Graduate Programs
The Master of Arts Degree in English
Program Of Study
Hours: 30, Thesis: Optional
The Master of Arts degree in English is oriented primarily toward the study of literature and literary criticism, and is intended to: (1) increase students' breadth and understanding of British and American literature; (2) help students to develop skills as independent literary critics; (3) provide opportunities for students to work on substantial writing projects, especially in response to literature; and (4) allow and encourage students to explore special areas of linguistics and grammar.
Students must choose four (4) of the following areas in which to take the comprehensive examination:
- Language History and Linguistics
- English Renaissance to 1660
- 19th-Century English Literature
- American Literature Since 1860
- Literary Criticism and Comparative Literature
- Early and Medieval English Literature
- English Restoration through the 18th Century
- American Literature to 1860
- 20th-Century British Literature
Students may choose to write a thesis (which is the equivalent of six graduate credits) in lieu of taking the comprehensive examination. It is the responsibility of each student to seek the approval of a thesis advisor and two other graduate faculty members to serve on a thesis committee. The graduate committee then oversees the formulation of the thesis and ultimately judges the student's defense of it.
With the approval of their advisor, students may count 3 credits of graduate work which does not have an ENG prefix as part of their required credits.
Students may also receive credit for up to 6 hours of graduate work in English at another university. Please refer to "Transfer Credit" in the Graduate Bulletin for the transfer procedure.
Thirty (30) semester hours are required for the receipt of the degree. All students accepted into this program must complete all requirements within six (6) calendar years.
Course Work
REQUIRED: (minimum of 3 hours)
- ENG 565 Seminar in British Literature
- ENG 567 Seminar in American Literature
- ENG 575 Seminar in Literary Criticism
ELECTIVES:
British Literature (minimum of 9 hours; 6 hours in pre-1800 courses)
- ENG 438 Major Modern Dramatists
- ENG 455 Major Modern Poets
- ENG 493 The Twentieth-Century British Novel
- ENG 534 Studies in Middle English Literature
- ENG 530 Chaucer
- ENG 587 English Renaissance Literature
- ENG 591 Seminar in Shakespeare
- ENG 535 Seventeenth-Century Studies
- ENG 540 Milton
- ENG 542 Age of Dryden
- ENG 583 Eighteenth-Century Studies
- ENG 585 Studies in English Romanticism
- ENG 594 Victorian Poetry
- ENG 595 Victorian Prose
American Literature (minimum of 3 hours in pre-l 900 courses)
- ENG 438 Major Modern Dramatists
- ENG 455 Major Modern Poets
- ENG 457 Seminar in Major Twentieth-Century American Novelists
- ENG 550 American Romanticism
- ENG 563 Studies in American Realism, 1865-1900
Humanities and Language
- ENG 460 Classical Influences on Literature
- ENG 470 Selected Topics in English
- ENG 512 Symbol and Myth in Literature
- ENG 525 Linguistics
- ENG 526 Modern English Grammar
- ENG 527 Seminar in Linguistics
- ENG 599 Independent Study
- ENG 503 Thesis (6 semester hours)
Contact Person
Dr. Janice Chernekoff, Graduate Studies in English Department Chairperson
- Department Office: 205 Lytle Hall
- Telephone: (610) 683-4354
- E-mail: cherneko@kutztown.edu