Deadline

January 15 is the deadline for admission and assistantship consideration for the following academic year (August through May). Please complete both Graduate College and English Department Application Requirements. Students with a BA may apply for the MA or for direct admission into the PhD; check the appropriate box on the application. Students with an MA or MFA may apply for the PhD.

Graduate College Application Requirements

To apply for admission, please use the on-line form. Or, you can request an application by calling 402-472-2878, or from the address below.

To be filed with:

1. Graduate Admissions
   University of Nebraska-Lincoln
   1100 Seaton Hall
   PO Box 880619
   Lincoln, NE 68588-0619
   

1. Application (paper or on-line)
2. $45.00 application fee (send a check or use a credit card on-line)
3. Two copies of all college/university official transcripts, sent from the registrar’s office of the school(s) attended.

English Department Application Requirements

To be filed with:

1. Graduate Chair
   Department of English
   University of Nebraska-Lincoln
   201C Andrews Hall
   Lincoln, NE 68588-0333
   Phone: 402-472-0961
   email: Susan Hart

1. Three letters of recommendation, preferably from professors of English.
2. Writing sample: 15-20 pages of a critical paper in English that you have written. If you are applying for the Creative Writing program, you should also submit a creative writing sample of a dozen poems or two short stories or 40-50 pages of a novel.
3. Statement of educational goals (1-3 pages) including why you want to get a graduate degree from the University of Nebraska.
4. Vita or resume.
5. Teaching experience or evidence of teaching potential.
6. GRE Scores. GRE scores for the general and Subject Tests may be submitted as part of an application but are not required.
7. Supplementary Questionnaire, which can be downloaded here.
   

NEW Graduate Record Exam Policy:

The Graduate Faculty in the Department of English no longer requires GRE scores for application to the MA or PhD degree programs. Applicants may choose to include GRE scores with their applications, but no penalty will accrue to applicants who choose not to do so. We have come to this decision based on a number of considerations. In particular, we note that the GRE does not assess the critical, analytical, and imaginative competencies we value in our program; the GRE is not a reliable predictor of an applicant's ability to succeed in our program or in graduate study generally; the GRE is expensive; the GRE is coachable (ETS sells its own test preparation materials); and perhaps most importantly, there is considerable evidence that the GRE may be subject to race, gender, and economic bias and therefore limits access to graduate study for women, people of color, and people from poor and working-class backgrounds. In making this decision, we join Harvard Divinity School, Brown University Division of Engineering, UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, the UCLA MA and MFA programs in the School of Theatre, Film, and Television, and other progressive programs across the nation.

International Applicants

International applicants should send all the information requested above, plus:

1. A TOEFL score. A score of 100 or higher on the internet-based TOEFL (ibT) or 600 or higher on the paper-based TOEFL is required for admission to English Department degree programs. (Students who have graduated from a U.S. college or university or from a university outside the U.S. in which English is the official language of instruction are exempt from the TOEFL requirement for admission.)
2. International Student Application and Financial Resource Certification Form returned to Graduate Admissions.