Master of Arts in English
Application Deadline
- Fall: April 30 (Priority Deadline)
- Spring: October 31 (Priority Deadline)
(Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis up to three weeks prior to the start of each semester)
Program Format
- Hybrid
Program Duration
- 34 credits
The Master of Arts in English (MA) program offers students opportunities for advancing their personal and professional goals within a vibrant learning community. We offer classes in literature, rhetoric, college teaching, and linguistics that emphasize active learning through engaged inquiry, research-based writing, and oral presentations. The program offers several opportunities for intellectual and professional development. All students take a Methods of Graduate Study course and work closely with a mentor on an MA thesis project. Eligible students can cultivate their teaching skills as adjuncts in CSI’s Writing Program.
Two options are offered: concentration in Literature and concentration in Rhetoric.
Students electing the literature option may take all 7 courses in literature, and must take a minimum of five literature courses (ENG 700-level courses); students electing the rhetoric option will take three courses in linguistics or writing (ENG 600-level courses) and four courses in literature (ENG 700-level courses). In addition all students are required to take Methods of Graduate Study, ENG 690; one pre-1800 Literature course; and the independent study, ENG 780 for writing their MA thesis (28-32 pages).
To complete the program, 34 credits are required for the degree: 7 subject matter courses totaling 28 credits, Methods of Graduate Study, ENG 690, for 3 credits, and the Thesis Independent Study, ENG 780 for 3 credits.
We welcome students who wish to enlarge their knowledge of literature, improve their critical thinking and writing, and gain an understanding of teaching theory and methods for the college English classroom. Because our students come to us with different writing priorities and professional interests, we support them in pursuit of a diverse set of goals--whether to broaden their understanding of literature, teach in local high schools, attend an MFA or PhD program, or enter the workforce in a humanities or writing-based career.