Admissions

UNDERGRADUATE
Applying for the undergraduate Minor or Concentration in PWE

Interested students should download the appropriate application form (PDF), fill it out, and return it to the following address:

Professional Writing Program
Department of English
West Virginia University
Colson Hall, 1503 University Ave.
PO Box 6296
Morgantown, WV 26506

Students may also drop it off with Mary Vasquez at the Center for Writing Excellence in 101 Colson Hall.

Download PWE Minor Application Form
or
Download PWE Concentration Application Form

MASTERS
What are the admissions requirements for the MA in PWE?

Prospective candidates for the degree are expected to have a BA in English or a related field or a BA in an unrelated field with at least two years of professional experience in writing and editing.
In addition, admission will require the following:

  • A portfolio which includes a personal statement and writing samples crossing at least three genres.
  • Minimum GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 for BA/BS
  • TOEFL scores (when applicable) of at least 600 for the written exam or equivalent scores for the online exam
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • GRE analytical writing score of 5 or above (recommended)
  • Application deadline – January 15th

In addition, admitted students may be required to complete prerequisite coursework in professional writing and other English studies.

What should I include in the portfolio?

Your portfolio should demonstrate both your writing skills and your goals for the degree. Specifically, it should include a personal statement and samples of your writing. Also, it should be organized and easy for the admissions committee to navigate.

The personal statement, which should be no more than 2 pages, should make a reasoned case for why you are a good candidate for this program. If you are a recent graduate, you might explain what you hope to gain from an MA in PWE as well as what you think you can contribute. If you have been away from school for several years, you might want to explain your decision to return to school and seek an advanced degree in English.

The writing portfolio (about 15-20 pages) should demonstrate a sense of your range and experience as a writer. As a general guideline, we suggest you submit three different types of writing. For instance, some applicants might want to include an 10-12 page literary analysis, a 1-2 page resume, and a brief book review; other applicants might submit a several brief press releases, some professional correspondence (formal letters and memos), and an 8-10 page researched business report. The goal is to use 15-20 pages to demonstrate your ability to write for different audiences and purposes while also showing us that you possess some basic research and argument skills. (If some of your samples are long, please excerpt them so that the total writing sample is about 20 pages.) Feel free to include very brief notes explaining the context of documents, especially excerpted ones.

Do I need letters of recommendation?

We ask for three letters of recommendation. Applicants who have been away from school more than five years may want to solicit letters of recommendation from business associates or others who are best able to comment on their character and writing abilities. Recent graduates should seek letters from their recent professors.

What is the application deadline?

All applications must be postmarked by February 1st for the following semester admissions.

Do you offer assistantships or financial support?

Each year a number of graduate teaching assistantships are available through the English Department. These assistantships are awarded according to merit to students who have been accepted into the MA in PWE program and who have indicated they want to be considered for the assistantships. Students who receive assistantships are required to take the department’s pedagogy course (English 609).

The stipend is currently $8774.00 per academic year plus a tuition waiver. In many cases an additional $1500 is added to this base salary from the Crocker Scholarship Fund or other funding sources. Students who attend the English Department?s summer internship program in teaching are paid an additional stipend.Graduate teaching assistants typically teach two courses each semester while taking two courses each term.

There are also a few writing and editing assistantships that occasionally become available through other departments. Those stipends are variable since they are determined by the sponsoring departments, but they typically pay about the same as the English assistantships. Writing and editing assistants typically work 20 hours per week while taking two courses each term.

When are decisions made?

Admissions decisions are typically made in early-to-mid March of each year and we ask you to accept or decline our offer by late March.

What teacher training is available for graduate teaching assistants?

Students who receive a teaching assistantship attend the English Department?s summer workshop to prepare them to teach in our program. That workshop runs from August 1-15, usually from 9-4 daily. Graduate students in this workshop receive an additional stipend in their first year only to recognize the two-week time commitment.

Graduate teaching assistants are also required to take a course in their first semester that focuses on the scholarship that informs composition teaching (English 609). Finally, we assign each new instructor to a peer mentor group as another way of supporting teachers in their first year at WVU.

Whom do I contact for more information?

Contact Prof. Brian Ballentine, PWE Coordinator:

Email: Brian.Ballentine@mail.wvu.edu

Phone: (304) 293 – 9704

Contact Amanda Riley, Graduate Secretary, for application support:

Email: Amanda.Riley@mail.wvu.edu

Phone: (304) 293-2947

Mail: PO Box 6296
Department of English
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506