Welcome to the virtual home of the graduate programs in English at the University of Michigan. On these pages, you’ll find a wealth of information about the aims and activities of our PhD programs, the kinds of intellectual opportunities uniquely available at Michigan, funding packages and teaching opportunities, and the placement of our recent graduates. For more information on our two joint programs, please visit:
Application Advice from the Director
The application process presents you with an opportunity to tell a story about your experiences as a critical reader and writer, and about the kind of work you imagine doing at the graduate level.
Our PhD programs welcome applicants with a diverse array of intellectual experiences and interests; the more fully you can convey them, the more readily admissions readers will be able to understand the fit between those interests and what our programs and faculty offer.
How do faculty readers evaluate applications?
Evaluators read applications holistically. They carefully study the statements of purpose, writing sample, letters of recommendation, and transcripts for strong evidence of intellectual promise, achievement, and readiness for rigorous, independent work in literary and cultural studies.
No single document or data point takes decisive precedence over the others, but readers will expect your writing to preview the kind of work you might do at UM.
Your statements and writing sample provide a clear, compelling picture of your intellectual development, skills, and objectives, other areas (for example, your undergraduate GPA) may not be decisive.
If you have significant experience related to your academic aims--say, ain intensive writing project undertaken outside courses, or teaching experience--we recommend that you describe it.
Letters of reference from teachers or instructors who know your work well, and can speak about it in detail, will be most persuasive.
We aim to ensure that applicants' specific academic interests and objectives would be well supported by our graduate faculty. Consider reading the faculty profiles on our website, and at least one piece of scholarship published by professors in your proposed fields of study, so that you can write with greater specificity about your desire to pursue the PhD here.
It's also useful to remember that admissions readers are drawn from the full range of historical fields and interest areas comprising English studies, which means that your application will be read by non-specialists.
For further information, please email graduate.english@umich.edu.
