Degree Requirements
The degree requirements vary according to the emphasis selected, whether literary study or language study, but in general the M.A. program involves 30 credit hours of course work, demonstrated competency in the reading of one foreign language, and successful performance on a comprehensive examination. Students choosing the literature emphasis must take ENG 700 - Bibliography and Methods , and those who did not take History of the English Language (ENG 414A) as an undergraduate must add it to their master’s program either as 414A or 614A. If it is taken as 414A, it will not count toward the 30 required hours. If it is taken as 614A, it may be used toward the 30 hours with the permission of the student’s advisor. Nine credits of the course work must be in literary periods before 1800, nine credits in literary periods after 1800, and the remainder of the credits may be in any period or area. A master’s thesis, which carries six credits, is optional (although recommended) for the literary study emphasis but required for the language study emphasis. It is normally written during two consecutive semesters and must conform to the guidelines set forth by the Graduate College in this catalog and in its Thesis and Dissertation Manual. The M.A. thesis should be an original contribution to knowledge about a suitable literary or linguistic subject and comprise about seventy-five pages. Thesis projects must be designed, developed, and written in close consultation with an appropriate thesis advisor and with the student’s thesis committee.
Students who choose the language/composition theory concentration must take ENG 700 - Bibliography and Methods or ENG 704 - Theory and Practice of Textual Editing ; four language/composition courses (12 credits); three graduate-level literature courses (9 credits) in any period; and six credits of thesis.
ENG 791 - College Teaching in Language and Literature , required of new graduate assistants, does not count toward fulfilling the credit hours requirement.
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