Application Requirements
Applicants to both the M.A. and Ph.D. programs in American Studies must be in possession of a B.A. or B.S.
To apply, please submit:
- University or college transcripts
- M.A. - Two letters of recommendation/Ph.D - Three letters of recommendation
- A writing sample of up to 6,000 words.
- The sample should be academic or professional writing that best represents the applicant’s analytical, writing, and research skills. If the sample comes from a larger work such as a thesis or exhibit, please provide a short paragraph contextualizing the sample in that broader work.
- A personal statement of no more than 1,500 words.
- The statement should focus on what the applicant wants to study, why they should do so in the American Studies Program at Rutgers-Newark, what affiliated Faculty on the Newark campus they would like to work with, and how they see their proposed graduate work connecting to their career beyond graduation.
G.R.E. scores are NOT required for application to any of our degree programs.
We encourage applicants to contact prospective faculty mentors in preparing their applications to discuss the possibility of joining the American Studies Program. Please note, though there are opportunities to work with Faculty at Rutgers' other campuses, the Faculty in the American Studies Graduate Program who advise and oversee graduate students are based at Rutgers-Newark. See our affiliated Faculty here.
Applications for the Ph.D. Program should be received by December 15, 2022.
Applications for the Master of Arts Program are accepted on a rolling basis until July 15, 2023.
The Graduate Program provides financial support through Graduate Assistantships to students in the Ph.D. program on a competitive basis. Tuition remission for M.A. students is periodically available though not guaranteed and will be determined on a semesterly basis.
Requests for financial assistance should be indicated on the Rutgers University Graduate Application form. Please see Tuition and Funding for more information.
As a rule, the Program only admits full time PhD students with funding packages. If you applying as a part-time doctoral student, please note that in your application.
Forms and other information about applying can be found here: https://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/apply/overview.
Information about the Rutgers University-Newark Graduate School is available at: http://gsn.newark.rutgers.edu/.
If you have any questions about what it is like being a graduate student in our program, please reach out to our current students.
If you have any questions at all about the American Studies Program, please contact Program Director Kyle Riismandel: email - kyle.riismandel@rutgers.edu/text - (862) 201-3206.