Master of Arts in English

The M.A. in English is the stepping stone toward completion of a Ph.D. in the field, which most often leads to the position of a college professor. Admission requirements for the M.A. program are as follows:

• Meet the undergraduate course requirements for English: 18 undergraduate semester hours in upper-level English.
• Submit a critical writing sample with an application for admission.
• Have 12 semester hours (or 2 high school credits plus intermediate level at university level) of coursework or the reading knowledge of one foreign language before admission to candidacy.

Three "tracks" for the M.A. are offered: non-thesis, thesis, and teaching. Each requires 30 total hours; non-thesis and thesis require all coursework in English, while the teaching track allows up to 9 hours in Education. All students are initially admitted as non-thesis or teaching track. Upon successful completion of at least 9 hours in English and with a viable thesis prospectus, candidates may request departmental permission to move into the thesis track.