English Placement & Proficiency Exam

To be admitted to graduate study in English, a student should have completed at least 18 credit hours in undergraduate English courses above the freshman level with an average grade of "B" (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or above.
In addition to the graduate application, fee, and transcripts, the following is required:

  • Statement/letter of purpose*.
  • Three letters of recommendation*.
  • Writing sample, minimum of 10 pages.
  • Optional: GRE or MAT scores optional but a welcome supplement to other required materials; however, GRE or MAT scores are required for these MA students applying for teaching assistantships.

*A student wishing to apply for a teaching assistantship should address her or his strengths as a teaching assisant in the statement/letter of purpose; likewise, those providing letters of recommendation should address a student's potential as a future teaching assistant.

In addition to the grade average specified above, international students must score at least 600 on the paper-based TOEFL examination, 250 on the computer-based TOEFL examination, or 100 on the Internet-based TOEFL examination to be eligible for unconditional admission.

All candidates for Master of Arts degrees with majors in English are required to take English 8010 (Introduction to Literary Research) within the first nine hours of graduate study and to complete one of the following plans of study:

Option I:

Successful completion of 24 credit hours in course work, including at least 12 hours in seminar-level courses; plus a thesis (six credit hours) on an approved topic accepted after oral defense before a faculty committee; plus a comprehensive written examination over a designated body of literature or language prepared and judged by a faculty committee.

Option II:

Successful completion of 36 credit hours in course work, including at least 18 hours in seminar-level courses, plus a comprehensive written examination over a designated body of literature or language prepared and judged by a faculty committee.

The following English seminars vary in emphasis and may be repeated for credit: English 8100, 8200, 8400, 8500. 8600, 8800, 8900, and 9120.

With approval of a student's adviser and the English Graduate Program Committee, a student may include a minor or course work from another related discipline or disciplines as part of the Plan of Study. For Option I (thesis) a minor is nine hours; for Option II (non-thesis) a minor is nine hours. The maximum amount of course work which may be applied from another discipline or disciplines is the same as that for a minor for Option I (nine hours) or Option II (nine hours).

The English department offers an area of concentration in rhetoric and professional writing at the graduate level. To fulfill the requirement, graduate students must include 9 hours of specified course work on their plan of study.

Graduate Minor

The Graduate Minor in English requires 9 hours of graduate work in English and is designed to complement the master's course of study in an allied program. For example, a student taking an MA in History might want 9 hours of English Literature to complement her history program. Thus, the Graduate Minor is not a "stand alone" credential.