Degree Requirements
- Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 30 graduate credit hours in English (ENGL) at the 500 level or above.
- Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75. Students must also earn a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum grade of B- in all courses applied to the degree.
- Graduation Requirements: Students have the option of completing the M.A. through either (1) 30 credits of coursework, or (2) 24 credits of coursework with an M.A. thesis. The M.A. thesis must be defended satisfactorily before the student's thesis committee.
- Benchmarks: For details, please go to the English Degree Progress tab.
- Progress toward Completion: Students should complete the M.A. within two academic years, including summer semesters.
- Additional Requirements:
- Breadth Requirement: At least one course must be taken in each of the following areas: American Literature, British Literature, pre-1800 literature, post-1800 literature.
- Foreign-Language Requirement: Students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language in one of the following ways:
- successfully completing the fourth semester of a foreign language at the university level, with a minimum grade of B-. The course must have been completed within the past five years, or
- passing a graduate translation examination administered by the WVU Department of World Languages.
- International students who have submitted the results of an English language proficiency exam (e.g. TOEFL or IELTS) may request a waiver of the requirement.
Curriculum Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Core Courses | 6 | |
College Composition Pedagogy * | ||
and: | ||
Introduction to Literary Research | ||
or ENGL 682 | Recent Literary Criticism | |
Graduate Coursework in English * | 18 | |
Any elective in ENGL at the 500 level or above | ||
Select 6 credits of seminar: | ||
Seminar in Rhetoric | ||
Seminar in American Studies | ||
Seminar in Renaissance Studies, 1550-1660 | ||
Seminar in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Studies | ||
Seminar in British Romanticism | ||
Seminar in Twentieth-Century British Studies | ||
Current Directions in Literary Study | ||
BREADTH REQUIREMENT ** | ||
American Literature: | ||
American Literature to 1865 | ||
American Literature, 1865-1915 | ||
American Literature, 1915-Present | ||
Seminar in American Studies | ||
British Literature: | ||
Medieval Literature | ||
Shakespeare | ||
Renaissance Literature | ||
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature | ||
Romantic Literature | ||
Victorian Literature | ||
Twentieth-Century British Literature | ||
Seminar in Renaissance Studies, 1550-1660 | ||
Seminar in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Studies | ||
Seminar in British Romanticism | ||
Seminar in Twentieth-Century British Studies | ||
Pre-1800-Literature: | ||
Shakespeare | ||
Medieval Literature | ||
Renaissance Literature | ||
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature | ||
Seminar in Renaissance Studies, 1550-1660 | ||
Seminar in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Studies | ||
Post-1800 Literature: | ||
American Literature, 1865-1915 | ||
American Literature, 1915-Present | ||
Victorian Literature | ||
Twentieth-Century British Literature | ||
Seminar in Twentieth-Century British Studies | ||
Completion Requirement | 6 | |
Select one option | ||
Thesis option: | ||
Thesis or Dissertation | ||
Coursework option: | ||
2 additional ENGL courses at the 500 level or above *** | ||
Total Hours | 30 |
- *
Students must take ENGL 609 in their first semester of teaching.
- **
Each of the four parts of the Breadth Requirement must be satisfied. Courses used for the Elective and Seminar requirements may also be used for the Breadth Requirement. A single course may be used for more than one part of the Breadth Requirement, but cannot receive credit more than once. With the permission of the program director, certain courses other than those listed may be used for the Breadth Requirement.
- ***
ENGL 690/790, 698/798, 697/797 should be excluded from any graduate program requirements.
Major Learning Outcomes
English
Upon completion of the M.A. program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the literary and linguistic histories of English-speaking communities
- Apply the critical and professional discourses of literary and cultural study
- Compose persuasive analytical arguments about cultural and literary topics
- Teach writing in English at the post-secondary level