University of Arizona

UA’s Rhetoric, Composition, & Teaching of English (RCTE) program was created in 1988, growing out of a program in English Education founded in the 1960s. It is one of four graduate programs in the Department of English, the others being Creative Writing, English & Applied Linguistics, and Literature

RCTE offers the MA in English, with a concentration in RCTE, and the PhD (in RCTE) degrees. The mission of the graduate program in RCTE is to provide an education in rhetoric and composition that will help students develop in themselves and others the literacies needed for citizenship in a world of diversity and change. Students in the program take courses in the history of rhetoric, composition theory, literary theory, research methodology, composition pedagogy, language, and literature, and may take courses in complementary fields outside English. In general, the program's courses examine discourse practices and theories in various cultural and educational contexts--historical and contemporary, oral and literate, literary and practical, elite and "popular."

Students in RCTE have opportunities to work with UA's comprehensive undergraduate Writing Program, with Writing Specialists and others doing outreach, articulation and assessment, and with Rhetoric Review, a major journal in the field.

The RCTE program prepares graduate students to conduct research in rhetoric and composition, to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the field, and to develop writing programs in school settings and on the job.

The MA Program is designed for students intending to teach in the public schools and community colleges. This is ordinarily a two-year course of study. Students who are working full-time as teachers in local schools may take longer, up to a Graduate College limit of six years.

The PhD program is designed for students intending on teaching in four-year colleges or writing programs. The RCTE program has a 100% placement for students seeking jobs in higher education, 97% of those tenure-track positions.

Faculty Members include: Matthew Abraham, Damian Baca (current Program Director), Amy Kimme Hea, Ken McAllister, Tom Miller, Susan Miller-Cochran, Cristina Ramirez, Stephanie Troutman, and John Warnock. Affiliated faculty in the Writing Program include: Aimee Mapes, Rochelle (Shelley) Rodrigo, and Christine Tardy. Emeritx include: Theresa Enos, Anne-Marie Hall, and Tillie Warnock.