Admission and Financial Support
The Program in Literature admits only students intending to pursue the doctorate. Students who have already completed the MA degree in a relevant literary field or in a related nonliterary field (such as anthropology, history, theology, philosophy, etc.) are encouraged to apply. Work completed at another institution may, upon determination by the Program’s administrative board, be credited toward the Ph.D. degree. An advanced level of preparation in the languages relevant to a student’s proposed course of study is requisite for all applicants to the program and indispensable for students in the program.
Funding
The full range of financial assistance, including fellowships (University Presidential Fellowships, first-year fellowships, ethnic minority fellowships, and others such as private and national fellowships, teaching assistantships, and tuition scholarships, described in the general Graduate Studies brochure is available to students in the Ph.D. in Literature Program. All admitted doctoral students will be fully funded for up to five years with stipends and full-tuition scholarships. Stipends will come in the form of teaching fellowships, research fellowships, and graduate fellowships.
The Ph.D. in Literature emphasizes the development of linguistic expertise as well as training in criticism, theory, and research. To this end, the Program will either provide directly or facilitate the acquisition of grants, fellowships, or other forms of funding through various agencies to support advanced students in a research-oriented year abroad.
How to Apply
Incoming students begin studies in the fall semester. Students applying to enter in the fall of 2010 should have complete dossiers on file with Notre Dame’s Office of Graduate Admissions no later than February 1, 2010.
Dossiers should include:
Fall 2010 Applicants: The materials required have changed for the new application system. For updated instructions, please consult the Application Instructions link from within the application itself once you have received your PIN and logged in.
1. Complete and electronically submit the online application form
2. Submit the application fee by credit card, check, or money order using the payment system associated with the online application
3. Request official transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended and have them directed to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
4. Arrange for three letters of recommendation to be submitted through the online recommendation system associated with the online application.
5. Arrange for submission of official Graduate Record examination (GRE) General Test scores (University Code 1841) (Program code 2602) (students may temporarily submit 2 unofficial photocopies)
6. Submit a curriculum vitae/resume through the online application.
Submit through the online application. Two writing samples that demonstrate the applicant’s skills in writing, analysis, literary research, and proficiency in foreign language(s):
A) English paper (literary theory or criticism);
B) Foreign language paper demonstrating facility in examining literature in an untranslated text.
Writing samples should be attached electronically to the online application through the Uploads section, but other items that cannot be attached (e.g., portfolio) should be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions, NOT to the department.
7. Submit a Statement of Intent through the online application system
In the Statement of Intent, applicants should describe their areas of interest, the fields they intend to specialize in, foreign language(s) they intend to study, and preferably the faculty they would like to work.
International Applicants: In addition to the requirements listed for degree or non-degree applicants above, international students must submit an original-language and an official (i.e. notarized) English translation of each transcript to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
Non-native English Speakers: Non-native English speakers must also submit official scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
(Note: This is not the English Ph.D. If you would like to apply to English, please click here.)
