Information for Prospective Students
If you still have questions about your application after reading the information below, please visit our Prospective Student Frequently Asked Questions.
For Fall 2009 admissions, completed applications with all supporting materials, including test scores and recommendations, are due in the Office of Admissions at the CUNY Graduate Center by January 1, 2009.
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Required Application Materials
Each applicant is required to provide the following materials.
The Graduate Center's application form, which must be obtained directly from the Office of Admissions (212-817-7470), or by going to the Admissions website http://www.gc.cuny.edu/admin_offices/admissions/index.htm, and a non-refundable application fee of $125.
- Your "Statement of Purpose," which should be no more than two pages in length. This short essay should convey a clear sense of your academic background and preparation for doctoral study, as well as your intellectual direction and plans.
- A ten-to-fifteen page writing sample reflecting your scholarly and critical abilities.
- Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your academic work and your capacity to do doctoral study in literature written in English.
- An updated Curriculum Vitae.
- Official transcripts from each college or university you have attended.
- Official scores from both the GRE General Test and the GRE Subject Test in Literature in English. (Please note that the Subject Test is currently being given only three times a year. You should arrange to take the exam on the two earlier dates. Consult the Educational Testing Service [1 800 GRE CALL; www.gre.org] for more information.) The College Code is 2113; please do not send scores to individual programs.
None of these requirements can be waived.
All required documents should be sent directly to the Office of Admissions at The CUNY Graduate Center. Mailing address:
Office of Admissions
The Graduate Center
The City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10016
When all required items have been received, your file will be ready for review by the English Program's Admissions Committee. The Program cannot keep track of specific materials for individual applicants, so it is your responsibility to ensure that your materials reach the Office of Admissions before the deadline.
Admission to the Ph.D. Program in English is very competitive. The Admissions Committee meets once a month from mid-February until mid-May to review completed applications. Five essential factors are considered: a solid academic record and relevant professional experience; excellent references; strong test scores; an articulate personal statement; and a writing sample that demonstrates critical and analytical acumen. No single item is considered in isolation.
You will be notified by the Office of Admissions as soon as the Committee reaches a decision about whether or not to admit you. We give careful consideration to more than 275 applications every year, and it is thus necessary to place some temporarily on hold and review them at subsequent meetings. If you have not heard from us, please contact the Office of Admissions to make sure that your application is complete before you contact the English Program.
Because CUNY is a public institution, the English Program is able to offer only limited financial aid. For most of our students, adjunct teaching positions at one of the CUNY undergraduate colleges are the main source of support; these are initially arranged through our teaching internship program. During the past ten years, we have been able to secure such positions for all students in the Program who have wanted one. Supplemental fellowship aid is awarded to a small number of students. Those wishing to be considered must apply by January 1, 2009.
The English Program remains committed to providing an opportunity to pursue the Ph.D. to as many qualified candidates as we can accommodate. At the same time, we trust that students who enter the Program recognize the difficulties of finding a full-time academic job in the current economy. During the past seven years, however, in contrast to the rather grim statistics nation-wide (as compiled by the Modern Language Association), we have been able to place in full-time tenure track positions a larger percentage of our graduates seeking such employment than is the national average.
Information about financial aid, housing, and general course offerings may be found in the Bulletin of the Graduate School and University Center. Details regarding the faculty and requirements of the Ph.D. Program in English can be obtained directly from the Graduate School's Office of Admissions. You may also want to visit the English Program's Web site (http://web.gc.cuny.edu/english/) for more information about course offerings, faculty members, financial aid, and the teaching internship program, which are covered extensively in the "Guide to the Ph.D. Program in English" (click on "Program Info" on the Web site).
