Please click on the questions below. If you have any questions not answered here, please consult the Requirements for the MA and Ph.D. Degrees in English or contact our Graduate Coordinator, Professor Sean Grass (sean.grass@ufl.edu), or the Program Assistant, Carla Blount (cblount@ufl.edu).
When is your application deadline?
December 15, 2025.
Under ‘Program of Study’ on the Application, I am asked to select a term; what term do I select?
Fall term
Are there any online classes?
The PhD program is residency-based; you cannot earn the degree online.
Does the English Department accept paper applications?
All applications should be submitted through the UF Online application portal.
What about GRE scores?
The Department of English no longer requires GREs.
What is the Statement of Purpose?
Your statement should at the minimum make clear: that your previous studies have prepared you for graduate degree work; your future research and professional goals; and the reasons why you have applied to our programs in particular, including the faculty with whom you might be interested in working. Our program has specific and unique strengths, and our most successful candidates apply with a full awareness of these. Finally, you should use your statement of purpose to make clear any special preparation you have – presentations, publications, teaching experiences, and so forth – or to explain any special circumstances that might on the surface appear to work against your application. Please note: this is not a “personal statement” about your past experiences or desires as some applications (like undergraduate applications, for instance) may request. Instead, you should approach writing this statement by thinking of it as a response to the questions, “What are my specific reasons for enrolling in UF’s PhD in English, and how am I qualified for that program?“
What is the purpose of the writing sample, and how long should it be?
Your writing sample should demonstrate skills necessary for engaging and producing the independent and original scholarship required in an advanced field of study. Everyone in our program is considered a scholar as much as a student and teacher. Your writing sample is the best place to demonstrate your preparation to produce this caliber of work. Although you may send shorter samples, many of our most successful candidates send samples that are excerpted from longer project, such as honors theses, masters’ theses, or faculty mentored independent research projects. These kinds of samples best demonstrate your facility as a writer, the quality of your critical intellect, and your abilities to independently conduct research. Moreover, while we do not require that you send a writing sample directly connected to your proposed field(s) of study, doing so is definitely beneficial as it enables the admissions committee to most effectively evaluate your scholarly potential in your proposed field(s).
How do I upload my writing sample to the application?
On the UF Application for Graduate Admissions page, just under the Statement of Purpose section, is a section entitled Resume/Other. Upload your writing sample to the Other Upload area and, where it says Other Upload Description, enter Writing Sample.
What are the foreign language requirements?
The English PhD program no longer has a language requirement.
Are there any special instructions for International Applicants?
Yes. You can find that information here.
May I visit before applying to the program?
You are welcome to contact the Graduate Coordinator to discuss a campus visit. We generally cannot pay for such a visit, but if you can come at your own expense we will be happy to arrange for you to meet with the Graduate Coordinator, other faculty, and current PhD students.
Should I contact faculty with whom I’d like to work before applying to the program?
Admissions decisions are made by a departmental graduate admission committee, not by individual faculty members. Feel free to peruse recent course listings, read faculty bios, and/or possibly note in your application statement any faculty whose work you respect and with whom you might be interested in taking courses from. You are also welcome to write to faculty members and let them know of your interests, but you should NOT seek a faculty advisor or faculty research sponsor ahead of applying. (We encourage our admitted students to take courses and work with a range of faculty before choosing directors and committees.) Please note that admitted PhD students will also have an opportunity to speak with individual faculty in their fields of interest before the final date to accept or decline any offer of admission.
How long will it take to get a PhD?
Our program is, by design, a five-year program, whether a student arrives having previously earned the BA or the MA. You will spend your first 4-5 semesters in coursework, another 1-2 semesters preparing for and completing qualifying exams, and the final 4-5 semesters completing the dissertation. A sizeable majority of our doctoral students complete their degree in 4-6 years.
I applied for admission into the PhD program for Fall 2026; when will the program make admissions decisions?
Our application cycle closes on December 15 and review of applications begins shortly thereafter. Deliberations are conducted by a committee of faculty members across multiple specializations and take several weeks. We typically anticipate completing our review in early February, though it can still take additional time to announce decisions because of bureaucratic red tape. You can expect to hear from us around the end of February or start of March. Those who receive offers have until April 15 to accept a spot in our program. Those placed on the waitlist may be offered a spot in the program anytime from early March to late April, as space becomes available.
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