All applications to our PhD program must start at MSU Admissions (https://explore.msu.edu/apply/) and be completed through MSU’s Slate Admissions System.
To be considered for admission, fellowships, and graduate assistantship funding, applicants must provide all the materials described below by 11:59pm eastern on December 1, 2025.
Please read all instructions carefully before beginning your application process.
International applicants are advised to complete the application as early as possible to allow time for processing of visas and other documents. See http://grad.msu.edu/apply/ for additional information.
The Graduate Programs in WRAC do not consider transfer requests from students enrolled in other MSU doctoral programs. We will consider applications from such students as new applications as long as they have no more than one year (or the equivalent) of coursework in the other doctoral program.
PhD Application Steps:
FIRST, Complete and submit an application for graduate study, along with application fee payment. The application form is available at MSU Admissions (http://grad.msu.edu/apply/). You must apply online.
You will be required to submit:
- One copy of each transcript from each college or university that you have attended. Transcripts should be sent directly to MSU from the Office of the Registrar at each institution you have attended. (Transcripts of coursework taken at MSU do not need to be requested.)
If the institution(s) from which you send transcripts uses an electronic transcript service, simply direct that institution to send transcripts to the Graduate School at MSU—your transcript will be attached to your electronic application when it arrives. If you are sending transcripts from institutions that use paper copies, please have those transcripts sent to: WRAC RW Graduate Program; Michigan State University; 434 Farm Lane; 235 Bessey Hall; East Lansing, MI 48824.
- Three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to assess your ability to pursue advanced graduate study. Letters of recommendation should address your potential to do doctoral-level research and writing and your qualifications (or potential) for teaching.
- A single PDF compiling the following items in the order listed below. Save this PDF with your last name and upload it to GAMS in any materials category.
- A curriculum vitae (CV).
- A 2–3 page, double-spaced Statement of Purpose that tells us about your professional goals, interests, and qualifications.
Because this is one of the most important parts of your application materials, we’d like to offer some drafting suggestions. A typical applicant will tell us what they’d like to learn about and what they’d like to write about, narrate the accomplishments on their CV, and represent themselves as good students well-equipped for doctoral study.
Although those details are interesting, they don’t give us much insight into who you are now, who you want to become, and how our program can help you get there. We’re especially interested in statements that show us what kinds of intellectual questions interest you, what kinds of scholarship and research you’re curious about, what kinds of challenges inspire you.
Additionally, we respond best to statements that demonstrate your sense of identity as a scholar, an intellectual, a teacher, an activist and show how your life experiences, learning, and accomplishments contribute to that identity and to your future goals.
Finally, we definitely want you to tell us why you want to join the intellectual community in our programs: What do we do that excites and interests you? How are we a good fit for you (and vice versa)? Are there specific faculty here whose work inspires, intrigues, challenges, or excites you? (We’re not looking for name-dropping here—we’re looking for connections that will tell us more about you.)
NOTE: Because we’ll be selecting some admitted applicants to nominate for University fellowships, you might also want to consider the fellowship criteria as you craft your Statement, which are: demonstrated academic excellence; an articulated commitment to research goals well-matched to the program or emphasis area; evidence of leadership potential or the capacity to make a distinctive professional or scholarly contribution; contributions to a diverse educational community (as evidenced in personal history and experience, research goals, or experience in promoting understanding among persons of different backgrounds); diverse background (racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, geographic, disciplinary, etc.).
- A 1-page (300–400 word) Statement of Teaching Philosophy in which you discuss your experience or potential as a teacher of writing and rhetoric; talk about your philosophy of writing (what are your goals as a writing teacher? what general approach do you take?) and indicate how you teach (e.g., what sorts of approaches and strategies do you employ, or would you employ, in teaching a writing, rhetoric or literacy class?).
- Two writing samples (e.g., major research paper, summary of master’s thesis, digital productions or pieces), each prefaced by a short contextual statement (brief annotation or summary).
- At least one sample should be an academic paper showing your ability to do sustained critical analysis, including researching, reviewing literature, and/or evaluating at an advanced level.
- At least one piece should be single-authored.
- If you wish to direct us to an online sample (a web site or multimedia piece), please do so by embedding the URL in the PDF compilation.
Questions? Please direct all general questions regarding admissions, or inquiries about the PhD program, to Professor Trixie Smith, Associate Chair and Director of the Graduate Programs in WRAC (smit1254@msu.edu). If you have a question regarding receipt and/or status of your application materials, or if you have a problem with GAMS, please contact our Academic Operations coordinator for graduate study, Yvette Puga (pugayvet@msu.edu).