COURSEWORK:
Required Coursework (30 credits total)
- 30 hours of graduate coursework (i.e. 10 seminars)
Other Potential Coursework
- Students may take any 5000 or 6000 level courses.
- With prior approval of their program and the Graduate College, students may take 3 credits of 3000-level or 4000-level coursework that will apply towards their graduate credit requirements.
- A student may opt to conduct an independent study with a member of the graduate faculty. Only one such study will count toward completion of coursework for the M.A. The independent study may not cover the same material as a Comprehensive Exam list.
- A student may take up to 9 credit hours in graduate courses outside of English. These courses must be approved by the DGS.
- ENGS 6790: Teaching Writing I is required of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) during their first semester of teaching.
- GTAs may take ENGS 6795: Teaching Writing II up to two times after completion of ENGS 6790.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM:
In the spring of their first year, full-time students opting for this track should identify three faculty members with whom they would like to work on their Comprehensive Exams. The faculty members must be full-time and members of the Graduate College. Students work with each examiner to produce a subject area reading list—thus the Comprehensive Exam will cover a total of three subject areas. Individual faculty members may determine what constitutes an appropriate subject list, but lists typically address either particular theoretical perspectives (such as feminist or post-colonial theory) or specific literary time periods and genres (such as the Victorian Novel or Romantic Poetry). Each list should cover 10-15 primary texts. Faculty may also opt to assign major-relevant secondary reading. The three lists may not contain overlapping content, nor may any list simply replicate the reading requirements of a graduate seminar. Students are responsible for meeting with their examiners to discuss the materials and their progress while preparing for the exam.
Students must submit their final lists to the Director of Graduate Studies (email link) on the last day of classes for the spring semester. Students prepare for their exams over the summer and through the fall of the second year. They take the exam in the spring semester of the second year. Each faculty member produces one question based on the reading list for that subject area. Exams are open-book and open-notes, but use of the Internet for retrieval of information is prohibited. The composer of each question grades that essay. Students who fail one of their three essays may be re-tested in that area. Students who fail two or three areas must retake the entire examination. Any student who fails any part of the re-examination must leave the Master's program.