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Harvard University
Harvard is still the world’s most prestigious and famous university. The focus is on teaching, learning, and research. It has twelve schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Established in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The University, which is based in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, has an enrollment of over 20,000 degree candidates, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Harvard has more than 360,000 alumni around the world.
harvard university english courses
The English Department uses this general system of numbering for our courses:
harvard english phd acceptance rate
The PhD program in English at Harvard is extremely competitive. We receive an average of 300-350 applications per year, and we admit approximately 10-15 students (acceptance rate of about 4-5%).
how to apply for phd in harvard university
The application for fall 2022 enrollment is now live on the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website. The application deadline is December 1, 2021.
A complete application to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education typically consists of the following, submitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
- Online application form (accessed through GSAS’s website)
- Résumé/curriculum vitae
- Statement of Purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
- Standardized test score(s):
- GRE – must be sent directly to GSAS, institution code 3451
- TOEFL or IELTS (if applicable) – must be sent directly to GSAS: institution code 3451 for TOEFL; specify Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for IELTS
- Transcript(s) from each postsecondary institution attended: uploaded copy of each transcript with the online application
- $105 application fee (paid via credit card with the online application)
- Supplemental form for the Ph.D. in Education
Any additional information is available on the GSAS Application Instructions and Information page, as well as the HGSE Ph.D. FAQ page.
Once all applications have been reviewed, HGSE will invite selected Ph.D. applicants for a required online interview with members of the admissions committee. Interview dates will be in January, with precise dates to be determined.
Ph.D. applicants who wish to be considered for admission to an Ed.M. program, if they are not admitted to the program to which they applied, should indicate their interest in an Ed.M. referral on their online application. Shortly after the Ph.D. application deadline, they will receive an email from the HGSE Admissions Office, asking them to select a specific Ed.M. program (and strand, if applicable) and provide a statement regarding their referral interest.
The Graduate Program in English aims to provide PhD candidates with a broad knowledge of the field of English, including critical and cultural theory. Additional important skills include facility with the tools of scholarship—ancient and modern foreign languages, bibliographic procedures, and textual and editorial methods. The program also emphasizes the ability to write well, to do solid and innovative scholarly and critical work in a specialized field or fields, to teach effectively, and to make articulate presentations at conferences, seminars, and symposia.
The program takes from four to seven years to complete, with the majority of students finishing in five or six years.
Admissions Requirements
The admissions committee carefully considers your profile. There are English Department program requirements that help the admissions committee evaluate your application.
Writing Sample
The writing samples are highly significant parts of the application. Candidates should submit two double-spaced, 15-page papers of no more than 5,000 words each, in 12-point type with 1-inch margins.. The writing samples must be examples of critical writing (rather than creative writing) on subjects directly related to English. Applicants should not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt or excerpts but should edit the samples themselves so that they submit only fifteen pages for each paper. Candidates who know the field in which they expect to specialize should, when possible, submit a primary writing sample related to that field.
Grades
Although your overall GPA is important, it’s your GPA in literature (and related) courses that matters most. We also encourage applications from candidates in programs other than English, so long as their GPA is no lower than A- in English courses.
Most of our successful candidates have some knowledge of all the major fields of English literary study and advanced knowledge of the field in which they intend to study.
Three Letters of Recommendation
It’s important to have a good reference from a professor who is familiar with your academic work. Applicants who haven’t been in school for a long time should try to reestablish contact with their professors. Additional letters from employers may also be included. Recommenders should comment not only on the applicant’s academic readiness for our PhD program but also on the applicant’s future potential as teachers and scholars.
Recommenders must use the GSAS online recommendation system to submit letters of recommendation.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The GRE General and Subject Tests are not accepted as part of the English PhD application process.
Statement of Purpose
A statement of purpose should be no longer than 1,000 words. It should give the admissions committee a clear sense of applicants’ individual interests and strengths
Applicants need not indicate a precise field of specialization if they do not know, but it is helpful to know something about a candidate’s professional aspirations and sense of their own skills, as well as how the Harvard Department of English might help in attaining their goals. Those who already have a research topic in mind should outline it in detail, giving a sense of how they plan their progress through the program. Those who do not should at least attempt to define the questions and interests they foresee driving their work over the next few years.
Languages
While there are no specific prerequisites for admission, a strong language background helps to strengthen the application, and students who lack it should be aware that they will need to address these gaps during their first two years of graduate study. More information is available from the Department of English.
Theses & Dissertations
Theses & Dissertations for English
English Faculty
Tuition and Fees
| Tuition and Health Service Fee 2021–2022 | |
|---|---|
| Full Tuition— required first two years of study* | $50,928 |
| Reduced Tuition—required third and fourth years of study | 13,240 |
| Facilities Fee—required post-fourth year of study | 3,370 |
| Active File Fee—minimum charge for approved nonresident status | 300 |
| Harvard University Student Health Plan (HUSHP) Fees:HUSHP Basic—Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) Fee (required)HUSHP Supplemental—Prescription Drug Coverage and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Hospital/Specialty | 1,2424,040 |
Note: Subject to annual increases
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