University General Course Catalog 2023-2024 ARCHIVED CATALOG: LINKS AND CONTENT ARE OUT OF DATE. CHECK WITH YOUR ADVISOR.
English, M.A.
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 Return to: Programs in the College of Liberal Arts
The M.A. program is designed for students who plan to continue work toward the Ph.D., for potential community college teachers, for individuals who want to acquire overall background in the study of language and literature, and for those interested in writing and editing careers.
Four specializations are offered within the degree program:
- literature,
- writing,
- public engagement, and
- language.
Both a thesis plan and a non-thesis plan are available. Proficiency in one foreign language (the equivalent of four semesters of college-level coursework) or equivalent interdisciplinary literacy (MA Public Engagement) is required.
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Program Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes
- Declarative Knowledge: broad knowledge of several of the historical fields in, literary genres of, and major critical approaches to British, American, and World Literatures in English; or, broad knowledge of writing studies issues and methodologies; or broad knowledge in literary and rhetorical public engagement and its methodologies; or broad knowledge of linguistics issues and methodologies.
- Students will demonstrate specialized competence in the primary and secondary literature of an appropriate specialized sub-field of literature or writing or public engagement or language.
Admission Requirements
Applicants to the M.A. program must hold a bachelor’s degree with an undergraduate major or minor in English and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Potential applicants without an undergraduate major or minor should talk with the Director of Graduate Studies to determine which undergraduate English courses they should take to prepare to apply.
I. Program Requirements
General requirements: In the non-thesis plan, a minimum of 23 units must be earned in residence; in the thesis plan, the minimum is 21 units. All MA students are required to take a substantial portion of their course work at the 700 level. In the Public Engagement emphasis, at least 16 credits must be completed in courses numbered 700 or above. There is not a thesis option for MA in Public Engagement. In the Literature, Rhetoric and Writing Studies, and Language emphases, 19 credits must be numbered 700 or above in the thesis plan, or 16 credits in the non-thesis plan. The MA program requires a comprehensive exam as part of the degree requirements. In general the exam includes three parts:
- a professional paper or a writing portfolio
- a written examination over a set reading list or over coursework
- an oral exam of about an hour and a half, covering the professional paper or portfolio and the written exam. Students must register for 1 unit of ENG 795 - Comprehensive Examination the semester they will be completing their exams.
A. Requirements for Literature Emphasis
In consultation with their M.A. committee chair, each student will complete a professional paper and pass written examinations administered by his or her advisory committee.
1. Research Methods (3 units)
2. Distribution Requirements (9-24 units)
The student must take at least one course in nine of the following 10 categories:
- Poetry
- Fiction
- Drama
- Linguistics
- Nonfiction/Intellectual Prose
- Rhetoric
- Literary Criticism
- American Literature
- British Literature before 1800
- British Literature after 1800
Five of the distribution requirements may be met by courses taken at the advanced undergraduate level (the equivalent of our department’s 400-level courses) in which the student earned a “B” or above. The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the faculty, determines which distribution requirement(s) specific courses may meet.
3. Literature Topic or Field (6 units)
The student must take at least two courses in a particular field of interest, determined in consultation with his or her M.A. committee chair. Fields or topics might, for instance, include the Renaissance, nineteenth-century British poetry, or the American novel. These courses may also meet distribution requirements.
4. Thesis (6 units)
Thesis units replace 6 units of coursework.
B. Requirements for Language Emphasis
At the completion of all coursework, the student must submit a professional paper (non-thesis option) and pass written examinations administered by his or her advisory committee (thesis and non-thesis option).
1. Research Methods (3 units)
2. Language Courses (12 units)
3. Language Electives (6-9 units)
For the non-thesis option, these should include nine additional credits. For the thesis option, these should include six additional credits. Below is a list of possible courses. Other courses not listed (including those from outside the English department) may also be selected in consultation with student’s committee or with the approval of linguistics faculty.
4. Other Electives (3-6 units)
Other courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisory committee to complement the student’s interest in language. Courses may include graduate courses in English, or in other disciplines such as Anthropology, Psychology, Computer Science, World Languages, Basque Studies, Speech Pathology, Philosophy or in the College of Education.
5. Thesis (6 units)
Thesis units replace 6 units of coursework.
C. Requirements for the Rhetoric and Writing Studies Emphasis
Working closely with the advisory committee, the student will prepare a reading list of approximately 15 important works in the field of Rhetoric and Writing Studies. For the comprehensive examination, the student writes a synthesizing paper on a topic approved by the committee. Additionally, the student takes a one-day written examination, prepared by the committee, over ideas and concepts represented by the student’s selected reading list.
1. Research Methods (3 units)
2. Electives (6-9 units)
At least two courses for the thesis plan and three courses for the non-thesis plan must be chosen from the following electives:
3. Other Electives (12-15 units)
In consultation with the advisory committee, the student will choose at least 4 courses for the thesis plan or 5 courses for the non-thesis plan, to complement his or her interests. No more than three courses may be taken outside the Department of English.
4. Language Studies (3 units)
The student’s undergraduate or graduate course work must include an advanced course in English language studies, as approved by the advisory committee. The following are acceptable courses.
5. Thesis (6 units)
Thesis units replace 6 units of coursework.
D. Requirements for the Public Engagement Emphasis
In consultation with the M.A. committee chair, each student will complete a professional portfolio. The portfolio will include an historical and critical framework for understanding and engaging a particular issue through literary and rhetorical texts as well as professional materials that display knowledge of the framework.
1. Research Methods (3 units)
2. Public Engagement Requirements (6 units)
3. Power Place and Publics Electives (6 credits)
Students will be required to take two English graduate courses that match the focus on power, place and publics through consultation with the instructor as well as their advisor.
4. Other Electives (6-9 units)
In consultation with the advisory committee, choose at least 2 English courses, one of which must be a 700-level rhetoric course and one of which must be a 700-level literature course. Please review the list of elective courses .
5. Interdisciplinary Literacy Requirement (6-9 units)
The interdisciplinary literacy requirement mandates that students have competency in a foreign language or cognate discipline. Because this program is designed to be academic as well as instrumental, there may be students for whom a secondary content area is more beneficial that a foreign language competency. Thus, students can decide if they wish to fulfill this requirement through foreign language coursework (or examination), two graduate-level courses in a single discipline outside the English department, or three advanced courses in linguistics. No more than three courses total may be taken outside the English department.
VI. Total Units (31 units)
The M.A. program is 31 units with 1 credit required for the comprehensive examination (ENG 795 ). The comprehensive examination can be used to fulfill the required units of 700-level coursework.
VII. Notes
The literature emphasis includes a variety of courses dealing with different genres and periods in English and American literatures; it focuses on the ability to think and write critically about literary texts. The Rhetoric and Writing Studies emphasis focuses on the craft of writing and offers a choice of coursework in expository and imaginative writing, composition theory and practice, language, and literature. The public engagement emphasis combines the literature and writing emphasis and adds an emphasis on public engagement. The language specialization includes courses in linguistics, the structure and history of the English language, and literature.
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Return to: Programs in the College of Liberal Arts
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