Overview

Our program offers advanced study in Rhetoric and Composition at both the masters and doctoral levels. We prepare students to join the field by acquainting them with the broad outlines of the discipline’s many conversations, but also by providing them with the opportunity to conduct rigorous inquiry into questions that reflect our program strengths: rhetorical genre theory, transfer theory and research, public and counter-public discourses, as well as current best practices in writing pedagogy. Our program places a strong emphasis on language, and how language, broadly understood, is central to any informed understanding of contemporary rhetoric, writing, and teaching. Additionally, we work collaboratively with faculty in other disciplines so that our students receive a well-rounded course of study, but also one that prepares them to do focused research on a topic of their choosing.

All of our students have considerable flexibility in developing their own course of study, and faculty work closely with students in their scholarly and professional development. Graduates from our MA program have gained acceptance to other doctoral programs, and many have assumed non-academic professional positions in a number of related fields. Doctoral graduates have acquired faculty positions at a wide range of institutions, from small liberal arts colleges to major research universities.

For more information, please explore our site, and be sure to consult our Showcase pages