Application & Admissions
Prospective students may apply for admission only in the Fall semester. We do not admit new graduate students in the Spring or Summer semesters. The deadline for application to the MA, MFA and PhD programs is January 14, 2013. (Department materials should be postmarked by this date).
All required application materials are available from links listed below. Please carefully follow the steps described below to ensure that you have submitted a complete application. Linked documents will open in a new browser window.
Before you submit your completed application to our MA or PhD programs we recommend that you read this page:
Step 1: Complete the University application materials.
An application for admission to the Department of English requires two sets of forms: one for the University, another for the Department. You may apply to the University in one of two ways: (1) online, or (2) by printing the forms from the web and mailing them in with your other materials to the Department.
- Online application. If you are paying the University application fee by personal or bank check or postal money order ($30.00 payable to “University of Florida”), print out the signature page of the online application form and enclose it with the check or money order in a sealed envelope marked “Application Fee.” These materials should be mailed directly to the University admissions office at the address shown below. (If your application fee was paid online with a credit card, you do not need to return the signature page or additional payment.)
- Printing
the forms from the web. Print out and complete the application
form. Attach to this a personal or bank check or postal money order ($30.00 payable to “University of Florida”), enclosed in a sealed envelope marked “Application Fee.” These materials should be mailed directly to the University admissions office:
University of Florida
Office of Admissions
P.O. Box 2946
Gainesville, FL 32602-2946
The application fee is non-refundable. It is valid for one calendar year: an application may be updated within one year from the original anticipated term of admission without payment of a new application fee. Requests to update applications beyond one year will require submission of a new UF application form and payment of a new application fee.
Applicants for admission to any of the Department’s graduate degree programs are automatically considered for financial aid, in the form of Fellowships and/or Assistantships.
Step 2: Complete the Departmental application.
In addition to application forms required by UF, the Department of English requires that the following materials be included in the application packet, and mailed to the Department at the address below:
MA & PhD Applicants
- A completed MA/PhD Application Cover Sheet
- Statement of Purpose: A brief essay concerning your past academic or teaching experience and future plans
- Three letters of recommendation from people familiar with your academic record. Letters of recommendation are to be enclosed in sealed envelopes signed across the flap by the referee and returned to the applicant for submission with the application packet. Please use the Departmental Letter of Recommendation form, rather than the University form. If you have submitted your statement of purpose online and also arranged for your letters of recommendation to be submitted electronically, you do not have to submit those materials directly to the Department. We will be able to access them online.
- A writing sample: an essay demonstrating your best work in criticism and theory (about 15 pages). Please note: the online university application does not allow for writing sample submission, so please send your writing sample directly to the Department by regular mail.
- Two official copies of your undergraduate (and graduate) transcript(s)
- One copy of your scores on the verbal, math, and analytic portions of the Graduate Record Examination. We do not require that you take the English Subject test. Our GRE reporting codes are as follows: Institution code – 5812 / Department code – 2501.
MA and PhD applicants working in the fields of Victorian Studies or folklore may also wish to apply for a Kirkland Fellowship. Students interested in applying for a Kirkland Fellowship should supplement their regular application to enroll or transfer into the MA or PhD programs of the Department of English with a letter to the Graduate Coordinator of the department.
MFA Applicants
- A completed MFA Manuscript Cover Sheet
- A sample of your creative writing: two short stories, two chapters of a novel, or six to ten poems. Admission to the program is based primarily upon the manuscript: the writing faculty considers this example of your writing before all else.
- Two letters of recommendation from people familiar with your academic record, and/or your prior work as a creative writer. Letters of recommendation are to be enclosed in sealed envelopes signed across the flap by the referee and returned to the applicant for submission with the application packet. Please use the Departmental Letter of Recommendation form, rather than the University form. If you have arranged for your letters of recommendation to be submitted electronically, you do not have to submit those materials directly to the Department. We will be able to access them online.
- Two official copies of your undergraduate (and graduate) transcript(s)
- One copy of your scores on the verbal, math, and analytic portions of the Graduate Record Examination. We do not require that you take the English Subject test. Our GRE reporting codes are as follows: Institution code – 5812 / Department code – 2501.
MFA applicants should not include a Statement of Purpose.
Step 3. Check your application.
To ensure that you have assembled all the required application materials, consult these printable application checklists:
Step 4. Mail your application.
Send all required Department applications materials – all forms you have printed out, cover sheets, statements of purpose (if required), writing sample(s), letters of recommendation, transcripts, and GRE scores – to the appropriate address below.
For applications to the MA & PhD programs
Graduate Coordinator
Department of English
P.O. Box 117310
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7310
For applications to the MFA program
Program in Creative Writing
Department of English
P.O. Box 117310
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7310
Please disregard instructions you might find elsewhere to send some of these materials to the University Admissions Office or to the International Center. Please send all materials except the application fee and the signature page of the online application form (see Step 1 above) directly to the Department, and we will route your application materials as needed. Any materials not sent directly to the Department may be delayed in processing.
Other Admissions Resources
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