How do I apply for admission to the program?

You need to apply for admission both to the School of Graduate Studies and to the English Department’s PhD program.

What are the requirements for admission to the Theory & Practice of Professional Communication program?

There are several requirements for admission. They are as follows:

• Applicants for admission to the program must have a Master’s degree in a subject area that complements their professional reason(s) for earning a PhD in Theory and Practice of Professional Communication.
• The School of Graduate Studies requires that students present scores no lower than the 40th percentile in the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General test. However, these are minimal standards, and applicants will need to post considerably higher scores in order to be competitive with other applicants for this program. The GRE Subject test in English is not required. For further information about the GRE test, see http://www.gre.org. This site provides information about how, when, and where to take the test.
• International applicants from non-English-speaking countries must also present a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based), or 80 (internet-based), or the equivalent score of 6.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

How do I begin the formal application process?

Visit the USU Graduate School website at http://www.usu.edu/graduateschool/apply and follow the instructions for completing your application there. There will be some materials that you must submit online and some that must be sent by post.

What materials should I send to the English department?

While you are assembling the materials to send to the Graduate School, you also need to prepare the items below:

1. A letter of intent of around 1,000 words, addressed to the PhD selection committee, explaining your career goals and research agenda.
   
   Below are some questions and prompts to give you a sense of what the selection committee would like you to include in your letter of intent:

   Why are you applying for a PhD and why have you chosen our particular program? What aspects of our program particularly interest you?
   
   Describe one or two particular research projects on which you worked for your Master’s degree. Why did this work interest you and what research questions motivated these projects? If you were to continue working on the projects, what further research questions might you pursue?
   
   What professional and/or academic experiences have led you to believe you are ready for the kind of work that a PhD program will involve? How will your previous work relate to the work you anticipate doing in this program?
   
   How do you expect to use the PhD in your career after you graduate?

   We encourage you to illustrate your answers to these questions with relevant anecdotes and examples from your academic or non-academic experience.
2. The form entitled “Graduate Instructorship Application for PhD Students.” Use this form to indicate whether or not you would like to be considered for a paid Graduate Instructorship in the English Dept. during the upcoming academic year.
   
   Doctoral students who work as Graduate Instructors receive waivers of both resident and non-resident tuition, leaving them to pay only the fees associated with their classes and, if they take online classes through Distance Education, the additional online tuition costs not covered by the waivers. Students who are not employed by the department receive no waivers and must pay full tuition and fees.



3. Your current curriculum vitae.



4. Two writing samples (a total of 20-40 pages), exhibiting your best writing. The samples may include academic or non-academic writing, but at least one of the samples should demonstrate your critical and research skills.

   For each writing sample, write a one-page preface, contextualizing the sample. In each of these prefaces, describe (1) your purpose for writing the document, (2) the readers for whom you wrote it and how they affected your decisions while composing and revising the piece, and (3) what you believe the sample demonstrates about your abilities to address a communication challenge.

Send your letter of intent, the GI application form, the vita, and the writing samples directly to:

Director of Graduate Studies in English
Department of English
Utah State University
3200 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-3200

What is the deadline for submitting application materials?

For the 2009-2010 academic year, the application deadline is January 15, 2009 (last date for materials to be postmarked). No applicants will be considered until all required information arrives in the School of Graduate Studies office, and all application materials must be postmarked before or by the deadline.