimum internet based scores required for admission are the following:

Writing: 18
Speaking: 27
Listening: 14
Reading: 19
Total score: 77

Only those with a speaking score of 27 or more can be considered for a teaching assistantship.

The English Department also accepts the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. An overall band score of 6.5 is required for admission. A score of 7 in the speaking section is required if you wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship in the English Department.

Applicants applying to the Creative Writing program are requested to also submit a sample of your recent writing - a group of 8-10 poems if applying in poetry, or 2-3 stories (or a novel excerpt) if applying in fiction. Please include a brief written statement responding to these questions; Whose work do you admire? What collection of poetry and/or works of fiction read in the last year have been important to you, and why? A critical essay (10-12 pages) is also required.

Completed applications to the various graduate programs in English (M.A. in English as a Second Language, English Language and Linguistics, Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition; M.F.A. in Creative Writing; Ph.D. in English as a Second Language, English Language and Linguistics, Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Theory and Cultural Studies) are reviewed and evaluated by the departmental Admissions Committee and by faculty members working in the individual programs. Some programs and areas in English have their own, subsidiary Admissions Committee, which advises the departmental Admissions Committee. Applications to the interdisciplinary programs in English and Philosophy, American Studies, and Comparative Literature are handled according to the various admissions procedures that have been established by the faculty in those programs.

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