How to Apply
Application Portal Now Open!
The Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah announces its new stand-alone graduate program. Effective Fall 2021, we offer degrees through our department for the MA/MS and the PhD. Our nationally renowned, award-winning faculty prize on providing ongoing individualized mentoring to students. Our graduate program prepares graduates for various opportunities in academia, private industry, and nonprofit organizations. Full-time students have teaching and research opportunities both in and outside the department.
START YOUR GRADUATE APPLICATION
Applications due December 15th, 2026.
For more information, visit our Department website or contact Professor Jay Jordan, Director of Graduate Studies at jay.jordan@utah.edu.
Listed below you will find a general checklist for applying to the graduate program in Writing & Rhetoric Studies. If you have any questions at any point in the process, please contact Jay Jordan, Director of Graduate Studies at jay.jordan@utah.edu; or Karli Sam, Graduate Advisor at karli.sam@utah.edu.
- Submit the departmental application.
- Pay the application fee.
- Submit unofficial transcripts from all previous universities and colleges you have attended.
- If you are an international student, submit your English proficiency score(s). See more information at the university's English Proficiency page.
- Submit a writing sample: The writing sample is a critical part of your application. For Ph.D. applicants, your
writing sample should be a significant paper such as a portion of your Master's thesis
or a graduate seminar paper.
- The department is looking for writing that demonstrates your analytical thinking, your sense of academic inquiry, command of rhetorical and composition tools, and your ability to engage existing literature on your topic. While your writing sample need not be directly related to the field of Writing & Rhetoric Studies, we encourage you to select a sample that in some way addresses or engages issues relevant to writing or literacy.
- Submit a statement of purpose: In this document, please include information that helps us better understand your motivations for pursuing graduate work in Writing & Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah. For example, you might discuss experiences you have had teaching writing or rhetoric, or perhaps you became interested in the field after taking a related undergraduate course. Also include the areas of Writing & Rhetoric Studies that interest you, professors with whom you would like to work, and your future goals.
- Submit three letters of recommendation: Your letters should come from academic sources who can attest to the quality of your academic work.