Department of EnglishGraduate Degree Programs
The Department of English offers several masters degrees, including the M.A. in Language or Literature or Writing and the M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Although an M.A.T. is technically possible, because of the scarcity of courses in this field the degree has rarely been awarded in recent years. A Ph.D. with a concentration in Literature is available as is a Ph.D. with a Concentration in Language, Literature and Literacy.
Admission Requirements. Undergraduate major or its equivalent. (In exceptional cases, superior students who have not majored in English may be admitted conditionally.) For M.A. and Ph.D., the Graduate Record Examination, both the aptitude and the advanced test in English literature. Applicants for the M.A. and M.F.A in creative writing are required to take the GRE general exam, but not the subject exam. (GRE scores are acceptable for a period of five years from the taking of the tests.) For entry into the program in literature, an applicant ordinarily should have at least an overall GPA of 3.2, a GPA in English of 3.7. Scores on the GRE should exceed 600 on the Verbal, Analytical and Subject tests. For admission to the Ph.D. program with an M.A. from a department other than ours, the undergraduate GPA requirement remains the same. Add to this a 3.9 GPA in graduate courses (out of a possible 4.0). Scores on the GRE Verbal and Subject tests should ordinarily approach 700. More significant than scores and grades, however, are an applicant's personal statement, letters of recommendation, proficiency in foreign languages, and especially, a writing sample. These materials may offset lower scores on the GRE exams or lower grade point averages.
Application. Applications must include: The Indiana University Application for Graduate School, Fellowship, and Assistantship; a 300-500 word statement of the applicant's academic interests and goals; one copy of official transcripts of all the applicant's college and/or university records; three letters of recommendation; Graduate Record Examination scores as specified above; the application fee. Applicants in literature, literacy, or language must submit a representative critical essay.
Applicants for the M.A. or M.F.A. in creative writing must submit samples of their poetry or fiction (a minimum of 10 pages of poetry or 25 pages of fiction for the M.A.; 20 pages of poetry or 30 pages of fiction for the M.F.A.). It is helpful for applicants to indicate on the application form the fields within the Department that are of specific interest to them: e.g., medieval, 18th century, literary theory, culture studies, creative writing.
Applicants with Bachelor degrees will be admitted to the M.A. program only, but if the applicant's ultimate intention is to enter the Ph.D. program, the "Degree sought" on the application form should be listed as "M.A./Ph.D." Once enrolled in the M.A. program, students will be admitted to the Ph.D. upon application if their grade point average in 30-32 hours of relevant graduate work is 3.7 or above and if they have demonstrated proficiency in one foreign language.
Application Deadlines. The deadline for applications is January 1; it is the applicant's responsibility to see to it that all materials, including transcripts, letters of recommendation, and G.R.E. scores, are in by that date. Applicants should be sensitive to the possibilities for delay with regard to G.R.E. scores and letters of recommendation, and they are strongly advised to take the G.R.E. at the earliest possible date and to contact their recommenders at least a month before application deadlines.
Master's of Arts with a Concentration in Literature: Course Requirements.
A minimum of 30 hours, including either an L680 or a 700-level seminar; at least one course must be chosen from each of four of the following areas:
- Medieval British Literature and Culture
- Early Modern British Literature and Culture
- British and/or American Literature and Culture 1640-1830
- British and/or American Literature and Culture 1800-1900 (including Celtic, Transatlantic, African-American)
- Literatures in English, Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries (including African-American, Hispanic/Latina(o), Asian American, Postcolonial)
- Literacy, Pedagogy, Composition Theory, Literary Theory, English Language.
International students whose native language is not English must take
L500. Up to eight credit hours in graduate courses outside the department
may, with the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, be
counted toward the degree.
Thesis. Optional; if elected, 4 hours of credit.
Final Examination. None.
Note. Some courses (e.g. L666, L680, L715, L753, L761, L763, L769, L776, L779, L780) may fulfill area requirements, depending on their content; see the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. Students intending to apply for the Ph.D. program should take two 700-level seminars as part of their M.A. programs.
Master of Arts Degree with Special Field Concentration
Course Requirements. A minimum of 30 credit hours, including an L680 or a 700-level seminar; at least three courses in a single area of concentration to be chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies (for example, a genre such as the novel, a period such as the Middle Ages, a specialty such as postcolonial studies, American literature and culture, feminist theory, or composition, rhetoric and literacy). International students whose native language is not English must take L500. Up to 8 credit hours in graduate courses in a related field outside the department may, with prior approval of the Directory of Graduate Studies, be counted toward the degree.
Foreign Language. Reading proficiency.
Thesis. Optional (L699: credit arranged; 4 hours maximum).
Final Examination. None.
Note. Students wishing to enter the doctoral program on completion of this M.A. must apply for admission. For admission to the Ph.D. program with concentration in literature, candidates must have satisfied the distribution requirements for the M.A. in Literature.
Master of Arts Degree with Concentration in Language
Course Requirements. 30 credit hours, including G500, G780, and at least 12 further hours in English language courses, of which at least one course must be selected from among G601, G602, G651, and G655.
Thesis. Optional; if elected, 4 hours of credit.
Final Examination. A four-hour written examination (see Director of Graduate Studies for details).
Master of Arts Degree with Concentration in Writing
Course Requirements. 32 hours, including W611-W612 or W613-W614; five departmental courses (20 hours) in literature, literary criticism, and/or English language. Poets may substitute for one of the five departmental courses Comparative Literature C570 [Theory and Practice of Translation]; writers of fiction may substitute Theatre and Drama T453 or T454 [Playwriting].
Thesis. Required; the candidate must submit, for four hours of credit, a body of creative writing of high literary merit and genuine promise.
Final Examination. None required.
Note. Admission to this program requires the approval of the creative writing faculty.
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Course Requirements.
60 credit hours, including 16 hours of writing workshops in the candidate's genre, W611-W612 or W613-W614; 16 hours from among the department's literature and language courses, at least eight hours of which must be at the 600 level or above; either W664 or W680. Those teaching in W103 are required to take W554 in their first semester of teaching. Students can take up to 12 credit hours in W699. The remaining credit hours are elective. At least 48 hours of the degree requirements must be completed in residence.
Thesis. Required; the student must submit a book-length manuscript for 4-12 hours of credit.
Final Examination. None required.
Master of Arts for Teachers Degree
While the Graduate School Bulletin provides a description of this degree, there are special difficulties in pursuing it in the English Department graduate program in Bloomington. See the Director of Graduate Studies.
Time Necessary to Complete Degrees.
The M.A. degree in literature, language, and creative writing can be completed in two semesters and two summers of full-time work. The M.F.A. in Creative Writing requires two full years (including summers), and students who have Creative Writing Associate Instructorships generally take three years.
Admission Requirements.
Students may apply for admission to the Ph.D. program upon completion of the requirements for the M.A. degree. Those applying for the Ph.D. program in Literature must have completed at least two 700-level seminars and L506. Applications will be considered by the Director of Graduate Studies; students with grade point averages over 3.7 and recommendations for admission from a majority of teachers in their graduate courses will be admitted immediately. Those with averages below 3.5 will not be admitted. Those with averages between 3.5 and 3.7, depending on faculty recommendations, may be permitted to demonstrate further their capacity for Ph.D. work by submitting a seminar paper and, at the discretion of the DGS, responding in an interview to questions about the paper and its field.
Students need to notify the DGS in writing of their desire to enter the doctoral program; a meeting with the DGS is well advised at this point in the program.
Course Requirements
Ph.D. with a Concentration in Literature
Course Requirements. A minimum of 16 hours (four courses) beyond the 30 required for the M.A. degree, to include at least four 700 level departmental seminars. The student must also satisfy distributional requirements and the requirements for a minor (internal, external, or interdisciplinary). Students transferring into the department with M.A. degrees from other universities may be required to take several more courses than the minimum.
Ph. D. with a Concentration in Language, Literature and Literacy Studies
Course Requirements. A minimum of 16 hours beyond the 30 required for the M.A. degree. The total must include:
- At least 24 hours in language and literature courses
- L502: Introduction to Literacy Studies
- L705: Problems in Language, Literature and Literacy
- one course on historical and philosophical perspectives on literacy
- one course on theoretical perspectives and the teaching of English
- one course in cross-disciplinary perspectives on literacy studies.
The student must also satisfy course requirements for the minor (internal, external or interdisciplinary) and the distributional requirements for an M.A. in either Literature or English language as well as complete five departmental seminars. Students transferring into the department with M.A. degrees from other universities may be required to take several more courses than the minimum.
Other Requirements
Minor.
The graduate school requires that all candidates for the Ph. D. degree take a minor. Credits for the minor normally may not overlap with the minimum of 38 credits in English required for the major in literature. They may overlap, however with the additional eight credits required, regardless of whether these credits are taken in English or in a related field.
Requirements for the minor are set by the minor department. A distinctive feature of Indiana's program is the wide diversity of minors it allows. The purpose of the minor is to broaden Ph.D. candidates' programs and thus to avoid overly narrow specialization. To fulfill this purpose, the Department of English approves three different kinds of minors: external minors taken entirely in one other department, interdisciplinary minors taken in two or more departments, and internal minors taken entirely within the English Department.
External Minors. may be taken in Afro-American Studies, Art History, Comparative Literature, Drama and Theatre, Folklore, French, German, Greek, History, Italian, Journalism, Latin, Linguistics, Philosophy, Religion, Slavics, and Spanish. Most of these minors require either three or four courses; since the requirements are set by the minor department, the student should contact the Director of Graduate Studies of the relevant department for specifics. Students who wish to minor in departments not on the list may petition for approval by showing that the proposed minor is relevant to their programs and professional goals.
Interdisciplinary Minors. may be taken in American Studies, Film Studies, Literary Theory, Medieval Studies, Renaissance Studies, Victorian Studies, West European Studies, and Women's Studies. Most of these programs require an introductory course in the area of study itself, and two or three courses chosen from an approved list, with one or two from departments other than English. Several of them offer certificates in addition to, or as a substitute for, a minor. The specific requirements of these programs are listed in Appendix B.
Qualifying Exams.
In order to proceed to candidacy for the Ph.D. students must pass a qualifying examination, usually taken at the end of their coursework, either at the end of their third or the beginning of their fourth year of study. The Ph.D. qualifying examination consists of both written and oral components and marks the culmination of a process which assures that the examination reflects both the student's special research interests and a significant scholarly enterprise. It represents the full collaboration of the student and his/her faculty advisors, and directs the graduate experience productively toward the dissertation and a professional career beyond it. The written portion is conducted during a five-hour period; if passed, it is followed in a week or two by a two-hour oral examination.
A more detailed discussion of the exam and its procedures is available from the department secretary.
Thesis.
A thesis is required for the Ph.D. and marks the end of the degree program. According to university guidelines, "the dissertation must be an original contribution to knowledge and of high scholarly merit. The candidate's research must reveal critical ability and powers of imagination and synthesis. The dissertation is written under the supervision of a research director and a research committee," selected by the candidate. The candidate chooses a director and committee after he or she passes the qualifying exam. Once that committee has approved the dissertation proposal, the proposal must be passed by the department's graduate studies committee. A candidate should expect to spend a couple of years researching and writing the doctoral dissertation.
The English department has prepared a more elaborate explanation of the dissertation process, available from the graduate secretary. You should also consult the Bulletin of the University Graduate School.
Continuing Enrollment.
Students must continue to register in order to remain a degree candidate. Once a student has purchased all thirty dissertation hours, he or she may register for G900 and pay a minimal flat fee to maintain status as a candidate.
M.F.A./Ph.D.
In consultation with the graduate advisors, students who are considering the pursuit of both degrees will need to plan their schedules. Given that courses taken to fulfill the M.F.A. in Creative Writing will be used to satisfy the Ph.D. minor (12 hours.), the M.F.A. represents an additional 12-20 hours of work beyond the requirements for a Ph.D. over a period of five semesters. M.F.A. students need to consult the M.A. checklist to make sure they are fulfilling the necessary course requirements in order to qualify for the Ph.D..
Applying to the other program: Students from the M.F.A. program may apply for admission to the Ph.D. programs upon completion of the requirements for the M.A. degree (see page #). In order to be accepted into the M.F.A. program, students from the Ph.D. program are required to submit twenty pages of poetry or thirty pages of fiction for screening by the Creative Writing Committee when they are considering applications to the program, deadline February 1 (see page #). Students accepted from the Ph.D. program into the M.F.A. program will keep their composition positions. Students accepted from the M.F.A. program into the Ph.D. program will keep their creative writing funding until their contract expires and then may apply for additional support from the literature department.
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