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Graduate Admissions

Application for admission to the graduate program in the Department of English and Comparative Literature is completed through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The online PhD application deadline for the 2025-2026 academic year is December 10, 2024.

Further information may be found on the UNC Chapel Hill Graduate School’s application page.

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Guidelines

The following is a set of basic guidelines for the admissions process in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. While our admissions committee weighs the writing sample heavily in admissions decisions, each piece of the application matters.  Members of the committee will carefully consider the overall profile of each applicant.

Writing Sample:

The writing sample is a highly significant part of your application. Applicants should submit a double-spaced, 15-20 page paper of no more than 5,500 words, in 12-point font and with 1-inch margins. Writing samples must be examples of analytical writing (rather than creative writing) directly related to literature.  Applicants should not send longer papers with instructions on which sections to read, but should edit the writing sample to fit the page limit. Readers on our admissions committee will look for lucidity of thought and expression, an ability to analyze texts closely and in a sophisticated manner, evidence of engagement with previous critical work, and a demonstration of research skills.

Statement of Purpose:

The Statement of Purpose should be intellectual rather than autobiographical, aimed at giving the admissions committee a strong account of the applicant’s scholarly interests. It should be no longer than 1,000 words, in 12-point font and leaving 1-inch margins. Rather than providing personal anecdotes, focus instead on conveying what interests you most about literary studies.  Applicants need not indicate a field of specialization, if they have not decided, but committee members want to know something of the candidate’s intellectual goals and why it makes sense to pursue those in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  Those who have a research topic in mind should provide some account of it in the Statement of Purpose; those who do not should try to articulate the questions they anticipate will drive their intellectual inquiry for the next several years. Applicants may list particular faculty members with whom they might like to work, but they are not required to do so.

Three Letters of Recommendation:

Applicants will be asked to provide the email addresses of three referees. It is important to have strong letters of recommendation from professors who are familiar with a candidate’s academic work. Applicants who have been out of school for several years should try to reestablish contact with former professors. While letters from employers will be accepted, applicants should bear in mind that academic references tend to give the committee more relevant information. Recommenders should address not only the applicant’s scholarly achievements but also the applicant’s originality as a thinker and potential as scholar and teacher.

GRE Scores:

Our department will not be accepting GRE scores this application cycle, and they will not be factored into our decisions.

Transcripts:

While an applicant’s overall GPA will be considered by our admissions committee, the average in English classes matters more. An A- average in English courses is typical for students admitted to the program. Please note that an unofficial transcript from each university attended must be uploaded within the application. Please do not mail transcripts. (If admitted, you will be asked to submit official transcripts to the Graduate School before arriving.)

Foreign Language mp3 (Comparative Literature applicants only):

Applicants in Comparative Literature should also submit an mp3 of themselves speaking in the foreign language in which they are most proficient. The purpose of the recording is to assess the applicant’s conversational and grammatical proficiency in the language in question, so applicants should not read from a prepared script.  Please submit the mp3 to the greenlawgradoffice@unc.edu.

Funding

The majority of our graduate students are fully funded. (International students please reach out to the Director of Graduate Admissions for more information.) First-year doctoral students are funded in one of several ways: by merit fellowships from the Graduate School, departmental research assistantships, internships in our DLC lab for instructional technology, or (for those entering with prior college composition experience) teaching fellowships. After the first year in the program, all doctoral candidates are funded through teaching fellowships (more information on teaching in the PhD program can be found here.) Advanced doctoral students are eligible to apply for dissertation fellowships, which allow for a one- or two-semester release from teaching responsibilities at the research and writing phases of the dissertation. All funding packages offer a living stipend and include tuition remission and health insurance.

Applicants with an interest in African American literature and whose work supports the development of gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness within the Department of English and Comparative Literature may be considered for the Dr. Lovalerie King graduate student excellence fellowship to help support their first year of study.

Diversity

The Department of English and Comparative Literature (ECL) is committed to diversity.  Our graduate program encourages applications from students from all undergraduate institutions and backgrounds, including students of color and underrepresented minorities, queer and transgender students, first-generation students, foreign nationals, and veterans.  For a list of services at UNC aimed at fostering and supporting diversity, see The University Office for Diversity and Inclusion and the ECL’s Departmental site on diversity and inclusion.

Required Documents:

  • Statement of Purpose
  • Critical Writing Sample
  • Transcripts
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Applicants in Comparative Literature only should also submit an mp3 of themselves speaking in the foreign language in which they are most proficient.

Graduate Admissions FAQ

Our graduate program receives between 150 and 200 applications each year to fill an incoming class of 10-12 students.

No; the Dept. of ECL does not offer an MFA or a terminal MA degree in literary studies. We are a Ph.D. program exclusively. (Ph.D. students already enrolled may apply for an MA if they decide to leave the program.) However, the Department does house a specialized MA degree in Literature, Medicine, and Culture.

All of our graduate students are fully funded.*  First-year doctoral students are funded in one of several ways:

  • merit fellowships from the Graduate School
  • departmental research assistantships
  • internships in our Digital Literacy and Communications Llab.
  • those entering with an MA degree may be funded through teaching fellowships in our Composition Program. 

After the first year in the program, all doctoral candidates are funded through teaching fellowships. Advanced doctoral students are eligible to apply for dissertation fellowships, which allow for a one- or two-semester release from teaching responsibilities in the research and writing phases of the dissertation. All funding packages offer a living stipend and include tuition remission and health insurance.

*Special note for international applicants: Unfortunately, our department is not able to offer funded fellowships or teaching assistantships to international applicants who are not US citizens. The international students whose applications we are able to consider bring their own funding (for example, a Fulbright or government fellowship).

It is vital that you complete all portions of the application by the deadline. That said, we understand that recommendation letters or transcripts may occasionally be slightly delayed. Incomplete applications may be considered, but they will not be as competitive as those with all required components.

If you already have an MA, you may transfer credits from 3 courses towards your coursework at UNC, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. Please note that an MA is not required for admission into our PhD program, nor does the MA in and of itself increase your chances of admission. Quite a few of our students are admitted without an MA.

As a rule, the Director of Graduate Studies meets with students after they have applied and been accepted into the graduate program. The DGS and other graduate faculty may be contacted directly to inquire about meetings before admission.

Yes—prospective students may contact anyone on the list of Contacts for Prospective Students.

The Director of Graduate Admissions endeavors to contact applicants with decisions by late March, but in some cases the decisions take a bit longer.