English, M.A. – Online

About the English Master’s Program

Advanced study in literature, creative writing, and linguistics is offered in this program. It is intended to be not merely a continuation of undergraduate work but a distinctly different educational experience requiring study in greater depth and the development of critical thinking. The Department of English offers both onsite and online M.A. degree programs; the programs share the same classes.

The M.A. in English is a 36-semester-hour degree, available under a thesis and a non-thesis option. The thesis option requires students to complete 30 hours of graduate courses and write and defend a thesis (6 thesis hours). The non-thesis option requires students to complete 36 hours of graduate courses and assemble and defend a portfolio of revised essays or creative pieces. The portfolio also includes a reflective essay.

Areas of concentration include: Early British Literature; Later British Literature; American Literature; Comparative Literature, Globalization and Translation (CLGT); Film and Media Studies; Linguistics; Book History/Digital Humanities; Literature, Social Justice, and Environment (LSJE); and Creative Writing. Each emphasis involves a common set of core requirements: foundation courses; British, American, and Comparative literature courses; and literary genre courses. M.A. students must also demonstrate reading knowledge of one language other than English or proficiency in linguistics, English philology, translation methods, or other language-related practices by taking two graduate courses in these fields.