Program Description

Application Requirements

Program-Specific Instructions

Additional Information

Applicants to the PhD in writing and rhetoric must already have earned a master's degree in a relevant field before being admitted to the program.

The Goals statement should focus on your current and future research interests. Keep in mind that the PhD is a research degree, and while you don't need to begin the program with a specific dissertation project in mind, you should have a sense of what area of writing studies research you want to contribute to. Be sure to articulate why this particular program is a good fit for your goals. Our PhD program does not include support for creative writing or literary studies, so if your primary interest is in one of those areas, you should apply to programs specifically in those fields.

The writing sample should be academic — e.g., an excerpt from an MA thesis or graduate capstone project, an exemplary research paper, conference paper, or published article. The writing sample should be no longer than 20 pages and a brief (100-word) statement should provide information about the context and audience of the writing sample.

All applicants are strongly advised to submit all supporting documents by the program's posted deadline date. 

English Proficiency Requirements

All Mason students must have a full command of academic English to be successful in their studies. For this reason, Mason requires applicants to demonstrate English proficiency for admission consideration, regardless of citizenship. Click here to view the requirements.

International Transcript Requirements

All transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be translated into English, if applicable, and submitted for evaluation to the Mason Office of Admissions. Mason will provide evaluation service free of charge for all international transcripts, however, some programs may request an outside evaluation be completed. Because of volume, more time may be needed to process applications requiring a Mason evaluation. You should submit your application 6 weeks prior to the deadline if you plan to utilize Mason’s free evaluation service. For expedited service, students may submit their documents to any NACES member organization at their own expense. If you decide to use an external evaluation service or if your program requires an outside evaluation, GPA and Degree equivalences must be included with your course-by-course evaluation. Mason evaluations are used for internal purposes and are not released to applicants. For information on international transcript requirements, go here.