WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY  
 

 
 
GRADUATE STUDIES: ADMISSIONS

Admissions Process
The annual receipt deadline for English Graduate Program applications is March 1. General information about WSU graduate applications and downloadable forms for application may be found on the WSU Office of Graduate Studies website: www.winona.edu/graduatestudy. The application packet should be sent to the WSU Office of Graduate Studies, Somsen Hall 114F, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987.

For the March 1 deadline, applicants to the English Graduate Program do not need to include in their application packets anything beyond their application forms and academic transcripts (for undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate coursework or degrees); however, international applicants are required also to submit any forms related to international study (www.winona.edu/internationaloffice). Applicants for whom English is not a first language must send an official report of their TOEFL scores to Chair Ruth Forsythe, Dept. of English, 3 rd Floor, Minné Hall, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987. Applicants who intend to pursue a graduate TESOL degree should indicate this intention on their applications.

As of the March 1, 2007 deadline , applicants must send not only the admission-application forms and their academic transcripts to the WSU Office of Graduate Studies, but also a statement of purpose, a writing sample, and three letters of recommendation to the Director of Graduate Studies in English, 3 rd Floor, Minné Hall, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987. International applicants must submit forms related to international study (www.winona.edu/internationaloffice), and applicants for whom English is not a first language must send an official report of their TOEFL scores to Chair Ruth Forsythe, Dept. of English, 3 rd Floor, Minné Hall, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987.

—The statement of purpose should be a one- to two-page essay addressing topics such as why the applicant would like to pursue graduate studies in English, why the applicant believes he or she will succeed in conducting advanced studies in this field, and how the applicant envisions the shape that his or her studies and endeavors will take within our program.

—The writing sample must treat a subject related to literature or language study: a substantial analytical paper—at least five pages, with multiple sources—written for an upper-level English, linguistics, or related course, it must include the grade and comments of the professor, whose name and phone number must be indicated. If the applicant is interested in pursuing creative writing, he or she may also include a short sample of his or her work in this area.

—Written by former or current professors and/or by teaching supervisors, the three letters ofrecommendation must be confidential, on letterhead, with the envelopes signed across the seal. Such letters must consider, among other relevant matters, the applicant’s academic performance and promise in the field of literature, creative writing, language studies, or TESOL. Applicants for admission who are also applying for a teaching assistantship must also have their recommenders address the question of how well the applicant is likely to handle the responsibilities and challenges associated with tutoring and teaching college students. (See below, Applications for Assistantships.)

Applicants are not required to take the GRE General or Subject Exam, but applicants are welcome to include their GRE scores in the application packet.

Admission Criteria
Applicants must have an undergraduate degree, either completed or under completion, in English, language studies, or a closely related field. An applicant’s undergraduate preparation must correspond to the course of studies that he or she wishes to pursue at the graduate level. Prospective applicants who do not have such an undergraduate degree should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies in English in order to plan pre-application coursework, which they may pursue as Graduate Special Students. In some cases, students accepted into the English Graduate Program may be required to take equivalency courses in certain subjects not covered by their undergraduate coursework.

International students’ transcripts must be provided in English and reflect strong academic performance.

Applicants for whom English is not a first language must have a TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper-based test) / 250 (computer-based test) or equivalent on the internet-based test.

The minimum GPAs for admittance consideration (figured on a basis of 4.0) is 3.0 overall and 3.25 in English. Admittance decisions will be based on evaluations of applicants’ GPAs, statements of purpose, letters of recommendation, writing samples, and—if applicable—TOEFL scores.

Admission Decisions & Acceptance
Applicants should learn before the end of March whether or not they have been accepted. Students accepted into the program will have until April 15 to inform the English Department of whether nor not they plan to join the graduate program. Students who are not accepted may decide to take courses as Graduate Special Students and re-apply the following year.

Those who are accepted, and who are finishing their undergraduate degrees in the same spring, must send a copy of their post-graduation transcripts to the Office of Graduate Studies in May or June. If an applicant is accepted but performs poorly in his or her final undergraduate semester, the English Department reserves the right to revoke his or her admission status. In addition, any undergraduate Incompletes must be remedied in the summer after acceptance. Accepted students who have Incompletes during their terminal undergraduate semester will not be allowed to register until those grades are changed.

After admittance decisions have been made, applicants will receive letters from both the Office of Graduate Studies and the English Graduate Program. Admitted students will maintain contact with both offices from the time of admission through the end of their graduate studies. The WSU Office of Graduate Studies will send each admitted student a letter that includes his or her personal ID# for registration, and the Director of Graduate Studies in English will assist students in planning their coursework.

Graduate Special Students
Students deciding to take courses as Graduate Special Students, whether graduate and/or undergraduate courses, do so for varying reasons. What these students have in common, though, is that they have finished an undergraduate degree in either English or some other discipline and have decided to take further courses by submitting a Graduate Special Application to the WSU Office of Graduate Studies and paying the tuition for post-undergraduate coursework. Some Graduate Special students enroll in courses simply because they would like to take some post-undergraduate courses, perhaps to fulfill professional obligations or to prepare for application to the English Graduate Program. Other Graduate Special students enroll in this capacity because they were not admitted as degree-seeking students into the English Graduate Program yet they would still like to take graduate classes and/or they would like to reapply to the program but need to bolster their GPAs.

No more than 12 credit hours of graduate courses taken as a Graduate Special Student may be transferred as coursework credit into the English Graduate Program. This transfer occurs when the student applies for candidacy, after admission into a degree program, but before 16 post-acceptance credits have been completed at the graduate level.

Transfer Students
Applicants accepted into the English Graduate Program may, at the time of Application for Candidacy, transfer up to 10 graduate credit hours of approved, pertinent coursework from other institutions. Transcripts for this coursework must be included in the Application for Candidacy.

Costs & Financial Aid
Information about the cost of taking graduate courses at WSU may be found on the Office of Graduate Studies website, www.winona.edu/graduatestudy, as may information about financial aid for graduate students. The English Graduate Program does not currently offer any scholarships for graduate students, though each year the English Department does award a limited number of graduate assistantships. (See, on this website, “Graduate Assistantships: Information & Applications.”)