Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 General Catalog 
    
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English - MA


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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of English

MA/MS in English Requirements


Applicants will be admitted to the English degree in Literature and Writing (30 credits).

Literature and Writing

The “Literature and Writing” specialization offers an MA or MS in English to students who wish to do advanced work in the fields of literary criticism, creative writing, composition, and rhetoric. The aim is to professionalize students, helping them to become scholars, creative writers, and teachers of English. While any student having a strong undergraduate education in English, along with a desire to pursue that education further, is welcome to pursue the Literature and Writing specialization, the specialization does cater most directly to future PhD and MFA students in English, future two-year college instructors, and secondary educators. Under the guidance of a faculty committee, students are required to write a thesis as the culmination of their studies.

Master’s Degree Plan Option(s)

Students with a literature and writing specialization in the master’s degree in English can receive the MS or MA by pursuing one of two options:

  1. In the Plan A option, students complete graduate-level coursework and must write a six-credit thesis, which can be either critical or creative work.
  2. The Plan B option requires the production of a three-credit paper or creative work and is expected to reflect equivalent scholarship standards as a thesis.

In both seminars and workshops with faculty, Literature and Writing students consider literary and nonliterary texts, learning not only how to interpret such texts, but also how to produce them. The course of study thus includes both theory and practice: students take part in the reading and the writing of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, criticism, essays, and arguments.

Although most of their courses will be completed within the Literature and Writing curriculum, students may also pursue their interests by taking some courses in the department’s other master’s programs (American Studies, Folklore, and Technical Communication).  Permission of the Director of Graduate Studies in English is required. Coursework may include some online courses; however, Literature and Writing is an on-campus specialization and may not be completed by taking only online classes.

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