Applying to the Doctoral Program
The Department of Rhetoric encourages applications from students who want to pursue interdisciplinary research in the humanities and the social sciences. The application deadline for admission in Fall 2022 is December 1st, 2022, 9:00 p.m. PST. Start the online application at: http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/
Application Requirements
- Submission of the online application including a Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement, Writing Sample, a List of Faculty whose research is of particular interest to the applicant, and a list of native and foreign language proficiencies (this is part of the online application).
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Transcripts from previous institutions .
- A $120 application fee for U.S. citizens and permanent residents; $140 fee for all others.
Applicants should not submit hard copies of any part of the application. Everything should be submitted online.
Process
Applications are evaluated by a departmental committee that evaluates the overall portrait of the applicant based on the statement of purpose, the personal statement, writing samples, three letters of recommendation, and previous grades. Differently from some other programs, applicants apply to the Rhetoric Department as a whole, not to individual advisors. For this reason, they are asked to name up to three faculty members whose interests match their own. The admissions process is highly competitive and acceptance rates are usually below 10%. Admission decisions are made in mid-March, and notifications are sent by email.