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Degree Requirements

Degree Overview

The English Department's Master's program is flexible in its requirements, allowing students considerable freedom in choosing courses in English and in related disciplines. However, this program appeals to a select audience, including students who may not have earned a Bachelor's degree in English Literature but who want to increase their knowledge of the literary canon and critical theory. Running in tandem with the Ph.D. program, the Master's program's admissions standards are exceptionally high, while it's important to note that there is no financial aid available for students in our M.A. program. As a result, the program matriculates a small cohort each year. Graduates of the Master's program have gone on to pursue careers in secondary teaching and publishing; they have also entered Ph.D. programs at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Southern California, the Miami University in Ohio, among others.

Because a Master's degree is not a prerequisite for admission into our Ph.D. program, students accepted into our Master's program who are interested in pursuing doctoral work must apply separately to the Ph.D. program and compete with its annual pool of applicants. Subsequent admission into the Ph.D. program is for these students more the exception here than the norm.

Candidates for the Master's in English Literature enroll in a program of study consisting of nine courses, up to three of which may be taken in related departments.  The final project for the degree is a Capstone Essay, a 20-25 page expanded version of a paper written for an English department graduate seminar.