English, M.A.

Requirements

Program Overview

The Department of Language and Literature provides a strong academic curriculum and excellent instruction enriched with Christian values for students of all backgrounds to achieve their highest potential in scholarship. The Master of Arts (M.A.) in English extends the undergraduate curriculum and offers expanded study in language, literature, composition theory and practice, literary theory and criticism, literary history, cultural studies, and readings in diverse texts. Students in the program are expected to write with a high degree of accuracy, effectiveness, and fluency. The program will give emphasis to bibliographical study and research techniques at an advanced level. Students will be given the opportunity to read critically and appreciatively in the best of the world’s literatures.

Master’s level study in English, including required competence in a foreign language, prepares students for a variety of possible careers, including doctoral level study/research and college level teaching. In addition to graduate study and community college teaching, graduate study in English can lead to careers in publishing, professional writing, library work, and government service, as well as study and work in law and the ministry. Students may choose between thesis and non-thesis options in the planned curriculum, depending on interest in research, focus, and possibilities for further study.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general admission requirements for all graduate programs at William Carey University, admission to the M.A. in English is based upon the following criteria:

At least 15 hours of undergraduate English courses (nine of these hours need to be upper level) with a 3.0 GPA in these courses, not including courses in the core curriculum;
A combined score of 293 (850 on the old scale) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE. Students may be admitted on a discretionary basis if GRE score is above 291 (800 on the old scale) and they have at least a 3.5 undergraduate GPA.
Critical writing sample (10-15 page paper in MLA format) and three letters of recommendation.
Have 12 semester hours or intermediate level proficiency in one modern foreign language or agree to meet those requirements during the course of study for the M.A.

Curriculum

A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work in English is required for the M.A. degree. The degree offers thesis (24 hours of course work plus 6 hours of thesis) and non-thesis ( 30 hours of course work) options, giving students increased flexibility and research opportunities. A required course for all students in the M.A. program focuses on bibliography and research methods with special attention to reference tools and practical application. Bibliographic inquiry, textual questions, data retrieval, and study in literary theory are included. The course serves as an introduction to the program and to graduate study in English. A second required course for all students includes study in the history of the English language. Other courses may be selected from the graduate course list which will are generally offered on a two-year rotation schedule. In the last trimester of enrollment, candidates for the M.A. in English who elect the non-thesis option must take written comprehensive examinations based on course work; students who elect the thesis option must take an oral exam which will include a defense of the thesis.

A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work in either the thesis option (24 hours of course work plus 6 hours of thesis) or the non-thesis option (30 hours of course work) is required.

Six required semester hours for all M.A. students must be ENG 601 - Bibliography and Research and ENG 515 - History of the English Language ;
For non-thesis option, 24 semester hours of graduate electives in English chosen in consultation with advisor;
For students electing the thesis option, 18 hours of graduate electives in English, chosen in consultation with advisor, and six hours of thesis, ENG 698 and ENG 699 .
In the last trimester of enrollment, candidates for the M.A. in English must take either a written comprehensive examination based on course work (non-thesis option) or an oral exam to include defense of the thesis (thesis option). If judged unsatisfactory, all or part of the written/oral examination may be retaken once in the following trimester or summer term.
Students are reminded that no more than nine hours of the course work to be applied toward the degree can be at the 500 level. A 400 level course taken for undergraduate credit at Carey cannot be changed to graduate credit nor repeated for graduate credit on the 500 level. Students must maintain a B or 3.0 GPA to continue in the program, and graduate work must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Students making a third grade of C or lower may not repeat any other courses and will be dismissed from the program.
After nine hours are completed in the program, students will be required to complete a progress report with an advisor and complete a signed program of study for the degree.
The foreign language requirement may be satisfied with 12 semester hours of undergraduate course work in one modern foreign language (or the equivalent of the intermediate level). An alternative option is the submission of an acceptable score demonstrating intermediate level proficiency on the CLEP in French, German or Spanish. If the student does not pass the CLEP in two attempts, a locally-administered test may be arranged. If the student does not pass the local exam, the foreign language requirement must be met by passing the intermediate level courses.