Application and Admission

Deadlines

  • Ph.D. applications are due by December 1st.
  • M.A. applications are due by January 2nd.

Fall 2026 Online Information Sessions

  • August 5, 2026 (Wed.) - COMPLETED.
  • Sept. 9, 2026 (Wed.), at 5 p.m., through Zoom - Please RSVP to indicate your interest in attending this information session. Information to be covered: structure/timeline of the English M.A. and English Ph.D. graduate programs; application process and required materials; forms of financial assistance available; and the marketability of a graduate degree in English.
  • Oct. 7, 2026 (Wed.) - RSVP link to be made available on Sept. 10th.

Overview of Application Process

All applications are considered for fall admission only.

Applicants to the M.A. program should expect to receive a bachelor’s degree in English (or a related field) by no later than early August of the year in which they will be entering the program, and applicants to the Ph.D. program should expect to receive a master’s degree in English (or a related field) by no later than early August of the year in which they will be entering the program.

We recommend that you start your application by no later than October 1st of the year before the one in which you wish to be admitted so that there is enough time for the Graduate School to receive all of your application materials by the department’s application deadline for your program.

If you are applying to the Ph.D. program, December 1st is the date by which the Graduate School must have received all of your application materials. This is also the deadline for prospective Ph.D. applicants to be considered for teaching assistantships and doctoral fellowships. All Ph.D. applicants who indicate on their Graduate School application that they are interested in a teaching assistantship will be considered for one. Ph.D. applicants who wish to be considered for a Graduate School doctoral fellowship nomination (by the program) must arrange for their GRE scores to be sent (from ETS.org) and uploaded to their Graduate School application by no later than the December 1st deadline. (Note: To be able to have one's GRE scores received and uploaded by our Graduate School office to the applicant's file by the deadline, the applicant should plan to have taken the GRE by no later than the first week of November. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all materials are received in their Graduate School application file by the Dec. 1st deadline.

If you are applying to the M.A. program, January 2nd is the date by which the Graduate School must have received all of your application materials. January 2nd is also the deadline for M.A. applicants to be considered for teaching assistantships. All M.A. applicants who indicate on their Graduate School application that they are interested in a teaching assistantship will be considered for one. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all materials are received in their Graduate School application file by the Jan. 2nd deadline. 

Applicants are welcome to call the Graduate School directly (479-575-4401) or email the Graduate School (askgsie@uark.edu) in order to check on the status of their application materials.

Steps of Application Process

1. Apply through the Graduate School. Ph.D. applications are due by Dec. 1st, and M.A. applications are due by Jan. 2nd.

Note that your Graduate School application, official transcripts, and GRE General Test scores (GRE scores are optional for both Ph.D. applicants and M.A. applicants, though they are required to be considered for doctoral fellowships through the Graduate School) should be submitted directly through your Graduate School application portal rather than through the Department of English.

International applicants will need to have official scores regarding English language proficiency sent to the Graduate School. To be considered for admission to the Graduate Program in English, international applicants must have English language proficiency scores that meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for a teaching assistantship, not just to be eligible for admission to the Graduate School.

All applicants are required to submit an application fee.

2. Request three letters of recommendation be sent to the Graduate School by December 1st (Ph.D. applicants) or by January 2nd (M.A. applicants).

After starting your Graduate School application, you will receive an e-mail prompting you to set up a UARK account. You will also receive instructions from the Graduate School on how to have your three recommenders submit letters to this account.

Please make sure to inform your recommenders of the application deadline for your application materials, which includes their letters (Dec. 1st for Ph.D. applicants; Jan. 2nd for M.A. applicants).

It would be best if the three people recommending you are current or former professors who can comment upon areas such as academic performance, scholarly interests, writing skills, professionalism, collegiality, and teaching ability (if applicant has already acquired some teaching experience).

3. Complete your application to the Graduate School by December 1st (Ph.D. applicants) or by January 2nd (M.A. applicants).

  • To complete your application to the Graduate School, you will need to answer the initial application questions (re: your interest in a teaching assistantship, etc.) for your respective program (English M.A. or English Ph.D.)

  • In addition, you will need to attach a statement of purpose of 500-750 words and save it as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF file. Please describe your academic training and research interests, as well as your professional goals in pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Arkansas.

    Note to M.A. Applicants Only:
    Please conclude your statement of purpose by indicating which option between our two M.A. tracks, generalist and specialist, you probably intend to pursue. If you choose the specialist track, further specify which particular area of specialization most interests you: Cultural Studies; Environmental Literature, Writing, and Culture; Ethnic and Regional Literatures; Gender and Sexuality; Medieval Literature; Religion and Literature; or Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy. In addition, explain in some detail your interest in that area and the way you could see your experience of specializing in it benefiting you in the future, beyond the completion of your English M.A. degree.

    Note to Ph.D. Applicants Only:

    When describing your research interests, please identify English Department faculty members in those areas of specialization who might be appropriate advisors for your candidacy exams and a dissertation project. Further, please describe, if you can, the dissertation project you are currently contemplating.

  • Also attach a writing sample of 10-15 double-spaced pages if you are an M.A. applicant or 20-25 double-spaced pages if you are a Ph.D. applicant, having saved the document as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF file. Please use one document rather than multiple shorter documents. If you submit an excerpt from a longer document, include an explanation of how the excerpt fits into the whole. You are welcome to submit an essay from a previous course or a chapter from your M.A. thesis; however, do not submit a document with an instructor’s grade or comments.

    The most important part of the application, your writing sample should be an essay that offers your own original arguments within a context of what other scholars have written about the topic. Your research should be well documented in standard MLA or APA format. It is suggested, but not required, that your writing sample be in the area on which you wish to concentrate your graduate study. We will be looking for strong evidence of your ability to analyze texts critically with reference to scholarship in the field, as well as evidence of your facility with written English.

  • If you are applying to the Ph.D. program, attach a curriculum vitae and save it as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF file. (M.A. applicants can also attach a CV or resume, but it is not required for them.)

Note that the Department of English cannot review your application until we have received all required materials.

Admission Process and Teaching-Assistantship Appointments

Each applicant will be notified of their admission decision and fellowship and/or teaching-assistantship status by e-mail by no later than April 15th. If your e-mail address changes after you have submitted your application, please notify the Associate Director of the Graduate Program in English.

New teaching assistants must be prepared to come to campus one week before fall classes begin to participate in a week-long New TA Orientation. (Incoming international graduate students should plan to arrive in Fayetteville even earlier - the first week of August.) The orientation week then merges into a Composition Pedagogy Course (ENGL 50003), which all incoming teaching assistants take fall semester. Both the orientation week and the course are required of all new teaching assistants, even those with considerable prior teaching experience.

First Advising Session and Registration for Fall Classes

Incoming M.A. and Ph.D. students meet virtually or face-to-face with the Director of Graduate Studies over the summer and before beginning the graduate program to complete an initial advising session. At that time, the Director of Graduate Studies will confirm each incoming student's class schedule for the fall. 

Contact Us

If you have questions, contact either the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Susan Marren, or the Associate Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Leigh Sparks.