The Master of
Arts Degree in English
The Department of
English at the
(1) Master of Arts in English with a
Concentration in Literature, Thesis Option (Plan A);
(2) Master of Arts in English with a Concentration
in Literature, Non-Thesis Option (Plan B);
(3) Master of Arts in English with a
Concentration in Film;
(4) Master of Arts in English with a
Concentration in Linguistics;
(5) Master of Arts in English with a
Concentration in Teaching English as a Second Language.
All students must
fulfill the University regulations, as stated in The Graduate School Bulletin.
It is the student's responsibility to learn what they are.
All students must
demonstrate the ability to read a foreign language (usually Spanish, French,
German, or Italian) satisfactorily. The Graduate School Bulletin outlines the
ways in which this requirement may be satisfied.
With the approval
of the advisor or the Director of Graduate Studies, up to one-third of the
credit hours may be taken in another department.
Requirements for the Master's of Arts in English with a Concentration in Literature, Plan A (Thesis Option)
1.
Twenty-four hours of coursework following a plan drawn
up in consultation with the student's advisor. ENG 600 (Bibliography and
Methods of Research) must be included. At least half the coursework must be at
the 600-700 level. ENG 780, Directed Studies, may not be taken without the
permission of the Director of Graduate Studies; ordinarily it cannot be
repeated.
2.
Coursework must also include (a) two courses based in a
historical period, one before 1800 and one after 1800, (b) one course
emphasizing critical or theoretical perspectives, (c) one course organized
around a topic, theme, or genre. Students should consult the Department's
course descriptions every semester to determine which requirement courses
fulfill. Although a course may be designated as fitting into several
categories, a student may apply each course to only one. Courses from other
departments can fulfill these requirements with the approval of the Director of
Graduate Studies and the Graduate Committee, based on a course description
and/or syllabus. No required course may be counted toward these categories
(this includes ENG 600 for all A Plan students, and ENG 609 and 610 for TAs).
3.
A Master's thesis normally not to exceed sixty pages.
The thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty members chosen by
the student and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The thesis
director is chair of the committee; the other members act in an advisory
capacity and read the thesis before it is finally accepted. All documentation
should follow the latest edition of the MLA
Handbook for Writers. For specific instructions regarding the format of the
thesis, the student should obtain a copy of "Instructions for the
Preparation of Theses and Dissertations" from the
4.
A 90-minute oral examination based on the thesis and ten
texts that both relate to the thesis and reflect the generalist nature of the
program. These texts should extend the range of inquiry of the thesis into
other periods, genres, authors, themes, or critical perspectives. In
consultation with the Master's committee, the student will construct this list
and submit a rationale for his or her choices at least one month before the
examination. The examination will not be scheduled until the Master's committee
and the Director of Graduate Studies have approved the list and rationale, and
the Master's committee has agreed that the thesis is ready to be defended.
After a successful oral examination, the student must submit two final typed
copies of the thesis to the
Requirements for the Master of Arts in English with a Concentration in Literature, Plan B (Non Thesis Option)
(1) Thirty hours of course work following a
plan drawn up in consultation with the student's advisor. At least half the
course work must be at the 600-700 level. ENG 780, Directed Studies, may be
taken only with the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies; ordinarily
it cannot be repeated.
Course
work must include (a) two courses based in a historical period, one before 1800
and one after 1800, (b) one course emphasizing critical or theoretical
perspectives, and (c) one course organized around a topic, theme, or genre.
Students should consult the Department's course descriptions every semester to
determine which requirement courses fulfill. Although a course may be
designated as fitting into several categories, a student may apply each course
to only one.
Courses
from other departments can fulfill these requirements with the approval of the
Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Committee, based on a course
description and/or syllabus. No required course may be counted toward these
categories (this includes ENG 609 and 610 for TAs).
(2) A ninety minute oral examination based on
thirty texts which, in diverse ways, address a central focus. The texts should
reflect the generalist nature of the program and the structure of the course
requirements, and should include at least five texts each from British and
American literature. The student's committee consists of three faculty members
and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. In consultation with
the committee, the student will construct a list of texts and submit a
rationale at least one month before the examination. The examination will not
be scheduled until the Master's committee and the Director of Graduate Studies
have approved the list and rationale.
Requirements for the Master of Arts in English with a Concentration in Film
(1) Twenty-four hours of class work following
a plan drawn up in consultation with the student's advisor. ENG 600
(Bibliography and Methods of Research), and ENG 681 (Studies in Film) or
six hours of ENG 781 taken under two different subtitles must be included. The
remaining fifteen hours are to be chosen from graduate literature courses.
Students concentrating in film may, if they wish, also take courses in
folklore, linguistics, and creative writing, but only as additions to the basic
twenty-four hour curriculum.
(2) A Master's thesis normally not to exceed
sixty pages. The thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty
members appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The thesis director is
chair of the committee; the other members act in an advisory capacity and read
the thesis before it is finally accepted. At least one member of the committee
must be from outside the film faculty. All documentation should follow the form
in MLA Handbook for Writers. For
specific instructions regarding the format of the thesis, the student should
obtain a copy of "Instructions
for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations" from the
(3) An oral examination based on the Master's
thesis and ten books, chosen in consultation with the thesis director, from a
book list of twenty classic English and American texts. Copies of the book list
are available in the English Graduate Office. The book selection must be
approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and by the examination committee. When
the thesis has been accepted, the Director of Graduate Studies will request
that the Dean of the
Requirements for the Master of Arts in English with a Concentration in Linguistics
(1) Prerequisites:
(a) completion
of six hours of a foreign language;
(b) ENG
414G (Introduction to Modern English Linguistics) or
ENG/LIN 211 (Introduction
to Linguistics) or equivalent.
(2) ENG 512 (Modern English Grammar)
ENG/LIN
515 (Phonological Analysis)
Any two
of the following courses:
ENG 510 (American English)
ENG/LIN 516 (Grammatical Analysis)
LIN 517 (Topics in Linguistics) [may be
repeated]
ENG 519 (Introduction to Old English)
LIN 519 (Historical Linguistics)
PSY 529 (Psycholinguistics)
ENG/LIN 617 (Studies in Linguistics)
ENG 618 (History of the English Language)
ENG 771 (Seminar in Special Topics) [may be
repeated]
ENG 780 (Directed Studies) [may be repeated]
Note: In order to satisfy this requirement, courses taken
under the numbers 771 and 780
must pertain to Linguistics.
At
least nine of the remaining twelve hours of class work are to be chosen from
graduate literature courses. At least half of the class work must be at the 600-700
level.
(3) A Master's thesis normally not to exceed
sixty pages. The thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty
members appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The thesis director is
chair of the committee; the other members act in an advisory capacity and read
the thesis before it is finally accepted. At least one member of the committee
must be from outside the Linguistics faculty. All documentation should follow
the form in the LSA Style Sheet (in each December's LSA Bulletin). For
specific instructions regarding the format of the thesis, the student should
obtain a copy of "Instructions
for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations" from the
(4) An oral examination based on:
(a) the Master's
thesis;
(b) five books
chosen in consultation with the thesis director from a book list of twenty
classic English and American texts;
(c) five books
chosen in consultation with the thesis director from a list of twenty key works
in Linguistics.
Copies
of the book lists are available in the English Graduate Office. The choice of
books must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and by the
examination committee. When the thesis has been accepted, the Director of
Graduate Studies will request that the Dean of the