The Department of English at Purdue University offers an M.A. and Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition for students pursuing the serious study of written discourse in academic, workplace, and public settings. Begun in 1980, the graduate program in Rhetoric and Composition now enrolls more than 50 students and has 197 graduates (129 Ph.D and 68 M.A.). Our graduates hold positions as composition teachers, program and writing center administrators, graduate program faculty, department heads, editors, and professional and technical writers/managers. Rhetoric and Composition participates in a large and diverse graduate program (59 faculty and almost 250 graduate students). The Department of English at Purdue offers Ph.D. concentrations in: English Language and Linguistics; ESL; Literature; Rhetoric and Composition; and Theory and Cultural Studies. It also grants an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. It further participates in interdisciplinary programs in: Women's Studies; Comparative Literature; Jewish Studies; American Studies: African American Studies; and Philosophy & Literature. The Ph.D. program in Rhetoric and Composition requires five core classes in rhetoric and composition, a secondary area, a linguistics seminar, a language, written and oral examinations, and a dissertation. The secondary area of study is satisfied by taking four specified courses (or examination) in one of the following areas: Creative Writing; Cultural Studies; ESL; Linguistics; Literary Theory; Literary Periods; Poetry; Postcolonial Literature; Professional and Technical Writing; Rhetoric, Technology, and Digital Writing; Writing Program Administration; or Women's Literature and Feminist Theory. The linguistics requirement is satisfied by taking one linguistics seminar. Students must show a reading knowledge of one foreign language, certified by examination or coursework. Examinations include a two-part written exam in rhetoric and composition, an oral exam on the dissertation prospectus, and an oral defense of the dissertation. Dissertations [you can link to summaries of our graduates' work.] are studies in rhetoric and composition that use theoretical, historical, qualitative, and/or quantitative methods, and often these projects are multidisciplinary. The M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition requires three courses in rhetoric and composition, three courses in literature, and introductory courses in linguistics and English studies. Students are required to take a written examination on rhetoric and composition and literature (or complete a thesis) and to gain a reading knowledge of one foreign language. All students and faculty participate in The David Hutton Interdisciplinary Lecture Series -- a bi-annual lecture/discussion series that features invited scholars in such fields as rhetoric and composition, philosophy, communication, historiography, literary theory, psychology, education, languages, and linguistics. Purdue requires an online application, If you have questions about that application, contact Jill Quirk, English Department Graduate Programs Office, at griff@purdue.edu.