English M.A.

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Major in English

(Major Code: 5106)

Major Area Options (33-hour program)

Thesis option
Non-thesis option

General Requirements

Prerequisite to admission to master’s degree program: 30 semester hours of English or equivalencies as determined by the graduate director.
Prerequisite or concurrent enrollment: 6-8 hours of Foreign Language.
Application and record of transcripts should be submitted to the Graduate School.
A student is required to submit a one-page letter of intent along with his/her application, indicating the student’s motivation for seeking an M.A. and the student’s interest in literary study.

Specific Requirements and Opportunities

To complete the master of arts degree in English, the student may choose either a thesis or a non-thesis program. The department head will help prepare a plan of study in either program. Both thesis and non-thesis require 33 hours of graduate work.

Students who wish to teach writing courses in the department as graduate teaching assistants or work as teaching assistants in the department must take ENGL 6380 , Composition Pedagogy and Theory.

The department offers fellowships to students who are interested in Western American Studies. Further information about the fellowship is available through the English Graduate Advisor.

Internships - in publishing, local community development, and research assistance - can be arranged in consultation with individual faculty members and the Graduate Advisor.

With department approval, students are allowed to take up to six hours of coursework in a related discipline, provided that the course selections are sufficiently connected to the student’s research interests.

Comprehensive Exam

All students studying for the Master of Arts in English must satisfactorily complete a written Comprehensive Exam. The exam is taken in the student’s second calendar year and is offered each fall and is based on a list of five to seven books. The list for the year is distributed in the previous fall. The exam combines a thematic essay question as well as a question that tests close-reading skills. Specific information about the exam (length, scoring, sample questions, reading list, etc.) is available in the EPML office.

Requirements for students selecting the Thesis Option

Students who have selected the “Thesis Option” are required to complete a thesis of 60-80 pages on a research topic and give an oral defense of that thesis. In consultation with the graduate director, the student must select a committee with one chair and two second readers. While taking thesis hours (two 3-hour courses in separate terms), the student is expected to consult with the committee and to make satisfactory progress on the thesis. The final thesis must be formatted according to the thesis handbook for West Texas A&M University, available through the Graduate School. The graduate director will notify the graduate office that the candidate has successfully defended the thesis.

Requirements for students selecting the Non-Thesis Option

Students who have selected the “Non-Thesis Option” are required to complete a capstone paper of 20-30 pages of a revised and expanded research paper originally written for a graduate seminar and to give an oral presentation of the capstone.