The M.A. program in English equips students with the skills to engage with, interpret, and analyze multiple forms of texts as they create original forms of scholarship, theory, pedagogy, and creative and professional writing. The graduate faculty in English prepare graduate students whose knowledge of texts and their languages informs their intellectual and ethical understanding, and whose critical thinking and communication skills (in digital as well as print formats) allow them to contribute to their regional, national, and international communities in a variety of careers and positions. For regular admission to the program, a student must present an undergraduate major in English or equivalent coursework in English (3.20 GPA) from an accredited institution, three letters of recommendation from sources qualified to address the candidate’s specific disciplinary strengths, and a persuasive narrative statement that articulates the candidate’s reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in English. All decisions on admission will be made by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in consultation, as needed, with members of the graduate program committee, subject to final administrative approval.
Students accepted into the program may choose from the following tracks:
Plan I (Thesis Option) consists of 30 credit hours, of which 24 are course work and 6 are thesis (ENGL 6399). Within the 24 hours of course work (8 courses), a minimum of 7 courses (21 hours) must be at the 6000-level. The 6 hours of thesis work cannot be used to satisfy this requirement for work at the 6000 level. Students on the thesis track must register for thesis hours (ENGL 6399) in the semester(s) they prepare and submit the thesis project. A minimum of 21 hours of the coursework must be in English, and students wishing to use courses from other disciplines for credit toward the degree must get approval from the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English. Students may meet the thesis requirement by either writing a scholarly work (a minimum of 65 pages in length) or a creative writing work (a collection of poems, creative nonfiction, or fiction that includes a critical and/or theoretical introduction). The thesis must be defended and approved by the student’s thesis committee, composed of the student’s major professor and two other graduate faculty readers.
Plan II (Capstone Option) consists of 27 hours of coursework (9 courses) and 3 hours of Thesis (ENGL 6399). A minimum of 24 hours (8 courses) must be in English, and 21 credit hours (7 courses) must be at the 6000 level. In addition, students will complete a capstone project in their final semester of study. The 3 hours of capstone work (ENGL 6399) cannot be used to satisfy the requirement for work at the 6000 level. Critical projects should be approximately 20-35 pages, engage in original scholarly research, and demonstrate advanced mastery of pertinent critical assumptions, methodologies, and practices in the discipline. The parameters of creative projects are comparable to those of the critical project but are determined by the student’s project director in accordance with the genre in which the student is writing. Critical and creative projects must be defended and approved by the student’s capstone committee, composed of the student’s major professor and two other graduate faculty readers.
Under both plans, students must get the approval of the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English for their course selections each semester. An oral defense of the thesis or capstone is required. Students should consult with the Coordinator of Graduate Studies as they choose a project director and readers for their committee and will work with their committee to schedule and plan for the project defense.
All graduate students in English are required to demonstrate awareness of diversity and global studies issues by completing at least one program course with a built-in diversity element such as courses with significant content in African American literature (including film), Native American literature, Global or Postcolonial Literature, theoretical approaches focused on global/diversity perspectives or similar topics.
Students who have taken an ENGL 4XXX course as an undergraduate at West Georgia cannot receive credit toward the M.A. degree in English for the concurrent ENGL 5XXX course unless the student and/or instructor can provide evidence that the content of the course (readings, topics, etc.) is significantly different than when he/she took it as an ENGL 4XXX course. Students may repeat specific 5000 and 6000-level courses for credit, if the course covers a different subject or period (e.g. ENGL 6105: Seminar in British Literature I, Medieval Literature and ENGL 6105: Seminar in British Literature I, Renaissance Literature).
Learning Outcomes
Graduate students will be able to:
Recall, compare, and interpret canonical and non-canonical texts, rhetorical conventions, pedagogies, writers, and genres within literary and historical periods.
Apply and analyze content knowledge by using independent research and pertinent theoretical approaches in rhetorically sound critical and creative projects.
Acquire and practice professionalization skills applicable to their articulated professional goals.
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