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Program Details

Graduate Program: English (MA)

General Information

Request Information
Program/Degree
English (MA)  
Program Description

The MA in English is designed to provide a broadly inclusive course of advanced study in English and American literature together with preparatory training and scholarly background for the PhD. Applicants must have completed the equivalent of the undergraduate major in English (i.e. 30 units of upper-division literature courses) with a grade-point average of at least 3.50 in literature courses. Candidates for the MA must take a total of 30 units of graduate coursework (of which 24, or 8 classes, must be in regularly scheduled literature courses unless otherwise approved by the Program Director), demonstrate reading knowledge of a foreign language, and pass a final examination based on reading lists approved by the faculty.

 
Department/Academic Unit(s)

English

Department of English Graduate Studies

The English Department maintains four degree-granting graduate programs:

  • Literature (MA and PhD) 
  • Creative Writing (MFA) 
  • Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English, known as RCTE (MA and PhD) 
  • English Applied Linguistics, known as EAL (MA in TESL, with ties to the PhD in SLAT)

Each of these programs is separately administered and has a separate application procedure. In general (some programs may make exceptions or have a different deadline) applications are due in early January (for matriculation the following August). Admissions are highly selective. The department therefore urges prospective applicants to confer, by early autumn at the latest, with the Director of the individual program in which they are interested.

To access the landing page for an individual program, click on its name below. On these pages you will find contact information for each program, as well as information about graduate study in the department.

General MA

The Department also offers a General MA, a flexible program that includes curricula from Literature, RCTE, and EAL.

Additional Resources

English Graduate Union (EGU), represents all English graduate students 

Financial Opportunities: please email program assistant for information regarding financial support available to graduate students in the Department of English.

Lauren Mason
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English 

 
College

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

 
Campus where offered

University of Arizona - Main - Tucson

 
Contacts
Admissions Contact
Stephanie Mao
520-626-0529
Graduate Program Coordinator
Stephanie Mao
520-626-0529
Director of Graduate Studies
Lynda M Zwinger
520-621-1836
Graduate College Degree Counselor
Megan Jia Mcnulty-Luoma
520-626-9962
 
Tuition and Fees
Please refer to the UA Bursar's Office Tuition and Fees Calculator for up-to-date information about tuition and fees. 
Please refer to the UA Registrar's's Office Special Course Fees for up-to-date information about special course fees. 

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

1.    Apply through the Graduate College online portal.  Students should apply to the MA in ENGLISH ONLY if they are not interested in the possibility of continuing for the PhD.  If you are admitted to the program having completed this MA application and then decide to go on to the PhD here, you will have to re-apply, submitting all required documents and fees again. If you think you may want to continue for the PhD, you should apply directly to the PhD in English (even if you will be entering the program at the MA level).

This will include the following:

    • Graduate College application
    • Domicile Affidavit
    • Application fee ($85), payable to the University of Arizona

2.  Complete the Literature Program Online Application (either English  MA or PhD):
     The application will include the following elements:

    • Curriculum Vita
    • Statement of purpose
    • Official copies of transcripts from all colleges attended-you may download unofficial on-line for review purposes. If you are admitted, you will need to mail official transcripts to the program.
    • Three academic letters of recommendation (your recommenders will be able to submit their letters through the online application system)
    • Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Subject test is optional. Ask that your scores be sent to Institution Code #4832 Must be dated within 5 years of enrollment
    • A writing sample (in the form of a critical paper; recommended length 10-20 pages, maximum of 25 pages)
   
   INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ONLY: 

    • TOEFL 550-paper or 79 internet. Scores must be dated within 2 years of enrollment. 

 
Standardized Tests

Required test for both domestic and international students:
General GRE
 

Required test for international:
TOEFL

Minimum TOEFL: 79 internet
Minimum IELTS: Composite score of 7

 

Recommended tests:
GRE Subject test

 

 
Funding Opportunities

Please see our webpage:  http://english.arizona.edu/literature/financial-opportunities#overlay-context=literature/financial-aid-teaching-fellowships-awards

 

 
Admissions Deadlines

Applications are due around January 15 each year for the following fall semester.  We have no spring admission.

 
International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information
The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

30 

Core Coursework Requirements

Candidates for the MA must take a total of 30 units of graduate coursework (of which 24, or 8 classes, must be in regularly scheduled literature courses unless otherwise approved by the Program Director), demonstrate reading knowledge of a foreign language, and pass a final examination based on reading lists approved by the faculty. In consultation with the Graduate Literature Program Director, students select one of two plans of study, as outlined below. Candidates take the final MA exam shortly after completing coursework, normally no later than the fourth semester in the program. A candidate who fails the MA Examination may, upon the recommendation of the committee and the Graduate Literature Director, be granted a second examination. The results of the second examination are final.

While there are no required courses, students may choose, in consultation with the director, among the following 3 unit ENGL courses below.  There is no minimum grade required for any course as long as the student's total gpa is 3.5 or above:

501    Advanced Creative Writing Nonfiction Writing
            
503    Latina Feminisms in the Americas
            
505    History of the English Language
            
506    Modern English Grammar
            
510    Teaching of Composition
            
514    Advanced Scientific Writing
            
515    History of Criticism and Theory
            
518    Introduction to Psychoanalytic Theory
            
520    History of the German Language
            
522    Asian American Literature
            
524    Studies in Southwest Literature
            
526    Medieval English Literature
            
527    Chaucer
            
529    Chinese Immigrant Literature and Film
            
531    Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
            
533    Studies in the Renaissance
            
541    Studies in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century
            
543    Mexican-American Literature in English
            
544    Media Archaeology: Moving Image as Evidence
            
549A    Folklore
            
552A    Mixed Media Stories: Stories in Text and Film
            
555    Introduction to Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language
            
555A    Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature
            
557A    Modern British Literature
            
557B    Contemporary British Literature
            
561A    French Linguistics
            
565    Studies in American Literature to 1900
            
566    Studies in Twentieth-Century American Literature
            
567    Topics in French Linguistics
            
573    Semiotics and Language
            
577    Studies in American Indian Literature
            
580    Second Language Writing
            
587    Assessment in Second/Foreign Language Learning
            
588    European Literary-Political Cabaret
            
589    Internet Technologies in Second/Foreign Language Education
            
593    Internship
            
596A    British Literature
            
596B    Studies in Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature and Theory
            
596F    American Literature
            
596G    Comparative Literature
            
596J    Second Language Acquisition Research
            
596K    Methods and Materials of Literary Research
            
596L    Theories of Criticism
            
596O    Topics in Second Language Teaching
            
596P    Women's Life Writing: Autobiography, Diary, Oral History, Biography....
            
                    
596Y    Topics in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching
            
597Q    Qualitative Research in Rhetoric and Composition
            
597R    Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition
            
597S    Methods of Rhetorical Analysis
            
598    Approaches to Teaching Writing
            
612    Grammatical Analysis
            
613    Methods of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
            
615    Second Language Acquisition Theory
            
620    Cultural Dimensions: Second Language Acquisitions
            
646    Ancient and Contemporary Voices
            
680    Reader Response Theories
            
693A    Applied ESL
            
696A    Latina/o Literary and Cultural Studies
            
696D    History of Rhetoric
            
696E    Studies in Rhetoric and Composition
            
696F    Literature and Creative Writing
            
696G    Queer Theories
            
696J    Sexuality and Aesthetics
            
696M    Gender, Sexuality, and International Migration
            
696S    Historical Studies in Rhetoric and Composition
            
696T    Contemporary Rhetorical Theories

 
Elective Coursework

Students can take any 2 (6 units of coursework) courses outside of the English Department found in UAccess Catalog upon approval from the director.

 
Additional Requirements

none

 
Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate 20%
Med. Time-to-degree (years) 1.75
 
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male n/a
Enrollment Percent Female n/a
Enrollment Percent International n/a
Enrollment Percent URM n/a

Back to statistics
  • All application, admit, and enrollment data are from Fall 2020.
  • Median Time to Degree calculates how long graduates in the last 5 years (2015-2019) took to complete their degrees, counting back to the first semester entering their program. This measure uses the methodology established in the 2011 Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs by the National Research Council.
  • Underrepresented Minorities (URM) includes domestic students of ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.

Persistent link: https://grad.arizona.edu/catalog/programinfo/ENGLMA
Last revised 28 Jun 2022
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