Application Process
Application Calendar and Deadlines
Applications for graduate study are accepted each autumn for students wishing to begin their graduate study the following autumn. The deadline for submission of all application materials for the 2008-09 application year is December 15, 2008.Although the Graduate School at UNC stipulates a slightly later deadline of January 1, 2009, the Department of English requests that all application materials be submitted by December 15 so as to allow the Graduate School ample time to process application materials. Students submitting applications after December 15, 2008 but before January 1, 2009 will be considered for admission but will not be considered for university fellowships or for departmental awards.
Please Note:
We do not accept applications from students wishing to begin graduate study in the spring term. Any new student admitted to our program must begin enrollment in the fall of the following year. Enrollment cannot be deferred from one year to the next. Students who have been offered a place in our graduate program will forfeit that place if they do not enroll the subsequent fall.
Applicants to the graduate program in English will have their applications reviewed by two, or in some cases three, faculty members before a final decision is reached. In most cases, applicants will be notified of the department’s final decision by March 15, and in all cases by April 15.
Each year, we place a small number of students on a waitlist. On average, over the past five years, we have accepted anywhere from two to four students into our program from that waitlist. Students placed on a waitlist should notify the director of Admissions if they wish to be given continued consideration for admission at UNC.