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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English

Requirements for the MA and Ph.D. Degrees in English

Program Description

The English program is made up of the Master of Arts in English and the Doctor of Philosophy in English. The MA and PhD programs are a 90-credit residential experience in which the MA comprises 30 credits and the PhD 60 additional credits. Students will earn two separate credentials. All students enrolled in the MA and PhD programs will be granted an MA upon successful completion of thirty credit hours (accruing toward the MA) and the MA Final Milestone. Students with a BA may apply. They have the same requirements as students who have completed an MA.

Below are minimum requirements for the degree. Students may take additional courses.

Program Requirements

  1. All Students are required to take ten courses.
  2.  Students will complete an MA as they progress towards the PhD.
  3. Students will complete an MA Final Milestone. Students have three options for completing the milestone:
    • a) A (non-thesis) MA exam
      The MA final examination comprises a written and oral component. The written exam may be an annotated bibliography or other written component as determined by the MA advisor that builds on the research the student completed during coursework and explores the subject the student views as their potential dissertation topic. The oral exam will address how the student’s experience in their MA contributes to their current research interests; it will also assess the written exam.
    • b) A thesis
      This will be an article-length manuscript comprised of a revised seminar paper (or its equivalent).
    • c) A project in lieu of thesis
      This may be a digital humanities project, film, or other project. We recommend that the project-in-lieu-of-thesis contribute to the planned dissertation.
      Students will complete the MA Final Examination in the first semester of the third year.
  4. Students will complete a Qualifying Exam comprising a dissertation prospectus and one piece of writing (or DH project) determined by the committee chair and student. This may include a chapter or article that the student will revise for the dissertation. Students will complete the Qualifying Exam in the second semester of the third year.