Writing and Rhetoric Studies

Website: https://writing.utah.edu/

The PhD program engages students in developing the intellectual background and research skills necessary to enter the field of writing and rhetoric studies as professionals engaged in a variety of pedagogical and scholarly work. It emphasizes rhetoric's connections with writing as a traditional and contemporary technology, as an instructional concern inside and outside formal educational environments, and as a practice integrated into organizations, publics, workplaces, and other human communities. It emphasizes both broad disciplinary training and the refinement of a specific scholarly project realized in a dissertation--an extended, original work grounded in the field and representing a substantial, knowledgeable contribution.

• Applicants for admission to the PhD program will be reviewed by a graduate program committee consisting of tenure-line faculty and chaired by a Director of Graduate Studies.

• Applicants will be required to submit:

  • undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate transcripts.

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores (if applicable).

  • A statement of interest and motivation, an academic writing sample.

  • Three letters of recommendation.

• Since the field of rhetoric and composition has historical connections with several other fields, including Communication, Disability Studies, Education, English, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, and Linguistics, the graduate program will encourage applicants from a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate backgrounds. However, applicants will be expected to demonstrate familiarity and basic knowledge with rhetoric and composition as well as a high level of motivation to do scholarly work in the field.