Master of Arts in English - Literary Studies

The Department of English offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. The M.A. degree program provides concentrations in literary studies and rhetoric and composition, the M.F.A. degree program allows students to concentrate in either poetry or fiction, and the Ph.D. degree program provides concentrations in literary studies, creative writing, and rhetoric and composition. The M.A. degree program prepares students for further graduate study or for careers in writing, editing, technical communication, research, or business. Time to degree for the M.A. program is two to three years. The M.F.A. and Ph.D. degree programs prepare students to write, teach at the college level, and conduct scholarly research. The M.F.A. degree usually requires three to four years of study, including coursework, and a substantial creative thesis. The Ph.D. degree usually requires four to six years of study, including coursework, examinations, and a dissertation. In addition to its course offerings in British, American, and Transnational Literatures, as well as literary theory, folklore, rhetoric, composition, technical/professional writing, and creative writing, the department provides opportunities for training in scholarly and textual editing through several long-term publishing and editing projects.

Applicants should be aware that admission is competitive and that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the M.A. program. Before entering the program, a student must have completed a bachelor's degree with a major in English or its equivalent from an accredited college or university with at least a B average (3.0) in the undergraduate major. The Department of English admits students to its M.A. programs in the spring and fall semesters of the academic year, admission to the M.F.A. program occurs only in the fall semester. The Director of Graduate Studies in English will consider only complete admission files. Applicants are responsible for seeing that their admission files are complete by the deadlines for admission published in the current edition of this catalog.
A statement of purpose that includes a brief explanation of what the student hopes to accomplish, a clear indication of which degree program the applicant is seeking admission to, and (if the applicant has not yet completed a bachelor's degree) an indication of the term in which the applicant expects to receive the degree.
Transcripts of all previous college or university work. Students should upload unofficial transcripts from every post-secondary institution directly to the application. Any student offered admission will need to have official transcripts sent to the Office of Graduate Services.
Two letters of recommendation sent directly from persons who testify to the applicant's ability to do graduate work.
A critical writing sample of approximately eight to twelve pages. The critical sample is not required for the M.F.A.
Applications for the M.F.A. program must also contain the following: a portfolio consisting of a minimum of 10 poems, or two or three works of fiction totaling no fewer than 30 and no more than 50 pages. One of the two or three fiction samples may be an excerpt of a longer work (novel, novella, etc.), and fiction samples may include short-short/flash fiction, but we ask that the applicant send at least one complete, stand-alone example of short fiction of 15 pages or more. The first page of the creative writing portfolio should list the student's name, email address, phone number, and program the student is applying to (M.F.A. Fiction, M.F.A. Poetry).