Eligibility

You are eligible to be considered for admission into a graduate program at Miami if you have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and meet the minimum standards of the Graduate School. You should have earned at least a 2.75 grade point average at the institution that awarded your bachelor’s degree or a 3.0 average for the last four semesters of study for your bachelor’s degree.

GRE Scores

GRE scores are not required and are not considered as a basis for admission or assistantship awards. GRE scores may be useful for admitted applicants who are nominated by the English department for competitive Graduate School Academic Achievement Awards.

Deadlines

All application materials for MA and PhD programs must be received by December 2, 2022. The deadline for MFA applications is January 3, 2023, though review will begin on December 2, 2022.

Note: Late applications will not be considered for funding. Incomplete applications cannot be considered. Late receipt of official transcripts often delays applications. Hard copy submissions will not be considered. We recommend that you request in early fall that your transcripts be sent to the Graduate School.

Application Materials

In order for the Graduate School to process your application, you must submit the following items through the Graduate School application website:

• Online Graduate School Application form

• Graduate School Application Fee of $50.00

• Undergraduate and/or Graduate Transcripts

• A 2-3 Page Personal Statement in Word or PDF
  Statement outlining your academic interests, professional goals, reasons for selecting this graduate program, and the specific concentration you wish to enter (PhD in Composition & Rhetoric, or in Literature; MA in Composition & Rhetoric, or in Literature; MFA in Creative Writing Fiction, or in Nonfiction, or in Poetry).

• A current CV/Resumé

• A Writing Sample in Word or PDF appropriate to the degree concentration to which you are applying:

  PhD, MFA, or MA Writing Samples

  • for Composition and Rhetoric or Literature, a 15-20 page analytical paper that demonstrates your scholarly abilities and your orientation toward the field.
  • for Creative Writing, 15–20 pages of creative non-fiction, fiction, or mixed-genre/hybrid work, or 10–15 poems, as appropriate to your genre(s) of interest.

• Confidential Letters of Recommendation

  • Letters from former teachers or employers that speak to your aptitude for graduate study. (You will list your recommenders' academic/professional email addresses and they will receive instructions on how to upload their letters.) Three (3) letters required for all graduate degree programs.