University of North Florida -- Department of English: Programs of Study -- Graduate Degree Programs

Programs of Study — Graduate Degree Programs

Further information on the English Masters is available in
Orientations: A Booklet for Incoming Graduate Students

Master of Arts in English

Greetings The English Department welcomes your interest and participation in our graduate program. We accept full-time or part-time students yearround and invite you to apply for admission beginning in any semester — fall, spring, summer A or summer B.

Why Study English?

The Value of an M.A. in English
Focusing on the analysis and appreciation of literary texts, the program provides students the opportunity to develop their analytic, interpretive, and writing skills; offers English teachers the chance to explore new pedagogical strategies; supports aspiring writers in their creative endeavors; and helps prepare students who intend to pursue the Ph.D. in English for the challenges of advanced graduate work.

Employment Prospects
In addition to offering one of the supreme human enjoyments, the study of literature enables students to enhance the ability most critical for success in an information-based economy — the ability to communicate well. Many graduates of our program are teaching in public schools or at the community college level. Others have found or created jobs for themselves in law, television and radio production, journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, technical writing, editing, trade publishing, bookstore management, corporate in-house education and training, consulting, university admissions, fund raising, script writing, and more. There will always be employment opportunities for people who can read critically, analyze quickly and accurately, translate their ideas in ways others can readily grasp, and write clearly.

Overview of the M.A. in English Program (34 Hours)
The program entails eleven courses (33 credit hours) and an M.A. Exam (one credit hour). Literature Courses: The
literature courses focus on the analysis of poetry, drama, fiction, film, and other kinds of texts, including biographyand memoir; on developing a critical vocabulary for describing the complexities of literary texts; on understanding the
nature of literary conventions; on exploring the different traditions in British, American, and world literature; and on
investigating developments in and the value of contemporary literary theory. Creative Writing Courses: Students may
take up to two creative writing — workshop — courses, in which they have opportunites to receive critiques of their
creative work.

Teaching Practicum and Independent Study Courses:
Students who would like college-level classroom teaching experience or who wish to pursue a course of
independent study may do so by seeking out faculty members willing to direct them.

Creative Writing Thesis Option (37 Hours)
The program offers students the opportunity to write a creative thesis. Student who wish to do so are obliged, in the process of meeting the program requirement of 33 hours of course work, to (a) take six hours of fiction, poetry, or other creative writing seminars or workshops and (b) receive approval of the creative writing faculty to enroll in ENG 6971 — Thesis (3 credit hours).

Admission Requirements
Applicants must satisfy both the SUS general requirements and the specific requirements of the Department of English and Foreign Languages M.A. in English Program.

1. A GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last two years (60 semester hours) of undergraduate course work or a score of 500 or better on the verbal section of the GRE.
2. A B.A. in English or a minimum of 18 semester hours of literature course work, in either case with sufficiently high
grades.
3. A course in literary criticism (such as ENG 4013 or 4014) with a grade of B or higher. (Applicants lacking such a course, but
who otherwise fulfill the admissions requirements, may take ENG 4013 or 4014 as part of the admissions process.)
4. A writing sample submitted along with other application materials to the Graduate School. The sample should consist of 4-7 pages of literary criticism; a paper written for an undergraduate literature class is appropriate.

Admission Status
For an explanation of the differences among the types of admission status and the advantage of having Full Admission rather than Provisional or Post-Baccalaureate status, please refer to the discussion in the Admission
section of the Graduate Catalog (I: Getting Admitted into UNF) or consult with the Graduate Coordinator.

Admission Sequence:
1. Prospective students must complete the university’s application forms.
2. At the same time they must submit their writing samples directly to The Graduate School Office.
3. Once the Admissions Office receives the applicant’s transcripts and GRE scores, an Admissions Officer will
forward a Graduate Referral to the Graduate Coordinator, who will make the final decision concerning the applicant’s
acceptance and so inform the Admissions Office.
4. An Admissions Officer will then send a formal letter with the Graduate Coordinator’s decision.
5. Students should meet with the Graduate Coordinator as soon as possible to review their Programs of Study.
Graduate Advising and the Program of Study The Graduate Coordinator serves as the advisor to all graduate
students in the M.A. in English Program. All newly admitted students should meet with the Graduate Coordinator to
identify their program aims, discuss their program options, develop their initial program of study, and review the time
frame for the M.A. Exam.

Linguistics Prerequisite:
Students must have an upper division general linguistics or history of the English language course with a grade of C or higher. This course may be taken either before or after entering the M.A. in English Program. This course does not count toward completion of the 34 semester hours requirement (or the 37 hour requirement for those completing a creative writing thesis).

Program Requirements
34 semester hours — 11 three credit hour courses plus a one-credit hour M.A. Exam.
1. LIT 6246, LIT 6509 or the equivalent - Major Authors
2. ENG 6018 – History of Literary Criticism and Theory or ENG 6019 – Contemporary Literary Criticism and Theory.
3. At least two British Literature courses.*
4. At least two American Literature courses.*
5. At least two courses before 1800.*
6. At least two courses after 1800.*
7. ENG 6966 – M.A. Exam (old format) (new format) (one credit hour; pass/fail)
* A course may satisfy more than one requirement. For example, LIT 6246 – Shakespeare would satisfy the major
author requirement and would count both as one of the two required British literature courses and as one of the two pre-1800 courses.

Program Options
ENG 6971 – Thesis (pass/fail). A literature thesis will count as one of the required 11 three-credit hour courses. A creative writing thesis is in addition to the eleven courses.

Grade Point Average (GPA)
All students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 (B) or higher. Grades lower than 2.70 (B-) will not count toward completion of the program but will be included in the GPA.

Registration for Courses
Fully enrolled graduate students will receive an early registration appointment from the Registrar’s Office. They will not need the Graduate Coordinator’s approval or electronic permission unless they wish to enroll in (a) ENG 6941
– Practicum in Teaching Composition, (b) LIT 6941 – Practicum in Teaching Literature, (c) LIT 6905 – Directed Independent Study, (d) ENG 6966 – M.A. Exam, or (e) ENG 6971 – Thesis.

Post-baccalaureate students must first receive both the Graduate Coordinator’s approval to enroll in any graduate
courses and his electronic permission to register.

First-Day attendance policy
Students must notify the office of the Department of English in advance if they will miss the first class meeting of the course. If they do not, the course instructor has the authority to drop them from the course.

Questions
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Graduate Coordinator, Professor Chris Gabbard, by phone at 620-1254 or by email at cgabbard@unf.edu.

Major: English
Track: English
Degree: Master of Arts

Prerequisites (3000 - 4000 LEVEL)		(21 SEMESTER HOURS)
At least 18 hours of undergraduate literature with sufficiently high grades.
	AML/ENL/CRW/LIT/ENG

Linguistics or history of language
	LIN 3010	3.0 Prin Of Linguistics

Major Requirements		(06 SEMESTER HOURS)
	LIT 6246	3.0 Major Authors
Select One
	ENG 6018	3.0 Hist Lit Crit/Theory
	ENG 6019	3.0 Contemp Lit Crit/Thy

Major Electives		(28 SEMESTER HOURS)
2 courses must be before 1800 and 2 courses must be after 1800. A maximum of 12 semester hours (4 courses only) at the 5000 level, all other courses must be taken at the 6000 level.

Two British Literature (5000 - 6000 LEVEL)
	ENL

Two American Literature (5000 - 6000 LEVEL)
	AML

Select 5 Major Electives (5000 - 6000 LEVEL) Must also fulfill before/after 1800 requirement if not satisfied.

*graduate coordinator’s approval required prior to enrolling in ENG 6941, LIT 6905, LIT 6941, ENG 6971, and ENG 6966.

	AML 6455	3.0 Stud In American Lit
	CRW 6025	3.0 Topics:Creative Writ
	CRW 6130	3.0 Fiction Workshop
	CRW 6331	3.0 Poetry Workshop
	ENC 6700	3.0 Theory:Composition
	ENG 6138	3.0 Studies In Film
	ENG 6941	3.0 DIS:Prac/Tch Comp
	ENL 6455	3.0 Stud In British Lit
	LIT 5934	1-3 Spec Top:Literature
	LIT 6017	3.0 Studies In Fiction
	LIT 6037	3.0 Studies In Poetry
	LIT 6047	3.0 Studies In Drama
	LIT 6654	3.0 Comprtv/Wrld Lit
	LIT 6905	1-3 Dir Independent Stu
	LIT 6934	3.0 Spec Top:Literature
	LIT 6941	3.0 Practicum:Tch Lit

Reading list-M.A. Examination (pass/fail)
	ENG 6966 (old format) or ENG 6966 (new format)	1.0 M.A. Exam

Program Option
	ENG 6971	3.0 Thesis

* Grades of B- or above are required in all courses. * A minimum of 34 semester hours are required for the degree; a minimum of 24 hours of course work must be completed at the UNF campus. * All students must apply for graduation during registration for the last semester of courses at UNF. Deadlines are published in the course schedule booklet each semester.