Admission to one of our graduate programs is based on a holistic assessment of the promise for completing the requirements for the degree and match of the student's interests with the program's strengths. Materials reviewed include your writing sample, statement of interest, and letters of recommendation as well as GPA and GRE scores. GRE scores neither ensure admission nor automatically disqualify an applicant. For an overview to the application process, please read Dr. Angela Eaton's excellent article, which is forthcoming in the journal Technical Communication Quarterly.
The program offers four graduate degrees: Master of Arts in Technical Communication (on-campus and online) and Doctor of Philosophy in Technical Communication and Rhetoric (on-campus and online). Application procedures are virtually identical across these four degrees. Where there are differences, they will be noted below.
To apply for admission to the Graduate School, request a "Graduate Application for Admission" to the Graduate School from:
Office of Graduate Admissions
Texas Tech University
P.O. Box 41030
Lubbock, TX 79409-1030
806-742-2787
Submit the completed form and official transcripts of all previous college work to the Graduate School. You may also apply online (select the "Admissions" link and choose the appropriate application form).
A nonrefundable graduate application fee of $50 is required for all U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States. The fee for international students is $60 unless they were undergraduates at Texas Tech, in which case they pay the domestic application fee of $50. This fee must be submitted with the Graduate Application for Admission to Texas Tech and is required before the application can be processed. You may also want to review the TTU Graduate School Catalog.
Note: Any graduate student who has been admitted to the Graduate School but who for any reason has dropped out for 3 consecutive semesters (one or both summer terms count as a single semester) will be required to pay the regular admission fee for readmission. This change will apply to a student who, for example, has been admitted for fall 2006 but decides to delay their attendance to fall 2007. This student will need to reapply and pay the appropriate fee ($50 for domestic students and $60 for international students) for the readmission application for fall 2007.
When the technical communication faculty looks over your application materials, your writing sample, statement of intent, and letters of reference have a huge impact on the way we perceive you. Materials bound for the program should be sent to:
Director of Graduate Studies, TCR
P.O. Box 43091
Lubbock, TX 79409-3091
806-742-2500 #237
The following items should be sent to the program:
The four programs have different deadlines and slightly different requirements for these materials, as detailed below:
On-Campus MATC and PhD students who wish to be considered for fellowships or graduate instructorships should complete their applications by January 15 of each year, or earlier. If you apply later, you are likely not to have teaching support. We occasionally admit students to begin their studies in the spring semester, but those applications will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Online PhD applicants should submit complete application materials by March 1st (to begin in the fall) or September 1st (to begin in the spring). If you do not have a complete application by the deadline, we will move your folder to the next period.
Online MATC students need to submit complete applications by April 1 (for summer or fall enrollment) or October 1st (for spring enrollment). If you apply later, we may not have room in our online classes for you and may delay your preferred enrollment semester.
This statement, which identifies your goals for graduate study, should be approximately 500-1000 words long and should indicate the reasons for your interest in graduate study and explain your career objectives.
For doctoral students, if you can define your research interests for the dissertation, please do so.
Experience in the field is a good predictor of success in the program. Although we have not established a minimum amount of workplace experience, we prefer for applicants to have at least two years' experience in some form of professional communication, which should be indicated either on your program application or in an enclosed resume.
We are not interested in fielding applications from students who have just finished (or who are about to finish) their MA or MS. After two years of data, we believe this policy is very reasonable and almost necessary, given the intensity of the online doctoral experience. We have not established a minimum amount of time between your master's coursework and your application to this program, but we prefer for applicants to have at least two years' distance from their most recent formal graduate work.
The writing sample gives us a chance to see the way you think, organize information, and produce essays and documents. It also indicates your fluency with the English language and gives us a clue as to your experience with writing, editing, and revision. We prefer to have an analytical or critical writing sample, as these genres reveal a lot about the writer and help us make our admissions decision. Maximum length in all cases is 10-20 pages (or 2000-4000 words).
For master's students only, if you do not have such a document, a more functional writing sample will suffice (report, proposal, manual, or tutorial, to name a few examples).
For doctoral students, this sample should be a graduate course paper or the equivalent that demonstrates your ability to develop a thesis using research and analysis.
You are responsible for requesting the letters of reference. List the persons who will write the letters on the application form, and ask these persons to send the letters to the Director of Graduate Studies in Technical Communication and Rhetoric. The letters should address your likelihood of success in graduate school and beyond.
For doctoral students, "success" will usually have to do with your initiative, your capability to produce scholarship, and your ability to think analytically.
For those of you applying to online degree programs, these letters should provide evidence of your ability to work independently.
For those of you applying for teaching positions, your letters should discuss your experience and/or potential for teaching
Doctoral students are usually awarded graduate part-time instructorships (GPTI positions) to begin with their first semester. MATC students are usually offered MA apprentice positions to begin with their first semester. Both the instructorship and the apprenticeship includes a waiver of tuition and most fees. The stipend in 2006-07 for graduate students is approximately $14,500. Students may accept scholarships and fellowships on top of this stipend. To apply, you simply check the “yes” box on the application form, p. 1, question 6: “Do you want to apply for a part-time instructorship?”
Apprentices will participate in the first-year composition program. Most GPTIs teach first-year composition, but some who have completed the course in teaching technical communication teach ENGL 2311 (sophomore technical writing). Some advanced doctoral students in English teach sophomore literature or creative writing, depending on qualifications, though students in TCR would probably not have these assignments. Writing Center positions are also possible (1/4 time, combined with a 1/4-time teaching assignment). The usual teaching load is 20 hours per week in each long term, but we have been able to offer a 20-hour / 10-hour load to first-year students in the past several years and hope to extend that in the future.
All online program applicants need to sign and return our distance learning agreement, which indicates that you understand our requirements for technology, time, and honor.
The online PhD application requires a letter of commitment from your employer, since virtually everyone we plan to admit into the program will be doing their studies and research while working for someone else. This letter of commitment from your employer explicitly acknowledging that class and May workshop attendance is obligatory. This letter must be signed and on company letterhead. Sample of Commitment Letter (Word Document and PDF Document)
Last Update: September 07, 2007