Depending on the availability of openings, the program may admit students in the spring. The deadline for spring admissions is October 15. The department aspires to offer a full teaching assistantship to every individual admitted to the Ph.D. Most teaching assistantships are in the writing program, with some fewer in the English Language Institute. Doctoral students occasionally teach literature, creative writing, or linguistics, especially as an internship. All writing courses are taught in one of the department's eleven computer networked computer classrooms.
All teaching assistants have an office equipped with a computer and most have network access.
Summer teaching is regularly available.