Special Admission Requirements
In addition to meeting the university admission criteria, applicants must:
- have completed a bachelor’s degree in English or in a very closely related field from a regionally accredited college or university with a 3.0 G.P.A.;
- have an undergraduate major in English, literature, language, linguistics, or a closely related field;
- submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); including “480” or higher on the Verbal section and “4” or higher on the Writing Exam portion; students scoring a “3” may be granted probationary status with additional requirements assigned;
- complete prerequisite course work with a “B” or better in each course; and
- provide three letters of recommendation, with at least two letters from professors/instructors in the field.
- Students without the following undergraduate prerequisite course work will be granted conditional admission and be required to complete all prerequisites before full admission to the M.A. in English program: three hours in English (or British) Literature I or II, three hours in American Literature I or II, three hours in Shakespeare, and three hours in literary criticism. Completion of all prerequisites is required in addition to graduate degree requirements noted.
- Students must maintain a G.P.A. of 3.0 for the first nine credit-hours to continue enrollment. Only one course in which a student earns less than a “B” may be repeated once.
Thesis/Non-Thesis Option
With faculty approval, students may choose a thesis option. In the thesis option, a student completes research and prepares a formal thesis manuscripts. The thesis option would be appropriate for students who have research interests or who intend to pursue doctoral studies. In the non-thesis option, a student takes ENGL 892 Comprehensive Exam in English. More information concerning the options is available in the English Graduate Student Handbook.
