English
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Master of Arts
Our program encourages individuality and collaboration as it prepares candidates for academic and non-academic careers. Graduates have gone on to top-tier Ph.D. programs or opted to work in industry or for national and local nonprofits.
Admissions Requirements
Graduate studies in English is open to all qualified applicants who hold a BA or a BS in English or a related field from an accredited college or university.
Financial Assistance
Teaching assistantships are available and are awarded on the basis of the applicant's scholastic record, letters of recommendation, and the student's letter of interest. All applicants that are accepted by the Graduate School in good standing are eligible for an assistantship in the Department of English. Letters of interest (if applicable) for teaching assistantships should be submitted at the same time as the application to the program is submitted to the Graduate School and should address prior experience and qualifications.
Graduate students are awarded teaching assistantships for the academic year only. University graduate tuition charges (not fees) are waived for all TAs. Teaching Fellowships are available to selected TAs after completing course work. Moreover, the Department of English annually awards the Rooney Scholarship and the Madeline S. Giddings Scholarship.
The Master of Arts program consists of 27 credit hours of letter-graded course work with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, and (at least) a 3 credit Master's Paper. Note that ENGL 764 Classroom Strategies For TA'Sis required of all GTAs who have not taken a similar class elsewhere.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MA Core | 9 | |
| Composition Theory | ||
| Graduate Scholarship | ||
| Critical Theory | ||
| Rhetoric/Writing/Linguistics | 6 | |
| Literature | 6 | |
| Other/Electives | 6 | |
| ENGL 797 | Master's Paper | 3 |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
Ph.D. Rhetoric, Writing and Culture
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Plan of Study | ||
| Core Courses | 12 | |
| Composition Theory | ||
| Composition Research | ||
| Graduate Scholarship | ||
| Critical Theory | ||
| Other Research Methods | 3 | |
| Students select, in consultation with their adviser, at least one of the following methods courses. | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods in Communication | ||
| Rhetorical Criticism | ||
| Methods of Historical Research | ||
| Qualitative Methods | ||
| Quantitative Methods | ||
| Pedagogy | ||
| Students select, in consultation with their adviser, at least one of the following pedagogy courses. | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods in Communication | ||
| Classroom Strategies For TA'S | ||
| Upper Division Writing: Pedagogy, Practice, and Technology | ||
| Teaching Literature | ||
| Addition Courses | 21-51 | |
| Students must take English courses that match their research goals and deepen their understanding of the field. Three additional methods, theory, or pedagogy courses may be taken from outside the English department, as approved by adviser and graduate director. Courses in the category may be at the 600-,700-, or 800-level. | ||
| Usability and User Experience | ||
| International Technical Writing | ||
| Literacy, Culture and Identity | ||
| Researching and Writing Grants and Proposal | ||
| Rhetorics, Poetics Of New Media | ||
| Rhetorics of Science and Technology | ||
| Topics in Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture | ||
| History of Writing Instruction | ||
| Writing: Invention to Innovation | ||
| Research Methods in Communication | ||
| Quantitative Research Methods in Communication | ||
| Theories of Persuasion | ||
| Additional English options: Students with no background in English studies must include courses in literature and linguistics in their plan of study and that topics/studies courses may be repeated. | ||
| History of the English Language | ||
| Social and Regional Varieties of English | ||
| Language Bias | ||
| American Realistic Literature | ||
| 20th Century American Writers | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Topics in American Literature | ||
| Medieval Literature | ||
| Renaissance Literature | ||
| Topics in British Literature | ||
| 18th Century Literature | ||
| Romantic Literature | ||
| Studies in American Literature | ||
| Studies in British Literature | ||
| Experiential Learning | 6 | |
| Flexible credits for English 795: Experiential Learning may be earned in the following ways: | ||
| 1) Teaching Mentorship (0-6 credits), may be taken twice. Students work with faculty to read theory and co-teach 200-, 300-, or 400-level class. | ||
| 2) Internship (0-6 credits), may be taken twice. Students work outside or inside academia in administrative, editing, or consulting roles. | ||
| 3) Life-Experience Credit (0-3 credits). Students submit, in consultation with their advisor and the graduate director, a portfolio that reflects their professional experience prior to enrolling in the program. | ||
| Comprehensive Exams | ||
| Comprehensive exams are taken after the successful completion of 72 credits (grade B or higher) and are administered by the student’s supervisory committee, which is comprised of a committee chair and two readers from within the depart¬¬ment. The exams consist of two timed, written exams and conclude with the defense of the dissertation proposal. | ||
| Language Requirement | ||
| Students are required to demonstrate foreign language competency by the time they begin to write the dissertation. | ||
| ENGL 899 | Doctoral Dissertation (The dissertation proposal concludes the comprehensive exams and precedes formal work on the dissertation. The supervisory committee is comprised of the three members of the exam committee, plus a Graduate School Representative (GSR) from outside the department. ) | 15 |
| Total: 90 credits | ||
Anastassiya Andrianova, Ph.D.
City University of New York, 2011
Field: British Romantic and Victorian Literature, Drama, Translation, Pedagogy, Postcolonial Literature, Slavic Literature, Animal Studies
Lisa R. Arnold, Ph.D.
University of Louisville, 2011
Field: Rhetoric and Composition, Writing Program Administration, History of Writing Instruction
Elizabeth Birmingham, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 2000
Field: Rhetoric and Professional Communication, Gender Studies, Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism
Kevin Brooks, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1997
Field: Rhetoric and Professional Communication, Computers and Composition, Writing Program Administration
Muriel Brown, Ph.D., Emerita
University of Nebraska, 1971
Field: Medieval Literature, Modern Drama, Women's Studies
Sean Burt, Ph.D.
Duke University, 2009
Field: Ancient Jewish Literature, Genre Theory, Ancient Hebrew Poetry, Poetics, Horror Literature & Theory
Gordon Fraser, Ph.D.
University of Connecticut, 2015
Field: Nineteenth-Century and Early American Literature; American Studies; Nationalism and Revolution
Adam Goldwyn, Ph.D.
City University of New York, 2010
Field: Medieval Studies, Medieval Greek World, Influence of Ancient Greek Culture in the Middle Ages
Alison Graham Bertolini, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University, 2009
Field: Contemporary American Literature, Literature of the Southern United States, Women's Literature, Contemporary Ethnic and Postcolonial Literature
Linda L. Helstern, Ph.D., Emerita
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 2001
Field: Native American Literature, Modernism, Contemporary Poetry, Literature and the Environment
R.S. Krishnan, Ph.D., Emeritus
University of Nebraska, 1981
Field: Restoration and 18th-Century British Literature, Postmodern Theories, British Novel, Postcolonial Literature
Bruce Maylath, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1994
Field: International Technical Communication, Rhetoric and Composition, Linguistics
Robert O'Connor, Ph.D., Emeritus
Bowling Green State University, 1979
Field: Romantic Literature, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Kelly Sassi, Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2008
Field: English Education, Composition and Rhetoric, Native American Literatures, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Dale Sullivan, Ph.D., Emeritus
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1988
Field: Rhetoric Theory and History, Rhetoric of Science, Rhetoric of Religion, Technical Communication
Verena Theile, Ph.D.
Washington State University, Pullman, 2006
Field: 16th/17th Century Literature, Shakespeare, Early Modern Drama, European Literature, Literary Theory, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Film and Adaptation Studies
Emily D. Wicktor, Ph.D.
Kansas, 2010
Field: 19th Century British Literature and Culture, particularly Victorian Sexuality and Sexual History; Rhetoric, Composition, and Pedagogy; Literary Theory; Modern British and American Drama; Research Methods and Methodology