2022-2023 Graduate Catalog English

The Department offers a master's degree in English, with emphases by advising in English studies, children’s literature, creative writing, linguistics, literary and cultural studies, rhetoric and composition, technical writing and rhetorics, and TESOL. ENG 402 is required for students with teaching assistantships in the writing program.

All master’s degree programs require a minimum of 50 percent of the non-thesis credit hours applied to the degree to be 400-level courses or above.

Option 1 - Non-Thesis

This degree option, made in consultation with the advisor, requires 11 courses and either a comprehensive examination or a portfolio, the contents of which are to be determined by the student, also in consultation with the advisor.

Option 2 - Thesis

This degree option, made in consultation with the advisor, requires 10 courses and a thesis. The typical program is approximately 34 semester hours.

The Master of English Education is a professional degree designed to improve the content and pedagogical knowledge of in service teachers of English language arts (ELA) who already possess a bachelor’s degree in English Education. The 34 credit hour degree requires core coursework in English Education and elective coursework in English or related disciplines. It also requires a thesis.

Students who wish to complete degree requirements for a Master of Arts rather than Master of Science, must complete the Graduate School Master of Arts degree foreign language requirement.

English Education Content:

• 15 credit hours of the following: ENG 435, ENG 436, ENG 437, ENG 438, ENG 439.

Elective Content:

• 15 credit hours from 400-level courses in English. Students may take graduate courses in other related disciplines such as Educational Administration and Foundations, Special Education, Teaching and Learning, Theater, and Communication. Written permission must be received prior to enrollment from the English Education Graduate Program Coordinator.

Required Thesis

• 4 credit hours of ENG 499 under the direction of English Education graduate faculty advisor or thesis chair.

A full-time student should normally complete coursework in two calendar years, a part-time student, in four years. Other university requirements for Ph.D. degrees are listed elsewhere in this catalog.

Course requirements include: 

• 3 hours: ENG 402 for students with teaching assistantships in composition 
• 16 hours: ENG 510, ENG 540, ENG 560, and ENG 590 
• 6-9 hours: English Studies electives 
• 6 hours: pedagogy 
• 15 hours: specialization 
• comprehensive examinations: specialization exam and English Studies presentation 
• 4 hours: ENG 591 
• Internship in Teaching 
• 15+ hours: ENG 599, dissertation that connects research in language, literature, or writing with pedagogy

The graduate certificate requires 15 hours to consist of ENG 341, ENG 342 or ENG 343, ENG 344, ENG 394, and ENG 441. Students desiring to acquire the certificate should consult the Graduate Program Director.

The Post-Baccalaureate Graduate Certificate is earned upon completion of the following 18 hours of courses: 

• ENG 409A01 Major Figures in the Teaching of Writing in High School/Middle School 
• ENG 409A02 Issues of Grammar Teaching Writing High School/Middle School 
• ENG 409A03 Writing Assessment in High School/Middle School
• ENG 409A04 Using Technology to Teach Writing in High School/Middle School 
• ENG 409A05 Applying Rhetoric to the Teaching of Writing in High School/Middle School 
• ENG 409A06 The Writing Project

With permission of the Graduate Program Director, an appropriate 400-level course focused on composition or the teaching of composition may be substituted for one 409 course.

The Post-Baccalaureate Graduate Certificate does not automatically lead to a graduate degree or guarantee of admission to a degree program. Credits earned for the certificate may, with the approval of the Graduate Program Director, be applied toward an M.A., M.S. or Ph.D. in English Studies if the student is admitted to one of these programs.

English Courses

When content differs, some courses may allow multiple enrollments with the approval of the Department’s Graduate Program Director and the Graduate School.