Rhetoric & Composition (English MA, PhD)

Overview

91视频Rhetoric & Composition graduate students join a community of interdisciplinary scholars who study how writing, media, and technology shape the way people live, work, and connect. MA and PhD students conduct original research, present their work at national conferences, publish scholarship, teach a variety of writing courses, and prepare for careers in higher education and other fields where expertise in communication is directly related to long-term success in academic and professional contexts.

Areas of study

MAs and PhDs work closely with award-winning faculty and peers to tackle emerging issues in technology, culture, and society:

  • Writing Studies & Program Administration: writing pedagogies; how writing is taught and learned; knowledge transfer and reflection; writing across contexts, the design and leadership of communication initiatives in professional and academic contexts; institutional rhetoric; information management (Gresham, M. Johnson, N. Johnson, Milliren, Robertson).
  • Digital Rhetoric, Technology & Information: generative AI and the composition process; how digital platforms shape writing, creativity, and communication; how systems of information shape what counts as knowledge and guide public life (Conner, Gresham, Gupta, N. Johnson, Moxley, Robertson).
  • Public Rhetorics: rhetorics of health and medicine; feminist rhetorics; and how writing serves communities and advocates for change (Gresham, M. Johnson, N. Johnson, Milliren, McCracken).
  • Professional & Technical Communication: workplace communication; user experience research and design; design thinking; organizational resilience; the ethical use and sharing of data in civic and professional settings (Gupta, M. Johnson, N. Johnson, Robertson).

methodological training

Graduate students at 91视频gain experience with a wide range of research methods that reflect the field鈥檚 interdisciplinary nature. Methodological training combines theoretical grounding with applied practices, such as those prevalent in the professional careers of today. The methodological training students develop helps create a framework for understanding the practices of our discipline across many careers, academic and professional, and contributes to workplace readiness with knowledge they can apply not only for entry-level positions but for promotion later.

Students learn to conduct rhetorical and textual analysis through the close study of discourse, argumentation, and genre. They engage ethnographic and community-based approaches by working directly with communities to see how writing functions in everyday life. Many projects draw on feminist methodologies, which emphasize equity, reflexivity, and awareness of power dynamics in research design. Students also develop skills in digital and data-driven methods, including use of computational tools, empirical research design, text mining, design thinking, and data visualization while working with digital archives and information infrastructures. Training in historical and archival research helps students examine how writing, rhetoric, and communication infrastructures have developed over time.

CORE FACULTY

Admissions & Contact

Applications for the MA and PhD in Rhetoric & Composition are submitted through the 91视频Graduate Admissions portal. Requirements include transcripts, a statement of purpose, writing sample, and letters of recommendation.

For details on deadlines, application materials, and funding opportunities, please visit the Department of English Graduate Programs page.