Graduate Admissions

Information about the graduate school application process (for non-degree, certificate, MA, and PhD students) can be found on the Graduate School website. All applications must be submitted through the Graduate School’s website. For more information about the application process, please review this site, send an e-mail to englishgrad@ecu.edu, or call the English Department’s graduate office at (252) 328-6660.

Certificate Programs

If you are seeking admission to a certificate program, you must hold a BA, BS, or an equivalent degree from an accredited college or university.

To apply for the Certificate in Professional Communication, Multicultural and Transnational Literatures, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), or Teaching English in the Two-Year College, you must apply through the Graduate School website as a certificate student. To apply as a certificate student, you need to submit an online application form, the $75 application fee, a statement of purpose, and all transcripts.  (If you are applying for the TESOL Certificate and are a non-native speaker of English, you are also required to submit English language proficiency test scores as explained on the Graduate School’s website.)

The dates below are deadlines for receipt of the application materials by the Graduate School.  Early application is encouraged.

If you originally apply as a non-degree student, you must reapply as a certificate student before you have completed 9 s.h. of coursework. Only 9 s.h. hours of coursework taken as a non-degree student can be transferred to a certificate or MA program.

While the graduate certificate can be a pathway to a Master’s Degree at ECU, completion of the certificate does not guarantee admission into a graduate degree program. Application to the MA program must be made separately. Credit earned as part of a graduate certificate program may be transferred into a degree program with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. A maximum of 9 non-degree s.h. can be applied toward a graduate degree.

Please follow up on your application if you haven’t heard anything within a month after submitting it. For more information, check out the MA in English degree admissions procedures and the FAQs. If you have questions, please contact the English Department’s graduate office at 252-328-6660 or englishgrad@ecu.edu.

MA in English Program

**Effective April 9, 2019, our department no longer uses GRE or MAT scores for admissions.**

Applications for the MA in English degree program include a completed application form, official transcripts of all prior academic work, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, a portfolio (Creative Writing concentration only), and a $75 application fee.

Creative Writing Portfolio

Students seeking a concentration in Creative Writing MUST SUBMIT a portfolio of original creative writing in Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry. Portfolio materials should coincide with your concentration in Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry, as outlined below:

Fiction: 20–30 double-spaced pages—one or several stories, a portion of a novel, or a combination. If submitting a novel excerpt, please include a brief plot synopsis.

Nonfiction: 20–30 double-spaced pages of nonfiction of literary quality—one or several works of memoir, personal essay, journalism, biography, and/or criticism. Academic papers are acceptable, though faculty will evaluate literary skill, rather than scholarly excellence.

Poetry: Ten single-spaced pages of poetry, with no more than one poem per page.

Please provide your portfolio in one document including your full name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number, and specify the genre for which you are applying. You will e-mail this document as an attachment to englishgrad@ecu.edu, separate from your statement of purpose that is submitted through the application system. PDF documents will best retain your formatting for our committee to view, but other common file types like .docx and .odt are also acceptable.

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted through the Graduate School web site.

The dates below are deadlines for receipt of the application materials by the Graduate School. These deadlines apply only to our department’s graduate certificate and MA admissions, not our PhD or other departments.  Early application is encouraged, particularly if students are interested in applying for a graduate assistantship.

If you are seeking admission beginning Fall semester and requesting an assistantship, you are encouraged to apply by April 1st to ensure that you are considered for funding. If you are seeking admission beginning Spring semester and requesting an assistantship, you should apply by October 1st.

PhD in Rhetoric, Writing, and Professional Communication

PhD in Rhetoric, Writing, & Professional Communication >

Non-Degree Status

The non-degree student classification is a temporary graduate classification. It may be used by those who need course credit for a post baccalaureate certificate or teacher licensure, who have expectations of enrolling in a degree or certificate of advanced study program, or by those who desire professional or personal enrichment.

The online course offerings are primarily for our certificate and degree students. If you would like to register for online courses, then consider applying for one of the certificate programs. Our online course offerings fill up very quickly.

If you apply as a non-degree student and decide you want to earn a certificate or MA degree, then you must reapply through the Graduate School to the appropriate program; please note that you must apply for admission to your desired program before you have completed 9 semester hours of coursework. Only 9 s.h. taken as a non-degree student can be applied toward a degree program.

Those wishing to be admitted as a non-degree student should submit a non-degree application online with the application fee and an official transcript showing a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.