Students currently in the M.A. program who plan to apply for the Ph.D. must meet the same deadlines and provide the same evidence as students applying to the program from outside the University. In particular, students should discuss with the Graduate Coordinator the advisability of retaking both the GRE and the English subject test. Scores more than five years old are not accepted by the Graduate School. Except in unusual circumstances, M.A. students will not be formally admitted to the Ph.D. program or awarded assistantships until they have completed their M.A. degrees.
All applicants to the Ph.D. program, whether from outside the University or from our own masters’ students, are treated in precisely the same fashion by the Graduate Committee and are judged according to the same admissions standards. Completion of the M.A. degree at the University of Georgia does not in itself constitute proof of one's qualifications to enter the Ph.D. program. Detailed information about the admissions process and deadlines may be obtained at https://www.english.uga.edu/prospective-students.
The following required application materials should be sent to the UGA Graduate School via the graduate application portal:
Application to Graduate School
Unofficial Transcripts
TOEFL scores for non-native English speakers
3 letters of recommendation: These letters should be submitted through the online application process. List the names of recommenders in the fields on the application along with their email addresses. For those applying for a Teaching Assistantship, one letter of recommendation should address the applicant's teaching record. The Graduate School will send referees a link to access a secure page where they can submit your recommendation via the web.
Statement of Intent: Prepare a typed statement of 500 to 1000 words describing your reasons for applying to our graduate program in English and the kind of study you wish to pursue, including your area(s) of interest, as well as faculty with whom you would hope to work.
Students applying to the Creative Writing Program (CWP) should make clear areas of interest outside of forms and craft that inform their scholarship. Additionally, CWP students should explicitly articulate the connection between their academic interests and creative practice.
Resume/CV: 1-2 pages outlining your work and teaching experience, if any.
Critical Writing Sample: A critical look at a literature text. This sample may be an excerpt from a longer work and should run 10-15 typed pages; longer samples are discouraged. All creative writing students MUST submit both a critical and a creative sample.
Teaching Assistantship/ Research Assistantship Application.
Creative Writing Samples (For Creative Writing Applicants Only): While the Program practices and fosters writing between, across, and within multiple genres and media, for purposes of the application we ask that you select a genre concentration and submit a sample consistent with that emphasis: 10 pages of poetry, or 20 pages of fiction or creative non-fiction.
The GRE is not required for admission to any of our Graduate Programs.