Department of English

Unfortunately, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will only allow application to one graduate program per year. Please target your application to your desired program.

The English Department is no longer requiring the GRE to apply to the PhD or MA Programs.

Any applicant holding a Bachelor's degree is eligible to apply for the English PhD program. You would earn your MA degree in passing as you complete the requirements for the PhD.

If you initially enter our graduate program through the standalone MA or joint MA program, you will need to reapply in order to be considered for the PhD program.

Please attach a 750-word statement of purpose in essay form, indicating your reasons for undertaking graduate study. In this statement, please describe your qualifications for the doctoral program, your objectives in undertaking this program and the potential social and cultural impact of your doctoral work. You should also outline your research, teaching, and other interests and how Brandeis’s graduate program might support them.

Please submit a non-fiction writing sample of approximately 20 pages. This can be an academic essay or a text written for a more general audience; the 20-page maximum may consist of a single text or two shorter texts of approximately equal length.

Please contact the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to be considered for a fee waiver.

We will not schedule formal visits until admissions decisions have been made, but you are welcome to visit campus on your own. You may stop by the front office in Rabb 144, and/or coordinate meetings with faculty members of interest. Visit the Faculty List for faculty office hours and contact information.

Initial decisions are generally sent out in late February or early March. If you do not receive your admissions decision at that time, your application may still be under consideration. You may inquire about the status of your application by emailing the English Department.

Due to issues of fairness, we cannot pre-assess applicants, nor can we provide feedback on application materials prior to the consideration period.

You may get in touch with the English Department by email.

We look forward to reading your application!