ity at Albany - English Graduate Studies - Admissions
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Adm issions I nformation
Applications
Graduate Admissions Forms
Applications
to both the M.A. and the Ph.D. programs must be submitted
via the University-wide
Graduate
Admissions
Office, where applicants'file
materials
are gathered untilthey are complete
and then forwarded
to the English Department.
More information
and application
forms can be
found at the Graduate
Admissions
website.
Ph.D. Applications
In addition
to the Graduate
Admissions
forms, applications
to the
Ph.D. program
should include:
o All undergraduate
and
graduate transcripts;
o Graduate Record
Examination
general scores
(Note: the English Subject
Test is not required.);
o At least three letters of
recommendation;
o A statement of purpose (1-2 pages);
o A critical writing sample (15-20 pages); and
. A creative writing sample (15-20 pages) for applicants interested in pursuing
creative writing
Applicants
from countries
other than the U.S. should also include:
TOEFL scores;
A statement of finances (form provided by Graduate Admissions)
Students
are admitted
to the Ph.D. program for the Fall semester
only. All applicants
should have
completed
applications
to the Office of Graduate
Admissions
by January 15. Those students who
plan to pursue the degree parttime or who for any other reasons do not wish to be considered for
doctoral
funding in the form of a Teaching
Assistantship,
should clearly indicate
your willingness
to
waive consideration
for assistantship
funding in the application.
M.A. Applications
In addition
to the Graduate
Admissions
forms, applications
to the M.A. program should include:
. All undergraduate and graduate transcripts;
. Graduate Record Examination general scores (Note: the English SubjectTest is not
required.);
. At least three letters of recommendation;
o A statement of purpose (1-2 pages);
http://www.albany.edu/english/englishgradadmissions.shtml?page:print
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[Jniversity at Albany - English Graduate Studies - Admissions
r A critical writing sample; and
o A creative writing sample for applicants interested in pursuing creative writing
Applicants
from countries
other than the U.S. should also include:
o TOEFL Scores;
o A statement of finances (form provided by Graduate Admissions)
Students
wishing to start in the Fall semester should submit complete
applications
by February
15th; those who wish start in the Spring semester should submit complete
applications
by
November 1st.
Non-Deg ree Appl ications
ln addition
to the Graduate
Admissions
forms, applications
to the non-degree
program should
include:
o All undergraduate and graduate transcripts;
o A statement of purpose (1-2pages);
o A critical writing sample; and
r A creative writing sample for applicants interested in pursuing creative writing
Applicants
from countries
other than the U.S. should also include:
e TOEFL scores;
r A statement of finances (form provided by Graduate Admissions)
r Students who wish to apply for non-degree status must submit complete
applications no later than 3O days before the beginning of the semester when they
wish start studies.
Financial Aid
Teach ing Assistantsh i ps
Each year, the graduate program awards teaching assistantships
to six to ten incoming Ph.D.
students.
Assistantship
stipends for incoming
students are $15,000;
in addition,
assistants
have the
benefit of a 12-credit,
full-time tuition waiver, health coverage, and, as may be negotiated
by the
Graduate
Student Employees
Union (GSEU), a cost of living raise after the first year (in the typical
range of 2-3%). Assistants
are also eligible to apply to the GSEU for professional
development
grants, which are periodically
offered to cover expenses such as textbooks, computer software, and
travel to conferences
or research archives.
Doctoral students who enter with an M.A. receive a four-year assistantship;
those entering with a
B.A. receive a five-year assistantship.
At the end of assistantship
funding, those students making
good progress toward their degrees are eligible to apply to continue to teach as part-line instructors
in the English Department,
with health coverage and other benefits. The Department
has
consistently
been able to assist all its Ph.D. students in this way while they complete
the last stages
of their studies
Due to limited university
funding, assistantship
support is rarely available
for M.A. English students,
but when support is available,
an announcement
is sent to students
who have been accepted or are
already enrolled in the M.A. program. See also "Other Funding Opportunities"
below.
Conference Travel Grants
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lJniversity at Albany - English Graduate Studies - Admissions
Twice a year, the English Department's
Graduate Committee awards grants to doctoral students
who apply for funding in order to participate
in conferences
or colloquia
both in the U.S. and abroad.
The aim is to defray at least partially the cost of travel, room, board, and conference
fees. Travel
funding is also available
from the University's
Graduate
Student Organization
(GSO), which regularly
awards grants to graduate students going to make presentations
at conferences. Students who are
teaching assistants
can also apply for professional
development
grants from the GSEU (see above,
under "Teaching
Assistantships").
Richard Thorns Dissertation Fellowships
The English Department
awards one or more Richard Thorns Fellowships
each year to doctoral
students who are within one year of completing their dissertation
projects. Supported by the estate
of Richard Thorns, an Albany English alumnus, as well as the Albany Graduate
School, the
fellowship
has a stipend that aims to give students the ability to concentrate
on their research and
writing.
Other Funding Opportunities
Students
may also compete for diversity
fellowships
and assistantships,
as well as assistantships,
fellowships,
and awards from other divisions of the University. Some of these awards offer higher
stipends
than those in the English Department.
Whenever possible,
the program's
graduate director
can assist students
who are interested
in seeking such funding,
while also making general
announcements
regarding
opportunities
for funding that may arise.
Some examples:
Initiatives
for Women (lFW) is a program based at the University
with the aim of fostering
Albany
students' research and community projects related to women. English graduate students have
been frequently
successful
in applying
for tFW fellowships
and other awards.
The New York State Writers lnstitute has offered an annual graduate assistantship
for students
interested
in working on the visiting writer series, editorial
projects,
and other Institute
events.
Historically,
English graduate students have been the most successful
applicants
in the University
when an opening for this position is announced.
The Center for Humanities,
Arts, and TechnoSciences
(CHATS) is a graduate research
center at
Albany that produces university-wide
theme semesters,
conferences,
and symposia in the areas of
the humanities
and arts. lt also works closely with the Institute
on Critical Climate Change and the
Department
of English to integrate
the University's
programs
with other regional,
national,
and
international
initiatives
in the humanities.
The Center has offered an annual graduate
assistantship
with responsibilities
including
website maintenance,
event planning,
publicity,
grant writing, and
liaison work with faculty and the community.
Please send questions or comments about this site to:
English Department Webmaster
A T $ F
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