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PhD in English Language and Literature

The fee for United States citizens and those with permanent resident visa status is $75. The fee for non-U.S. citizens is $90. The application fee for current Rackham students, regardless of citizenship, is $10. This fee is non-refundable and subject to change.

The tentative date for the online application portal to go live is August 20th, 2025.

This is a strict deadline.

All applications and supplemental materials (including at least two letters of recommendation) are due by 11:50pm, EST, on December 10, 2025 to meet our deadline.

Application Fee Waivers 
We will have a limited number of application fee waivers for applicants. If you meet criterias 1 and 2 below, contact graduate.english@umich.edu and include a copy of your transcript and a brief statement describing one of the criterias from 3, 4, 5, and 6 which you also need to meet.

1. Have a record of superior academic achievement (e.g., grade point average, honors, or other designation).

2. Are U.S. citizens or permanent residents or undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA); AND meet one or more of the following additional criteria:

3. Applicant is from an educational or geographic background that is underrepresented in their discipline in the U.S. or at U-M and/or holds membership in a federally recognized Tribe.

4. Applicant has led and/or substantially engaged in activities that broaden the participation of individuals with diverse backgrounds in the academic, professional, or civic realm. By broadening participation, we mean efforts in the U.S. to specifically reduce educational disparities based on race, ethnicity, first-generation status, familial income, or gender.

5. Have experienced financial hardship as a result of family economic circumstances

6. Are first generation U.S. citizens or first generation in their families to graduate from a four-year college.

The Rackham Graduate School provides fee waivers for eligible MFA and PhD applicants, please review their webpage: rackham.umich.edu/admissions/applying/application-fee-and-payment/. Please contact Rackham, rackadmis@umich.edu, if you have any questions.

Make sure you have every document uploaded before you submit your application (excluding letters of recommendation), once you click on the submit button, you will not be able to go back into your application to make any changes.

Admission decisions for Fall 2026 will be made and applicants will be notified via email in early March 2026.

Applicants with Master's degrees are given equal consideration for admission, but are not guaranteed advanced standing in the program. We do not accept Non-Candidate for Degree status applicants to our program. We do not offer online courses, our program is a full-time residency program.

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Submitting your application

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE DETAILS. 

In some sections what we require differs from what is stated on the generic application form. 

If you have additional questions please email graduate.english@umich.edu