Application and Admissions

Fordham’s English Department warmly welcomes qualified M.A. and Ph.D. applicants who seek to join a dedicated, vibrant community of scholar-teachers to pursue literary studies at an advanced level. Our M.A. program offers in-depth exploration of literary topics and diverse professionalization opportunities over a nimble two-year program. Our Ph.D. program supports students from year 1 through the dissertation defense and beyond, with flexibly conceived coursework, hands-on mentorship, sustained pedagogical formation, and diversified professional development. We seek to strike a balance between broad historical coverage and research specialization, and we encourage students to explore and expand their intellectual interests over the duration of their studies. Our faculty teaches and mentors widely across literary fields from medieval to contemporary; please see the list of Areas of Interest below for an up-to-date sense of our department’s current research strengths. Apply through The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences online application.

Application deadlines

Please see the application deadlines page.

Statement of intent
Your 750-word Statement of Intent should characterize your interests as a student of literature, your current intellectual engagement with one or more Areas of Interest listed below, and your aspirations as a doctoral student of literature at Fordham University. It should detail your preparation for doctoral-level study during your undergraduate and/or Master’s degree program, identify topics and literatures you have enjoyed exploring in the past and/or wish to explore in the future, and describe your academic and/or non-academic professional goals.

Supplemental essay (optional)
You may choose to answer this optional essay question. Your answer will help the admission committee get a better understanding of your unique perspective and potential contributions to our community. 

Please discuss how your life experiences, perspective, or worldview have motivated or inspired you, posed challenges, helped you build skills, or taught you valuable lessons. We are eager to learn how these experiences have helped shape who you are and prepared you for graduate study, in keeping with our mission of "graduate education for the global good."

Areas of interest

On their online application, Ph.D. applicants should select one or more Areas of Interest from the annually updated list below. This selection should reflect your current intellectual interests, with the understanding that interests commonly grow and change over the course of study.

Ph.D. in English

High and Late Medieval Literature 18/19th-century British literature Early and 19th-century American literature 20th century Anglophone literature Contemporary literatures Rhetoric and writing studies African American Studies Black studies Critical race studies Caribbean studies Postcolonial studies Disability studies Queer studies Feminist and gender studies Environmental humanities Affect studies Sound and music studies Drama and performance studies Poetry and poetics

Writing sample

Your writing sample should be an original scholarly essay between fifteen (15) and twenty-five (25) pages, preferably written for an upper-level literature course. Ideally, it should reflect your scholarly interests and intellectual potential. The sample must be written in English and may be uploaded either as a Word or PDF document. Note: applicants who do not have a 15-page sample may submit two shorter samples (for example, 2 papers of 10 pages each would be acceptable).

Three letters of recommendation

Submit your letters directly via the online application. Enter the following information for each of your recommendation providers: name, address, email address, phone number, institution. Make sure you enter your recommenders' email addresses correctly so that they each receive an automated email instructing them on how to submit their recommendations online. Mark the waiver statement for each recommender you enter.

Academic transcripts

To be eligible for admission, applicants must hold a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution abroad (for some countries, this may be a three-year degree from a member institution within the Bologna Process). If you are applying during your final (senior) year of undergraduate study, you may submit your application with an unofficial transcript that includes all completed coursework to date.

When you apply, you are required to upload unofficial transcripts from the institution where you earned or will earn your bachelor’s degree, and if applicable, master’s degree, including any institutions where transfer credits counted toward either an undergraduate or graduate-level degree. 

If you are offered admission to a GSAS program and accept the offer, you must submit official final transcripts with final grades and the title of the degree conferred. Official transcripts must be received by Fordham GSAS Admissions before the first day of classes.

CV or resume

Include your full legal name, permanent and local/current addresses and contact numbers, and any relevant professional and scholarly experience (max 5 pages).

Official graduate record examination (GRE) scores

GRE scores are optional for both the Ph.D. and M.A. programs. Absence of GRE scores will not impact application evaluation. Applicants who still wish to submit GRE scores may send them directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions, Fordham University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences – Code #2259. We do not require the GRE Subject Test in Literature for M.A. or Ph.D. applications.

Application fee

Please refer to the GSAS Tuition and Fees page.

English Proficiency Requirements

International applicants whose native language is not English are required to complete and submit to GSAS prior to matriculation their official scores from one of the following accepted English language competency exams:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - GSAS accepts the following TOEFL tests:
  • TOEFL iBT including the Home Edition (we will accept the Paper Edition if less than two years old)
  • TOEFL Essentials
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)—Cambridge English Proficiency Level
• Duolingo English Test
• PTE Academic
• Cambridge English Qualifications - We accept the B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency exams

Official TOEFL, IELTS, DET, PTE Academic, or Cambridge English Qualifications scores should be sent directly by the testing service to the Office of Graduate Admissions, Fordham University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (our ETS TOEFL score code #2259).  

Preferred minimum score requirements:

Exam	Score
TOEFL iBT	Taken before January 21, 2026 - Minimum score: 100 Taken on or after January 21, 2026 - Minimum score: 5
IELTS	7.0 band score
DET	130
PTE Academic	68
Cambridge English Qualifications	185 Overall Score on the B2, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency exam

Exemptions to the English Language Requirement

Exemptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are generally permitted for international applicants who:

1. are native English speakers from countries where English is an official language (click here to view the list of countries accepted); and/or
2. have completed, within the past five years, at least two years of study at an undergraduate or graduate institution in the United States or in a country where English is the official language of instruction.
3. you received an undergraduate or graduate degree from a university in India. (In some cases, we may request language proficiency test scores.)

GSAS reserves the right to require a language proficiency evaluation from any applicant. Requests for exemption from this requirement should be indicated directly within the application. The Fordham English Language Test (FELT), administered by Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC), may be required for those students whose English proficiency scores do not meet GSAS program requirements. Additional coursework may also be recommended by the IALC.

Students are permitted to register for two GSAS courses during the academic term in which they are completing any IALC-recommended coursework, which generally occurs during their first semester of study.

Please note: Tuition costs associated with the learning of English as a second language are the responsibility of the student and will not be covered by a GSAS tuition scholarship. GSAS merit-based tuition scholarships are not applicable to the costs of additional coursework recommended by the IALC.

Questions?

For further questions about the Graduate Program, please write [email protected].

For questions about the online application, contact the Admissions Office of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at [email protected].