English – Master of Arts

The Master of Arts in English is an online program.

Admission Requirements

Conditional

1. General admission to graduate study (for criteria, refer to Admission to Graduate Study).
2. Strongly recommended are:

• Completion of an undergraduate major or minor in English or equivalent;
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on all undergraduate English courses above the freshman level;
• 12 credits of upper division English and American literature

*Students who meet the requirement for admission to graduate study will be conditionally admitted.

Unconditional

There are two ways for students to attain unconditional admission, which students will need to graduate with an MA in English:

1. Students achieve an MSU GPA of 3.5 or higher during their first 12 credit hours, with no grade lower than "B"
   OR
2. Students who fail to maintain a GPA of 3.5 may gain unconditional admission by achieving a minimum score of 146 on the verbal section and 140 on the quantitative section of the GRE.

Program Competencies

All students are expected to demonstrate:

1. Mastery of research methods.
2. Mastery of major periods in British and American literature.
3. Command of literary terminology.
4. Ability to write about literary texts at a sophisticated level from a definable critical approach.
5. Command of linguistic techniques.
6. Mastery of the conventions of the critical essay.

Assessment

1. Assessment of performance on the M.A. in English exit examination using a rubric.
2. Assessment of final literature papers for graduating students using various rubrics.
3. Assessment of linguistics projects to analyze human language using a rubric.

Requirements for the Degree

1. Satisfy general degree requirements.
2. Maintain a 3.0 GPA in all English courses; a maximum of two "C" grades will be accepted for credit toward the degree. No student with a current GPA below 3.0 may sit for the M.A. in English exit examination.
3. Satisfactory performance on the M.A. in English exit examination. (No student may take the exam more than twice.)
4. A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours. The 30 graduate credit hours in English are to include the following minimum requirements: three hours in a major author course, three hours in writing, three hours in linguistics, and 21 hours in English electives, with at least three hours in British and three hours in American literature. Only three hours of ENG 676 - Directed Study may count toward the completion of the M.A. in English.

Program Requirements

Core Requirements

Major Author - Choose three hours from list below:

ENG 634	Chaucer	3
ENG 635	Topics in Shakespeare	3
ENG 636	Major American Author	3
ENG 637	Major British Author	3
ENG 638	Milton	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

Writing - Choose three hours from list below:

ENG 612	Theories of Teaching Writing	3
ENG 683	Advanced Poetry Writing	3
ENG 684	Advanced Fiction Writing	3
ENG 690	Technical Writing	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

Linguistics - Choose three hours from list below:

ENG 680	English Syntax	3
ENG 685	Psycholinguistics	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

American Literature - Choose three hours from list below:

ENG 619	American Renaissance	3
ENG 620	American Poetry	3
ENG 622	American Novels	3
ENG 624	American Literature in Perspective	3
ENG 636	Major American Author	3
ENG 639	African-American Literature	3
ENG 661	Studies in American Literary Periods	3
ENG 663	American Fiction	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

British Literature - Choose three hours from list below:

ENG 630	Topics in British Literature	3
ENG 632	The British Novel	3
ENG 633	Old English Literature	3
ENG 634	Chaucer	3
ENG 635	Topics in Shakespeare	3
ENG 637	Major British Author	3
ENG 638	Milton	3
ENG 645	Renaissance Literature	3
ENG 647	Restoration and Eighteenth Century British--Literature	3
ENG 648	Romantic Period	3
ENG 650	Victorian Period	3
ENG 652	Twentieth--Century British Literature	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

English Electives

Choose 9 hours from list below:

ENG 600	Studies in English for Teachers	3
ENG 608	Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute	3
ENG 609	Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute	3
ENG 612	Theories of Teaching Writing	3
ENG 619	American Renaissance	3
ENG 620	American Poetry	3
ENG 622	American Novels	3
ENG 624	American Literature in Perspective	3
ENG 628	Literary Theory	3
ENG 630	Topics in British Literature	3
ENG 632	The British Novel	3
ENG 633	Old English Literature	3
ENG 634	Chaucer	3
ENG 635	Topics in Shakespeare	3
ENG 636	Major American Author	3
ENG 637	Major British Author	3
ENG 638	Milton	3
ENG 639	African-American Literature	3
ENG 645	Renaissance Literature	3
ENG 647	Restoration and Eighteenth Century British--Literature	3
ENG 648	Romantic Period	3
ENG 650	Victorian Period	3
ENG 652	Twentieth--Century British Literature	3
ENG 653	Modern Drama	3
ENG 655	Early Dramatic Literature	3
ENG 661	Studies in American Literary Periods	3
ENG 663	American Fiction	3
ENG 666	Contemporary Literature	3
ENG 670	Film and Literature	3
ENG 680	English Syntax	3
ENG 683	Advanced Poetry Writing	3
ENG 684	Advanced Fiction Writing	3
ENG 685	Psycholinguistics	3
ENG 690	Technical Writing	3
Total Credit Hours:		9

General Electives

Choose two 600-level electives (ENG or non-ENG) subject to the advisor's approval.

	Electives	6
Total Credit Hours:		6

Total Credit Hours: 30