Application Information

Fall 2025 admissions to the graduate program

The application deadline is December 1, 2024

Applications that are incomplete by this date will NOT be considered.

Please send initial inquiries to the Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Isiah Lavender III (isiah.lavender@uga.edu), or via phone at 706-542-2197. (Most questions can be found on the Prospective Students FAQ link.)

The GRE is not required for admission to any of our Graduate Programs.

Required application materials

Prospective graduate students must submit materials via the UGA Graduate School application portal. Please note that all materials can now be uploaded directly via the application portal. 

For the UGA Graduate School 

The following required application materials should be sent to the UGA Graduate School via the graduate application portal:

1. Application to Graduate School
2. Unofficial Transcripts
3. TOEFL scores for non-native English speakers
4. 3 letters of recommendation: These letters should be submitted through the online application process. List the names of recommenders in the fields on the application along with their email addresses. For those applying for a Teaching Assistantship, one letter of recommendation should address the applicant's teaching record. The Graduate School will send referees a link to access a secure page where they can submit your recommendation via the web.
5. Statement of Intent: Prepare a typed statement of 500 to 1000 words describing your reasons for applying to our graduate program in English and the kind of study you wish to pursue, including your area(s) of interest, as well as faculty with whom you would hope to work.
   Students applying to the Creative Writing Program(CWP) should make clear areas of interest outside of forms and craft that inform their scholarship. Additionally CWP students should explicitly articulate the connection between their academic interests and creative practice.
6. Resume/CV: 1-2 pages outlining your work and teaching experience, if any.
7. Critical Writing Sample: A critical look at a literature text. This sample may be an excerpt from a longer work and should run 10-15 typed pages; longer samples are discouraged. All creative writing students MUST submit both a critical and a creative sample.
8. Teaching Assistantship/ Research Assistantship Application.
9. Creative Writing Samples (For Creative Writing Applicants Only): While the Program practices and fosters writing between, across, and within multiple genres and media, for purposes of the application we ask that you select a genre concentration and submit a sample consistent with that emphasis: 10 pages of poetry, or 20 pages of fiction or creative non-fiction.

The GRE is not required for admission to any of our Graduate Programs.

Check on the status of your application:

Once you have submitted your application, you can use the Graduate Tracking system to check on the status of your materials. Please also consult the English Departmental field screen in the Graduate Tracking system to see whether Letters of Recommendation have been received, as there will not appear on the Graduate school field.

Application Deadlines

We encourage you to apply as early as possible. Allow plenty of lead time for official test scores, unofficial transcripts, and other materials to reach the Graduate School by December 1, 2024 so that all materials will arrive in our office on time. Incomplete applications will not be considered for admission. No exceptions.

Applicants are responsible for seeing that their materials arrive in the proper offices by the designated deadline. Checking the Graduate Tracking Database frequently is an excellent way to make sure all of your submitted materials have reached us. The Graduate School will email you a user name and password after your application is submitted.

Notification of acceptance

The Graduate School (not the Department) will inform applicants by mail of admissions and assistantship decisions.  Applications incomplete after December 1st will not be considered. Incomplete files WILL NOT be notified of any decisions.