PhD Writing Sample Length: Limits in 11 Fields

PhD Writing Sample Length: Limits in 11 Fields

There is no standard PhD writing sample length, even within one field. In history, stated limits run from 10 pages (Berkeley) to 25 pages (Yale). At Harvard alone, departments range from 15 pages (Classics) to 100 pages (Linguistics) to "any length" (Government). Check each program's number, its unit and what it counts.

Our view: the common advice of about 20 pages is a rough middle, not a rule, and following it will put you over the limit at some programs and well under at others. Build one complete master paper, then cut a version for each program's limit. The work is in the details that advice skips: whether the limit is in pages or words, and whether notes, references and abstracts count. Stanford English says "Heavier emphasis is placed on the writing sample and letters of recommendation", so these are not details to guess at.

The countercase: one version is enough if every program on your list states the same rule, as UChicago's Arts and Humanities division does for six fields. And where a program wants the whole work, as UCLA Sociology does for a thesis, do not cut at all.

Every department page quoted below was checked on October 29, 2026. Most state no application year, so reread each program's page before you cut. This page covers length. For choosing the paper, excerpting it and authorship rules, see our grad school writing sample guide. Applying to an MFA instead? Creative writing packets are capped in pages, poems or words per genre; see MFA writing sample page limits by program.

Writing sample limits by field

Limits are quoted or closely summarized from each department's page. "Not stated" means the page does not say.

For what goes in the linguistics statement that accompanies the sample, see the linguistics PhD statement of purpose guide.

For the statement that goes with an art history sample, see the art history PhD statement of purpose guide.

Read across the table (our counts, from the rows above):

• Within history, the hard limits are 10, 20 and 25 pages. Harvard sets none and says most samples run 20 to 25. A history sample cut to Yale's 25 pages is two and a half times Berkeley's 10.
• One school can span the whole range. Harvard's departments in this table say 15 pages (Classics), 20 (Art History, Anthropology), up to 20 (Comparative Literature), 12 to 30 (Philosophy), 100 (Linguistics) and any length (Government). Harvard's school-wide page sets no number: "be sure to follow program requirements, which may include format, topic, or length" (Harvard Griffin GSAS).
• One division can be uniform. UChicago's Arts and Humanities table gives 15 to 20 pages for every one of the six fields grouped in that row.
• Words, not only pages. Rutgers Philosophy states only a word range. UChicago Sociology and Harvard English state both a word figure and a page figure.

What counts toward the limit

The table shows four different rules for notes and references, and they change how much argument you can keep:

1. References count. Berkeley History: "You may cite references in the body of the ten page sample or include references at the end – whichever works best for you, as long as the sample is no more than ten pages total." It also warns: "Please note any additional pages will be deleted from the application prior to faculty review."
2. Bibliography or references excluded. Columbia History, Stanford English, Harvard Anthropology.
3. Citations and references excluded. Harvard Classics and Harvard Sociology. Harvard English excludes citations, essay titles and bibliographies from its word count.
4. Not stated. The other 14 department pages in the table do not say, including Yale History, Harvard History and UChicago Arts and Humanities.

Our recommendation: where the page is silent, keep the bibliography inside the limit. You lose a page of argument, but you cannot be over.

Pages and words: a conversion from the programs' own numbers

Two programs state a page figure and a word figure together. Harvard English asks for "15-page papers of no more than 5,000 words", which is about 333 words per page. UChicago Sociology allows "8,000 words (or 30 pages)", which is about 267 words per page (our arithmetic for both).

At 267 to 333 words per double-spaced page, Rutgers's 4,500 to 7,500 words is roughly 14 to 28 pages (our arithmetic). A 20-page paper is roughly 5,300 to 6,700 words. Count the words in your file, not the pages, whenever a program states words.

Excerpts and the page count

Several pages tie the excerpt rule to the limit:

• Do not send a longer paper with reading instructions. Harvard Art History: "Do not send a longer sample with instructions to read a particular section." Harvard Comparative Literature, Harvard English and Harvard Anthropology say the same in their own words.
• An abstract can sit outside the limit. Berkeley History lets you "add to the ten pages a one page cover abstract of the longer paper". Harvard History allows "a brief abstract situating the piece in the larger work". UChicago Arts and Humanities: "If you do submit an excerpt you should include a one-page summary of the whole".
• Some want the whole work. UCLA Sociology: "If you send a thesis, it’s advisable to send all chapters rather than select one or two chapters." Northwestern Linguistics notes that some applicants send an entire MA thesis.

An abstract the program lets you "add to" the limit does not use up your pages. Where the page is silent, our recommendation is to count the abstract inside the limit.

One thesis, three versions

Context (invented): a history senior has a 32-page thesis on colonial land surveys in two river districts, plus 4 pages of bibliography. She applies to Berkeley, Columbia and Yale.

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant document. The page counts are our arithmetic on the invented thesis.

What the three versions show:

• Berkeley's version is a different paper, not a shorter one. With references inside 10 pages, there is room for one argument and one case. The abstract carries the comparison she had to cut.
• Columbia's version keeps both districts. Excluding the bibliography buys back four pages of argument compared with counting it.
• Yale needs a second document. The book review must "cover the book that has most shaped the applicant’s understanding of the kind of work he or she would like to do as a historian". Yale also says the sample should "Normally" be "based on research in primary source materials", so she keeps the sections built on survey maps and land-office letters.

Before you cut: a five-step check

1. Find the number on the department page, not the graduate school page. Harvard's school-wide page defers to each program.
2. Find the unit: pages, words, or both.
3. Find what counts: references, bibliography, citations, abstract.
4. Find the excerpt rule: abstract allowed, whole work preferred, or no reading instructions.
5. Cut to the strictest version first. If you can make the argument in Berkeley's 10 pages, the longer versions are additions, not new papers.

For which paper to send, see choosing a sociology writing sample from another field, whether your literature writing sample fits your SOP, a writing sample after years away from study, and work samples vs academic papers in communication.

Questions about PhD writing sample length

How long should a writing sample be for a history PhD?

Follow the program. At the four history departments in the table, Berkeley allows 10 pages including references, Columbia 20 excluding bibliographies, Yale 25, and Harvard sets no limit but says most samples run 20 to 25 pages.

Is 20 pages the standard writing sample length?

No. It sits inside many ranges in the table, but it is over the limit at Berkeley History (10 pages) and Harvard Classics (15), and well under Harvard Linguistics (100). Use the number on your program's page.

Do footnotes and the bibliography count toward the page limit?

It depends on the program. Berkeley History counts references. Columbia History, Stanford English and Harvard Anthropology exclude the bibliography or references. Harvard Classics and Harvard Sociology exclude citations and references, and Harvard English leaves citations and bibliographies out of its word count. The other 14 pages in the table do not say.

Can I send a writing sample shorter than the limit?

Yes, where the page allows it. UChicago Sociology says "There is no minimum page requirement", and Northwestern Linguistics says samples are "typically" at least 3 to 5 pages. A limit is a maximum, not a target.

Do programs restrict AI help on the writing sample?

Some do. Rutgers Philosophy bars AI in the personal statement and writing sample apart from copy editing for spelling and grammar, and UChicago's Arts and Humanities division treats generative AI in application materials as plagiarism. Both rules are quoted in full in our philosophy PhD guide's section on AI rules. If a school publishes no AI rule, the certification inside the application is what you sign, so read it there. For what the statement should say about the sample, see the history PhD statement of purpose guide.

For applied linguistics master's applicants, the TESOL statement of purpose guide shows how a 500-word statement and a 15–40 page sample split the work.

Journalism schools cap samples at three to five pages; the journalism master's personal statement guide shows how the sample and statement share one beat.

Applying to a creative writing MFA instead? The manuscript replaces the critical paper there, and our creative writing MFA statement of purpose examples show how the statement frames it.

Georgetown CCT pairs a 500-word statement with a 15–25 page sample; the communication master's statement of purpose explains what that leaves the statement to do.

Music scholars often send two papers; the music graduate school statement of purpose guide lists Eastman's and Chicago's counts and page lengths.

Stanford's preface rule for religion samples is worked through in the religious studies PhD statement of purpose guide.

Get a free review of your PhD statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your PhD statement of purpose against GradPilot's PhD SOP rubric. Committees read your writing sample beside that statement. The rubric reads whether your statement sets out specific research questions, connects them to your research record and situates them in current scholarship. The Scholar Voice rubric reads whether your statement makes a claim about your own subject that you argue and return to. Applying in literature? Use the literature PhD SOP rubric, or start from the PhD SOP review.

More guides for humanities and social science applications:

• Grad school writing sample guide: choosing, excerpting and revising the paper.
• How to talk about theory in a statement of purpose: what your SOP should say about the approach your sample uses.
• All PhD essay guides.

Sources

Retrieved October 29, 2026, except where noted. Most pages state no application year; cycle labels are given where the page states one.

• UC Berkeley Department of History, Admissions FAQs: 10-page limit, references counted, abstract, extra pages deleted.
• Columbia University Department of History, Doctoral Program Admissions (deadline December 3, 2026): 20-page limit excluding bibliographies and appendices.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, History: no set length; 20 to 25 pages typical; abstract.
• Yale Department of History, Admissions (December 1 deadline): 25 pages; primary sources; book review.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, English: two 15-page, 5,000-word papers; exclusions; no reading instructions.
• Stanford University Department of English, PhD Admissions FAQs (2027–28, deadline December 1, 2026): 12 to 25 pages excluding references; emphasis on the sample.
• University of Chicago Division of the Arts & Humanities, How to Apply (Autumn 2027): department table; double spacing; one-page summary for excerpts; generative AI rule.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Philosophy: 12 to 30 pages; format.
• University of Pittsburgh Department of Philosophy, Apply: about 20 or 25 pages.
• Rutgers University Department of Philosophy, Graduate Admissions (September 2027 entry): 4,500 to 7,500 words; AI rule.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, History of Art and Architecture: 20 pages; no reading instructions; 2.5 MB.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Comparative Literature: 10 to 20 pages; no reading instructions; second language sample.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Classics: 15 pages excluding citations and references.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Linguistics: up to 100 pages.
• Northwestern University Department of Linguistics, Required Materials: at least 3 to 5 pages; variable upper limit.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Anthropology: 20 pages excluding bibliography; no reading instructions.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Sociology: citations and references outside the page limit.
• University of Chicago Department of Sociology, Apply (2027–28 applications): 8,000 words or 30 pages; no minimum.
• UCLA Department of Sociology, Admission: 15 to 30 pages average; send all chapters.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Government: any length.
• Stanford University Department of Religious Studies, Graduate Admissions (deadline December 8, 2026): 15 to 25 pages; cover sheet for excerpts.
• Harvard Griffin GSAS, Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement and Writing Sample: school-wide page defers to programs.