Department of EnglishPhD in Technical Communication and Rhetoric

Application Requirements

Application Deadline for Fall 2027 Admission: TBD

All Applicants

• Unofficial transcript of all previous college work (Bachelor's degree and Master's degree* required)
• Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV)
• 500-1,000-word statement of purpose outlining your interest in our graduate program and explain your career objectives. For doctoral students, if you can define your research interests for the dissertation, please do so.
• Writing sample. The writing sample gives us a chance to see the way you think, organize information, and produce essays and documents. It also indicates your fluency with the English language and gives us a clue as to your experience with writing, editing, and revision. We prefer to have an analytical or critical writing sample, as these genres reveal a lot about the writer and help us make our admissions decision. Maximum length in all cases is 10-20 pages (or 2000-4000 words). For doctoral students, this sample should be a graduate course paper or the equivalent that demonstrates your ability to develop a thesis using research and analysis.
• 3 letters of recommendation. (Recommenders send their letters directly through the TTU Graduate School application portal via a prompt generated by the system.) The letters should address your likelihood of success in graduate school and beyond.

*Master's degree must be "in hand" and official transcripts submitted to TTU Graduate School before start of fall semester.

Onsite Applicants Only

[Optional] If applicable, please describe any prior teaching experience you may have. Prior teaching experience is not required. However, onsite PhD students work as Graduate Part Time Instructors (GPTI) as part of their appointment. Applicants should indicate what, if any, formal or informal experience they have teaching in any capacity. Note: Applies to onsite students only. GPTI Fellowships are not available for online students.

Online Applicants Only: Distance Learning Agreement and Employer Commitment Letter

Distance Learning Agreement

All online program applicants need to sign and return our Distance Learning Agreement, which indicates that you understand our requirements for technology, time, and honor.

Employer Commitment Letter

This letter of commitment from your employer explicitly acknowledging that class and May workshop attendance is obligatory. This letter must be signed and on company letterhead. Your employer should indicate in this letter that they

• support your efforts to complete the program,
• acknowledge the program will require you to attend online classes one or two weekday evenings during normal semesters, and also to attend mandatory seminars onsite in Lubbock in May of each year; and
• agree to give you the time and space needed to attend classes, seminars, or any other required TCR activities. The idea, of course, is that you and your employer need to be on the same page regarding this lengthy endeavor.

Recommendation for Successful Applications

All applicant packages are evaluated holistically, which is to say that every piece of the application package contributes to the applicant's overall desirability. Specifically, we are looking for applications that contain synergistic arguments for the applicant's good fit with the program and its objectives.