Coursework Requirements

Students will take ten courses of at least three credit hours each:

• English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory
• Three courses in literary history, including one covering literature before 1700 and one covering literature between 1700 and 1900
• Six additional courses (up to two of which may be taken in departments other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)

MA Essay

The MA degree culminates in the writing of a scholarly essay that develops a sustained critical argument over the course of 25 to 30 pages. The MA essay generally arises out of a student’s coursework; it is written during the second year of the MA program under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. The essay gives students the opportunity to pursue topics suggested by their coursework in greater detail and at greater length, and it reflects a substantial course of independent reading and research. Students present their projects publicly at the MA symposium held at the end of the Spring semester, which is attended by faculty sponsors and readers, other interested faculty members, and graduate and undergraduate students in English as well as other disciplines. The symposium provides students the opportunity to discuss and defend their work.

Most MA essays are scholarly, critical papers. With the support of the faculty sponsor and the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, however, students may also satisfy the requirement with an equivalent project that takes a different form (for example, a digital humanities project).

English MA Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for an MA in English from our department.

icon  English MA Timeline

Coursework Requirements

Students will take ten courses of at least three credit hours each:

• English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory
• Three core courses in rhetoric and composition selected from: (1) WRTG 6020: Responding to Student Writing; (2) ENGL/WRTG 6350: Composition Theory and Research; (3) Studies in Writing and Pedagogy; (4) ENGL/WRTG 6770: Studies in Discourse Analysis; and (5) ENGL/WRTG 7760: Rhetoric/ Composition/Discourse
• Three 6000- or 7000-level courses in ENGL
• Three 6000- or 7000-level courses in CMM, ECS, ENGL, or LING, to be approved by the WRS Graduate Coordinator and the English Director of Graduate Studies

MA Exam

Administered during the spring semester, the exam will be in two parts: (1) one question that addresses perspectives on rhetoric and composition from allied disciplines, including English/literary studies, communication, education, and linguistics (timed); and (2) one question exploring a topic that arises from the student’s core courses in rhetoric and composition (take-home). Students have three opportunities to pass the exam; students who fail the exam three times are dismissed from the program. Students must be registered for at least three hours during the semester in which the exam is taken.

Coursework Requirements

The MA in English with a specialization in Video Game Narrative allows students to hone their analytic skills in a video game context while developing a fuller understanding of how video game narrative intersects with and is informed by literary history and broader trends in critical and narrative theory.  

Students will take ten courses of at least three credit hours each, three of which may be taken outside the English department. Teaching colloquia do not count toward the ten courses required for the degree. 

Coursework Requirements 

•      English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory 
•      Two courses in Literary History, of which one must be before 1900 
•      Two Courses in Video Game Narrative and closely related topics at the 6000 level, or at the 5000-level with instructor approval for additional graduate level work, one of which may be taken outside the department. Examples: ENGL 5090, Literature, Film, and Video Games, ENGL 5095, Advanced Video Game Storytelling, and ENGL 5810  On Difficulty / Aesthetics of Violence in Video Games and Literature.
•      Five additional courses, two of which may be outside the department 

MA Exam

Coming Soon

Coursework Requirements

Students will take a minimum of nine courses of at least three credit hours each:

• Four creative writing workshops
• English 7450: Narrative Theory and Practice or English 7460: Theory and Practice of Poetry (depending on the genre of the thesis)
• Four other courses, including at least two literary history courses

MA Thesis & Thesis Defense

During their residence, MFA students are expected to work closely with members of the creative writing faculty and write book-length thesis of publishable quality—a novel, a collection of stories, or a collection of poems.

A complete draft of the thesis should be submitted to the committee chair at least three weeks before the desired defense date. After the thesis has been approved by the chair, a defense date is scheduled and cleared with the other committee members. When the date and time have been set, the student should inform the Graduate Advisor, who will schedule a room for the defense and post an announcement so that the public may attend.

English MFA Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for an MFA in English from our department.

icon  ENGLISH MFA TIMELINE

About the Modular Track

The modular MFA is the only MFA program in the nation that allows students to create courses of study that would capitalize on these three distinct areas, to use the historical, aesthetic and cultural knowledge gained from these subjects in their own creative writing. Upon entering the MFA program, students interested in the modular MFA would declare whether they wanted to pursue a single track (MFA with an Environmental Humanities emphasis, for instance) or a multidisciplinary track (MFA with an American West/Environmental Humanities emphasis).

While enrolled in a writing workshop of their choice each semester, students will also take a wide variety of graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses from departments across campus, including History, Communication, Art and Art History, Philosophy and Film, as well as English. These courses include topics such as Environmental Ethics, Film Directors of the American West, Bookbinding, Digital Arts, Global Environmental History, Videogame Studies, Sound Poetry, Artists’ Books, and Art and Architecture of the American West. Students are also encouraged to take our hybrid graduate writing workshop called Experimental Forms in which students combine poetry, fiction, nonfiction and new media in diverse and original ways.

Coursework Requirements

Modular MFA Requirements

Our traditional MFA program requires nine graduate courses, plus six hours of thesis research. Of these nine courses, four are creative writing workshops, one is a theory and practice in the genre of the student’s thesis, and at least four courses are in literary history and special topics.

Our modular MFA program requires the same number of courses and hours of thesis research, but allows students in particular modules (or multi-disciplinary modules) to take courses outside English to fulfill their four literary history/special topics requirements.

Approved Modular Courses

Below is a list of possible approved courses regularly offered at the university in each of the three modules that modular MFA students might take. This list is not exhaustive; modular MFA students are encouraged to research their departments of interest to find other graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses that might apply.  Courses not on this list must be pre-approved by both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Director of Creative Writing for the student to receive credit towards her modular MFA degree.

Coursework Requirements

Students will take ten courses of at least three credits each:

• English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory
• At least three courses in literary history, including one covering literature before 1700 and one covering literature between 1700 and 1900
•  Six additional courses (up to two of which may be taken in departments other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)

Qualifying Examinations

1. Literary-Historical Period
   • British: Medieval, Early Modern, Restoration and Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
   • American: Colonial and Early National, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
2. Second Literary-Historical Period or Topic
   • Topics are devised in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee, especially the committee chair, and might focus on specific literary, generic, or thematic areas (e.g., history of lyric, gothic literature, graphic novels, the literature of war, queer literature, etc.) or a cultural studies field or otherwise interdisciplinary area (e.g., American studies, digital humanities, film studies, race/ethnic studies, religious studies, gender/sexuality studies, art history, etc.).
3. Topic
   • See the description of possible topics above.
4. Criticism and Theory
   • The list of works for this field will be generated by the candidate in consultation with the supervisory committee. This field may be defined broadly (such as literary theory, cultural criticism, or ethnic studies) or more narrowly (such as feminism, Marxist theory, historicism, folklore, or narrative theory).

English Literary Studies PhD Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for a Literary Studies PhD in English from our department.

icon  ENGLISH Literary Studies PhD TIMELINE

Coursework Requirements

• Four course courses in rhetoric and composition, selected from the following:
  • ENGL/WRTG 6350: Composition Theory and Research
  • ENGL/WRTG 6500: Studies in Writing & Pedagogy
  • ENGL/WRTG 6770: Studies in Discourse Analysis
  • WRTG 7740: Rhetoric I
  • WRTG 7750 Rhetoric II
  • ENGL/WRTG 7760: Seminar: Rhetoric/Composition/Discourse
  • WRTG 7770: Research in Rhetoric and Writing
• Four additional courses in English
• Two additional courses in Writing and Rhetoric Studies or another department (with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies and advice from Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty.

Qualifying Examinations

After successfully completing the program of study described above, the student will take an oral examination covering the core fields. A member of the literature faculty will examine the student on the literary studies core.

Note on the Supervisory Committee in the Rhetoric & Composition Specialization

The supervisory committee chair must be a Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty member jointly appointed in English. The other four members will be appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the candidate and the Committee Chair. Normally at least one other English Department faculty member and one other Writing and Rhetoric Studies faculty member will be on the committee. In addition, a faculty member from an appropriate department will be on the committee to represent the student’s allied field core.

Coursework Requirements

Students will take ten courses of at least three credits each:

• English 6480: Introduction to Critical Theory
• At least three workshops (one in a genre other than the dissertation is recommended)
• At least three courses in literary history, including one covering literature before 1700 and one covering literature between 1700 and 1900
• English 7450: Narrative Theory and Practice or English 7460: Theory and Practice of Poetry (depending on the genre of the dissertation)
• One or two electives (depending on the number of workshops taken; one of these courses may be taken in a department other than English, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies)

Qualifying Examinations

In creative writing, exams focus on the genre (poetry or prose) of the student’s dissertation. Students will be examined in four fields; lists in each field normally include 25-30 major works or their equivalent. Students must complete all required coursework and satisfy the language requirement before scheduling their qualifying exams. Examination lists will be devised by students in consultation with the members of their committee.

1. First Historical Period
   • The genre from its beginnings until the end of the nineteenth century
2. Second Historical Period
   • The genre from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present
3. Topic or Theme
   • Topics or themes are devised in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee, especially the committee chair, and might focus on specific literary, generic, or thematic areas (e.g., history of lyric, gothic literature, graphic novels, the literature of war, queer literature, etc.) or a cultural studies field or otherwise interdisciplinary area (e.g., American studies, digital humanities, film studies, race/ethnic studies, religious studies, gender/sexuality studies, art history, etc.).
4. Criticism and Theory
   • This list will focus on theoretical questions relevant to the genre or the dissertation.

English Creative PhD Timeline

Click on the link below to download a recommended, two-year timeline for a Creative Writing PhD in English from our department.

icon  ENGLISH Creative Writing PhD TIMELINE