English Program - Master of Arts (MA) in English
Department of Literature and Languages

The program for the Master of Arts in English is an intensive study of literature designed to prepare advanced students to pursue doctoral level studies in English; launch a career teaching English in community colleges or secondary schools; acquire the cultural knowledge and analytical and communication skills valuable in such fields as journalism, publishing, library science, law, and business; or satisfy a personal interest in literary culture.

Admission

Criteria for admission are listed in the Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. Admitted graduate students who hold a bachelor's degree in English and whose writing skills are assessed as adequate will be permitted to enroll in graduate English courses immediately. In some cases, at the discretion of the English faculty, a student who holds a degree in a field other than English or whose writing skills need further development may be required to take additional English courses at the undergraduate level before enrolling in courses for graduate credit.

Requirements

To earn an MA degree in English, candidates must complete 30 semester hours of graduate course work with grades of A or B. Courses with grades of C are not counted towards the 30 semester hours. Students complete two core courses, seven elective courses, and one course leading to an exam or thesis. Eng 401 must be taken within the first two semesters of work toward the degree. Students must take Eng 465 unless they have passed an undergraduate course in literary criticism that has been judged by an advisor to be the equivalent. All requirements must be fulfilled within six years of admission.

Since requirements are specialized after course work is completed, students are encouraged to take an array of courses in direct consultation with a faculty advisor. Students may submit six hours of transfer credit, subject to approval by the program director. Students have the option of completing up to six semester hours of graduate course work in related disciplines, such as African-American studies, creative writing, film studies, history, languages, philosophy, and women's and gender studies, subject to the faculty advisor's approval.

• ENG 402: Topics in Critical and Literary Theory  (3)
• 5 electives in English  (15)
• 2 additional electives, either in English or (with advisor's consent) in a related discipline  (6)
• ENG 489: Directed Readings OR
  ENG 490: Thesis  (3)

The exam or thesis must be undertaken after all course work has been completed. Students who opt for the exam will complete a two-part comprehensive examination consisting of a written exam on a 100-year period of literary history chosen by the student and based on the reading list provided by the faculty committee chair and approved by the program. Upon passing the written exam, an oral exam covering the same list of texts will be given. Students who choose this option must register for English 489 with the faculty member designated as committee chair.

Students who opt to write a thesis will register for English 490 and write a thesis either on literary criticism or on curriculum development. Subsequent to completing and filing the thesis, the student will sit for an oral defense of the thesis in which he/she gives an account of the project and answers questions about its scope, procedures, and consequences.

The literary criticism thesis is an original piece of scholarship developed in consultation with the student's thesis director. It requires in-depth research and integration of theoretical, cultural, and/or historical secondary sources. The curriculum development thesis focuses on issues of curriculum and pedagogy in literature or composition studies. In consultation with the committee chair, the student conceptualizes and develops a curriculum project germane to his/her professional goals. The project requires course design and rationale, inclusion of pedagogical theories, literary scholarship, and preparation of materials necessary for implementing the curriculum. This option may be particularly beneficial for MA candidates pursuing a career teaching English in community colleges or secondary schools.

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