The PhD Concentration in Rhetoric in the Department of English at Indiana University, Bloomington, prepares engaged teachers, committed scholars, and skilled language professionals to shape the world by shaping its discourses.

Creatively integrating the traditions of both Composition and Communication, the PhD Concentration in Rhetoric enables graduate students to explore rhetorical studies across the full breadth of its methods and approaches. Part of a nationally ranked department, the program offers interdisciplinary pedagogical training in the core fields of writing and speech, with additional opportunities to teach self-designed courses, topical courses in rhetoric and writing, professional and digital writing, and literature.

Graduate students in Rhetoric have the opportunity to work with faculty whose research and pedagogy are productively interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Faculty teach and publish in the areas of digital rhetoric, social justice, rhetorical field methods, visual culture, critical-cultural rhetoric, history and theory of rhetoric, social and political theory, and writing and rhetorical pedagogies. The PhD Concentration in Rhetoric is an ideal place for graduate students to pursue their individual passions and interests in an environment of support, curiosity, creativity, scholarly rigor, and social commitment.

Faculty, graduate students, and alumni frequently present their scholarship at academic conferences and participate in scholarly workshops and symposia, including those affiliated with The Rhetoric Society of America (RSA), The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), and The National Communication Association (NCA). Work by alumni and current graduate students has been published in well-regarded venues, including flagship journals such as College Composition & Communication and The Quarterly Journal of Speech.

Our graduate students are well prepared for the job market, and the list of institutions where our alumni currently hold positions includes University of Iowa, Auburn University, Clemson University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Northern Arizona, Cal State Chico, Idaho State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, La Salle University, University of San Francisco, Saint Mary’s, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Utah State University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Queens Knight School of Communication, and Massey University in New Zealand.

Meet our faculty Learn more about this degree in the Student Portal