Regardless of concentration, all students must complete 30 credit hours for the degree, with at least 15 of those hours at the 600-level. University regulations permit us to accept (with approval of the MA Committee) up to six hours of transfer credit and up to six hours taken as a "special student," before a student is fully admitted to the program. With approval from the MA director, students may take a limited number of courses in other departments that complement their interests within their concentration. As discussed further below, in each concentration, a student may choose to write a thesis as part of the degree.

Requirements Specific to Concentrations

Literature
The literature concentration emphasizes reading, textual analysis, and critical thinking. Students are encouraged to develop their own area of interests rather than exhaustively cover all literary periods and genres.

1) Either English 530, Introduction to Literary Scholarship, or English 531, Literary Criticism (3 cr.)
2) English 501, Introduction to Graduate Studies (1 cr.)
3) One course in Writing and Rhetoric (3 cr.)
4) Five courses in literature, linguistics, or criticism (15 cr.)
5) Three additional courses in literature, linguistics, or writing and rhetoric; or coursework from outside the department with approval of the MA Committee. Six hours (the equivalent of two courses) may be thesis credits. (9 cr.)
6) An examination based on a reading list and coursework.

Writing and Rhetoric
The writing and rhetoric concentration focuses on theory, pedagogy, and practice as it prepares students to write, teach, and approach discourse critically.

1) English 636, Teaching Writing (3 cr.)
2) English 501, Introduction to Graduate Studies (1 cr.)
3) English 672, Writing Nonfiction (3 cr.)
4) One course in linguistics, to be chosen from the following (3 cr.):

English 532, Applied English Linguistics
English 552, Teaching English as a Second Language
English 553, Studies in Linguistics

5) One graduate-level course in literature (3 cr.)
6) Two additional courses in Writing and Rhetoric (6 cr.) to be chosen from the following:

English 637, Theories of Writing and Rhetoric
English 651, Topics in Teaching Composition
English 652, Topics in Writing and Rhetoric
English 670, Literary Editing and Publishing
English 671, Film and Television Scripts
English 692, Independent Study
English 694, Internship in Writing

7) Four additional courses in literature, linguistics, or writing and rhetoric; or coursework from outside the department with approval of the MA Committee. Two of these courses may be thesis credits. (12 cr.)
8) If the student does not write a six-hour thesis, he or she must take a written comprehensive examination based on a reading list and on coursework.