About the Program
US News & World Report ranks Purdue’s English Department among the top 50 graduate programs in the nation. Since 2018, over 70% of our PhDs have found academic jobs. Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) have opportunities to teach introductory composition in our renowned ICaP program, as well as professional writing, film studies, literature courses, and more. In addition, research fellowships and other assistantships-such as working for the Purdue OWL, on-campus writing lab-offer alternative, valuable academic opportunities. The Department’s prestigious academic journal, MFS Modern Fiction Studies, recently introduced its own one-year teaching assistantship, awarded to a graduate student who demonstrates “outstanding potential in 20th and/or 21st century literary studies.” The Department of English alternates incoming cohorts between Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies (LTC) and Rhetoric and Composition (RC) programs. The department plans to accept applications for doctoral students again in Rhetoric and Composition in Fall 2025, for admission in Fall 2026. The Rhetoric and Composition program does not plan to admit masters-seeking students in the near future. Program Website Program Requirements
90 Credits RequiredRequired Courses (30 credits)
Core Courses (12 credits)
Breadth Areas (18 credits)
Choose one course from two areas listed below, and one course in one of the four Breadth categories. Medieval and Early Modern Courses (3 credits)
In addition to Old and Middle English studies, courses in Middle Welsh, Old Irish, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Medieval Latin, and Old French have been offered recently on campus, many of these courses taught by faculty members in English. Transatlantic and Early Atlantic Courses (3 credits)
Faculty and students in the transatlantic area are engaged in research and teaching that encompass colonial America beginning in the early 17th-century, 18th-century British and American literature, and long 19th-century literatures. We consider the British as well as the Black Atlantic; New England and New Spain; London and Surinam. Faculty and students also have ties to interdisciplinary programs such as American Studies, Women’s Studies, African American Studies, and Comparative Literature. Indeed, students are encouraged to broaden their knowledge of the nineteenth century by taking courses in these areas or in other departments (particularly Languages and Cultures, History, Art History, and Philosophy). 20th and 21st Century Literary Courses (3 credits)
Faculty has expertise in such well-known writers as Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, William Carlos Williams, Toni Morrison, José Martí, Sherman Alexie, Ishmael Reed, and Octavia Butler but are also well-versed in more contemporary writers, including Colson Whitehead, Zadie Smith, and Jess Walter. Faculty approaches to the period include the study of race, disability, feminism, the environment, print culture, and gender and sexuality. Faculty’s diversity of thought is signaled by their affiliation with one or more of Purdue’s interdisciplinary programs, such as Comparative Literature, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, African American Studies, American Studies, Film Studies, and Jewish Studies. Students typically choose one of the following concentrations: - Transatlantic Modernism
- Post-1945 Literature
- Postcolonial Literature and Theory
Theory and Cultural Courses (3 credits)
Launched in 1998, Theory and Cultural Studies (TCS) is a unique track that offers students a chance to organize their coursework, examinations, and dissertation research in unusual ways, drawing upon several strengths of the department: literary and critical theory, cultural studies and its pedagogies, postcolonial studies, feminist and queer theory, visual culture, and the social-epistemic paradigm of rhetorical analysis. TCS is broad-ranging and flexible, encouraging study in multiple approaches to the field of English. The concentration brings together scholars working in important overlapping areas of inquiry: textual analysis inflected by feminist and poststructural critique; cultural analysis oriented by an understanding of global socio-economic systems; historical analysis attentive to the work of institutions and ideologies; and teaching practices conditioned by an emphasis on the process of textual production and the goal of what Jim Berlin called “critical citizenship.” Secondary Area Courses (18 credits)
PhD students in Rhetoric and Composition must complete one secondary area, although students are highly encouraged to complete two secondary areas. See the list below. Professional, Technical, and Digital Writing and Rhetoric
In addition to the courses below, students should take one interdisciplinary course, to be decided in conversation with the student’s major professor. Public and Cultural Rhetorics
In addition to the courses below, students should take one interdisciplinary course, to be decided in conversation with the student’s major professor. - ENGL 68000 - Seminar In Rhetoric And Composition Credits: 3.00
Title: Public Rhetorics (required);
AND
A theory course, including titles such as: Cultural Theory; Comparative Rhetorics; Institutional Rhetorics; Environmental Rhetorics; Queer Rhetorics; Minority Rhetorics, etc.
AND
Titles as alternatives to ENGL 60500 (see course below): Professional Writing Theory OR Writing Across the Curriculum - ENGL 60500 - Computers In Language And Rhetoric Credits: 3.00
OR ENGL 68000: Professional Writing Theory
OR ENGL 68000: Writing Across the Curriculum (see course above)
Writing Program and Centers
Students wishing to substitute courses not on the above lists (including 59000s and 59600s) should indicate this to the DGS, who will consult with the respective areas as to the appropriateness of the substitution. - ENGL 68000 - Seminar In Rhetoric And Composition Credits: 3.00
Titles (both required): Writing Program Administration and Theory; Writing Center Administration and Theory
AND
Titles as alternatives to ENGL 60500 (see course below):
- Professional Writing Theory
- OR Writing Across the Curriculum
- OR Assessment
- ENGL 60500 - Computers In Language And Rhetoric Credits: 3.00
OR ENGL 68000 Professional Writing Theory
OR ENGL 68000 Writing Across the Curriculum
OR ENGL 68000 Assessment (see course above)
Electives (6 credits)
As long as all other program requirements are met, PhD student may satisfy the overall course-hour minimum of 30 with any of the 500/600-level graduate courses in the department. Students may take up to 6 hours of graduate coursework outside the department that will count toward the minimum of thirty hours required on the Plan of Study. Dissertation Research (xx credits)
Concentrations
Department concentrations and programs: Interdisciplinary concentrations and programs: RC Preliminary Exam
- For Rhetoric and Composition, the examination is designed by the Preliminary Examination committee: a chair and two readers. The prelim exam will consist of a portfolio of three articles of 20-25 pages in length.
- The portfolio of three essays is designed to test the student’s ability to develop and argue on specialized topics within the examination area, as well as to scaffold dissertation work and establish a professional research agenda. The Portfolio requires three 20- to 25-page articles in three different core areas of Rhetoric and Composition: “Articles” means three substantial documents written in preparation for the work the student expects to do upon graduation, including but not limited to academic articles, annotated bibliography, white paper, website, database, or an emergent genre not foreseen at the time of the writing of this policy, done in consultation with evaluating faculty committee. The default format is one new article, an article revised from a previously written paper, and an annotated bibliography based on the student’s dissertation project. However, this format can be modified in consultation with the prelim committee based on the work the student expects to do upon graduation.
- RC Students will write three 20-25-page (5000-word) papers working within the core areas chosen by the student: historical and theoretical foundations, curriculum design, qualitative research design, and quantitative research design. Each article or document should build on work done in the Rhetoric and Composition core courses and be related to a student’s area of interest and research for the dissertation. As related in detail above in Constructing the Examination, the default format is one new article, an article revised from a previously written paper, and an annotated bibliography based on the student’s dissertation project (although this format can be modified). Success on the Papers requires a grade of “Pass” on each of the three papers. A passing paper is one that meets the criteria negotiated and agreed on by faculty readers and the student. Students, in consultation with their advisors, can begin the paper-writing process during Spring semester.
Language Requirement
The language requirement is satisfied if: - The student is a native speaker of a language other than English.
- The student has completed a language requirement as part of a MA degree at an accredited school, and verifies this by submitting to the DGS office either an MA transcript or a letter from their former Department.
- The student has completed an undergraduate minor at an accredited school in a language other than English.
Students may demonstrate proficiency also by: - Placing above the 202 level at the language placement exam administered by the School of Languages and Cultures (SLC). Languages for which SLC offers regular online placement tests 24/7 any day of the year include Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish. ASL testing is available by appointment;
- Enrolling in and passing with a grade of B- or better the 4th- semester course of a regular language sequence at Purdue or the equivalent at another Tier 1 university. At Purdue, both the 20200 and 20500 (accelerated) courses offered by SLC are acceptable;
- Scoring 600 or more on an Educational Testing Service Graduate School Language Test (for languages where these tests are available); OR
- Passing a proficiency examination given by the appropriate language department or program at Purdue. Students must not wait till the last minute before the Prelims or Prospectus: they need to plan ahead because SLC proficiency exams are not typically offered in the last two weeks of Fall or Spring or over summer. Students with prior training in a language may study independently or take a language course to prepare for the proficiency exam.
GPA Requirements
The department requires each student to complete a minimum of 6 hours per semester and 12 hours per academic year with grades of B-minus or better. Moreover, the OGSPS requires that a student holding a half-time teaching assistantship register for a minimum of 6 credits per semester. Students working one-quarter time should adjust their registrations accordingly. Also note that some fellowships administered by the OGSPS require a minimum enrollment of 8 credit hours per semester. Graduate Programs Disclaimer
- The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Students should consult with their advisor/department for more information.
- Not all graduate programs may be actively recruiting students and course modality availability may vary.
- Please refer to the Explore Graduate Programs website for a list of currently available graduate programs.
- Transfer credit policy: Credits earned for graduate study at other universities (both domestic and international) may be applied toward an advanced degree. Only credit hours associated with graduate courses for which grades of B- or better were obtained will be eligible for transfer. Any additional conditions under which credit transfers may be made are determined by the various departments.
- Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
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