Master of Arts in English
Core and Degree Requirements
Mission
Students in the M.A. in English program at Missouri State gain advanced skills in writing, critical reading, and analyzing language. Students also attain a broad, general knowledge of literature. Varying with students' interests, the M.A. in English prepares graduates for doctoral study and for careers in writing, teaching, and other professions.
Program Description
All students in the M.A. in English program must complete 18 hours of core requirements and specialize in one of the following three tracks:
Entrance Requirements
Students who wish to be admitted to the M.A. in English program must have an undergraduate English major (or similar course work) with a minimum GPA of 3.00 overall and a minimum 3.00 in English course work beyond the freshman year. Students must also have a GRE verbal score in the fiftieth percentile or higher. Students who do not meet these requirements but show high promise may be admitted conditionally. As conditions of admission, they may be required to take extra courses to make up deficiencies (including weaknesses in writing), or they may have other requirements stipulated.
Core Requirements (18 hours)
All students in the M.A. program in English must complete the following core requirements:
|
ENG 600: Problems and Methods of Research in English |
3 hrs. |
| Early English Literature (ENG 510, 513, 542, 543, 598, 644) |
3 hrs. |
| Linguistics (ENG 590, 592, 593, 595, 596, 598, 692,693) |
3hrs. |
| Seminar (ENG 610, 611, 612, 620, 625, 635, 644, 648, 657, 658, 680, 685, 686, 693) |
3 hrs. |
| Theory Component (ENG 525, 526, 585, 590, 592, 593, 595, 625, 681, 685, 686, 692, 693) |
6 hrs. |
| Total |
18 hrs. |
For course descriptions, see the English Course Catalog.
Additional Degree Requirements (minimum of 14 hours)
- Track Options and Requirements: The different tracks described below outline a minimum of 14 additional hours of graduate level course requirements and electives. Students should choose electives with an awareness that at least half the credit hours applied toward the 32-hour minimum must be in courses numbered 600 or above. The student must choose a program track before filing for submitting an advisor-approved study program.
- Foreign Language: Students seeking an M.A. in English must have a
reading knowledge of one foreign language (usually French, German, Latin, or
Spanish), although other languages may be approved by the graduate advisor.
Competency may be demonstrated in one of the following three ways:
- completing 12 hours of college study in one language with at least a "C" average
- completing the second intermediate college course with a grade of "C" or higher
- passing a reading competency test administered by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages
- Research Requirement: The M.A. in English requires either a thesis or
two degree papers.
- Thesis: The research requirement may be satisfied by completing a satisfactory thesis. Credit for the thesis (ENG 699), up to 6 hours, may apply to the minimum 32 hours required for the degree. The thesis will ordinarily involve research on an original subject or an original approach to a subject. When appropriate, the thesis may be a creative work.
- Degree Papers: The research requirement may be satisfied by completing two degree papers, deriving from two different 600-level courses. They may be critical, interpretive, or investigative studies of an original topic or an original treatment of a subject, based on primary sources. When appropriate, they may be creative works.
- Colloquia: Students are expected to attend and participate in academic and professional activities. These may be scheduled by the department or may include university and community events such as scholarly conferences, professional workshops, lectures, and presentations.
- Comprehensive Examination: All graduate students in English take the
comprehensive examination during the last semester of course work, or later.
No candidate may take the examination until all "I" and "Z" grades have been
removed and the thesis or degree papers have been accepted.
The comprehensive examination for the M.A. in English is based on reading lists that reflect the student's particular degree emphasis. Each student will prepare for two examination areas, and write two, two-hour essays. Students should begin preparing for the examination early in their graduate studies.
