How to Apply
The Graduate School at Northwestern now requires all prospective students to apply for admission using our on-line application.
Application deadlines for Fall 2010 matriculation:
PhD Application - December 13th (2009)
MA Application - November 1st (2009), February 1st & April 1st (2010)
2010 Applications available October 4th, 2009
In addition to the Application for Admission and Financial Aid, the English Department also requires the following documents for application to both the Ph.D.(program code: E25PH) and Master's programs (program code: E25MA):
- One official transcripts from each institution attended;
- Two letters of recommendation (three are recommended for a fuller portrait of you);
- One copy of a Statement of Purpose (approximately 400-500 words), detailing your intellectual interests, strengths, and reasons for wanting to undertake graduate study;
- Official verbal, quantitative, and analytical GRE test scores sent directly from ETS to the Graduate School (the Literature in English subject test remains optional). The institution code for reporting scores to Northwestern is 1565. For scores to be considered official, the text must have been taken no more than five years before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
- All non-native English speaking applicants are required to take either the TOEFL or the IELTS exam. TOEFL scores should be reported on the online application, and will be verified by the department when ETS submits scores electronically. IELTS results will be reported directly to the department by the testing service. To be considered official, the scores from these exams must have been taken no more than two years before intended quarter of entry. Rules for exemption from this requirement can be found in our FAQ.
- A sample of your writing--ideally a critical essay-between 12 and 25 pages, on a literary topic that includes scholarly citations. Please do not submit creative writing samples of any kind.
Letters of recommendation can be submitted online by following the instructions provided in the online application, and items 3-6 can be included when you're preparing the application itself. Our preference, in the case of a statement of purpose and/or writing sample not attached to the online application, is that you email them as attachments in an email to grad-english@northwestern.edu. For transcripts and any supporting documents not sent digitally, applicants should mail them directly to:
The Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English
Northwestern University
1897 Sheridan Road
University Hall 215
Evanston, IL 60208-2240
I would also strongly advise you to peruse the Graduate School's own information and requirements for supporting documents and scores. This page includes details on the Graduate School's language minimal TOEFL/IELTS requirements for students whose first language is not English.
Please do not mail any of these supporting materials to the Graduate School itself, as this will seriously delay the Committee's ability to consider your application.
A note about U.S. Mail: When sending supporting materials via the US Postal Service, there can be a delay of one to two days before the materials arrive in the Department from central mail processing. This is because ALL U.S. mail, expedited or not, sent to the University goes through the University's mail system first. Additionally, because the University's mail office will be signing for packages upon receipt as necessary, a signature-confirmation will not give you an accurate picture of where your envelope is actually located after it has reached the University. Only independent courier services (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc...) deliver directly to the department.
Before making Ph.D. admissions decisions, the Graduate Admissions Committee conducts brief telephone interviews with finalists. While the Graduate School and English Department view these calls as a valuable part of the admissions process, finalists are encouraged to think of them as opportunities for dialogue and ways to learn more about our program. Interviews are not required for those applying for admission into the Master's program.
In March, we invite admitted Ph.D. students to campus during a Visiting Weekend. This is a chance for students to meet with faculty and current graduate students, to discuss future projects and hear about current doctoral work, to tour the library, department, and other campus facilities, to sit in on dynamic graduate seminars, and to enjoy some of the many restaurants and cultural events that Evanston and Chicago have to offer.
