A source of guidance and information about your journey pursuing an M.A. in English
Students will design their areas of study in close consultation with the chair of their committee. These areas of study may be selected from well-established fields of national literature and/or historical periods (e.g., British, American, Native American, post-colonial Anglophone, medieval, early modern, Eighteenth, Nineteenth or Twentieth century), Rhetoric and Writing studies, theoretical approaches (feminism/gender studies, critical race/ethnicity studies, Marxism, poststructuralism), media studies (film, graphic novel), or more recent areas of scholarly interest (transnational literature, new kinds of interdisciplinary studies, digital humanities). The committee must consist of a committee chair and two other members of the graduate faculty.
Faculty are committed to preparing graduate students through preparation in coursework, mentoring, and professional development. Students have published their work in prominent journals and presented at national and local conferences. Teaching assistantships are competitive with those of peer institutions, and financial assistance for dissertation completion and conference travel is available through the department and Graduate College. The department has been successful in helping students find employment in academia and beyond.
Initial advisement should occur just prior to the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. In your admission letter you are informed of the name of the assigned faculty member from the Graduate Committee who will be your adviser for the first semester or year. As soon as possible, students should seek an advisor from among the faculty in their area of study. Until the student has found a permanent adviser, he or she should seek advisement from the assigned adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies.
During the first several weeks of the first semester in the program, new graduate students will meet collectively with the faculty and advanced students for an Orientation session and Q&A.
After the student has chosen a faculty member to serve as adviser, the adviser will thereafter help the student construct a coherent plan of study according to the regulations of the Graduate College and the structure of the M.A. program.
A plan of study will be prepared by the student and the Adviser, and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, before enrollment for the second semester.
LCS M.A. Program Requirements
Total Credits = 30 Hours
For the most up-to-date sense of requirements, refer to the OU M.A. in English: Literary Studies program details.
RWS M.A. Program Requirements
Total Credits = 30 Hours
For the most up-to-date sense of requirements, refer to the OU M.A. in English: Rhetoric & Writing Studies program details.
Written Requirement:
The student chooses a seminar paper from a class taken as an MA student in this program. The student develops the paper into a publishable article working with the advice and guidance of their M.A. Thesis Committee, particularly the Thesis Chair. The thesis should be an article length project.
Masters’ Creative Writing Thesis:
The Creative Writing Thesis in Prose consists of a 50-70 page manuscript, either fiction or creative nonfiction or a combination of both, with a 5-7 page critical introduction in which the writer analyzes the influences, forms, subjects, and intentions of his or her own creative work within the literary context of the writers studied during graduate coursework. The determination of whether the student will submit a creative writing thesis or a 30-page critical paper should be made in consultation with student, his/her advisor or committee chair, and graduate faculty, especially the creative writing faculty member in the appropriate genre. Students opting for a Creative Writing Thesis can choose to be either in the LCS or RWS tracks.
Oral Requirement (Oral Defense of the M.A. Thesis):
The student turns in and defends the thesis in their fourth semester at the M.A. level.
M.A. Committee:
The M.A. Thesis Committee must consist of 3 members of the English faculty.
Language Requirements: one language at reading proficiency level.
Options:
*Before the department informs the Graduate College that a graduate student has met the requirement for language proficiency, the student’s chair must determine whether the student has met the necessary proficiency level for the student’s particular area and research project. Some fields require greater language proficiency than the first three options above may allow for.
**The graduate level reading course does not count for the degree credits nor do any other language courses taken during degree time count for credits toward the degree. Students can petition the graduate college for extra waivers to take language classes.
With permission, students may avail themselves of all three options. However, these options will only be approved in exceptional circumstances:
Each graduate student will be evaluated formally and collectively at the end of each academic year during a meeting of the faculty. The annual evaluation of each current graduate student will be an occasion for a careful (re)assessment of his or her scholastic progress, accomplishments, and prospects of continuation in the program. Students are evaluated upon their timely progress in the program and the quality of their work.
In the spring semester, students will submit a self-assessment to their Adviser on the Annual Student Progress Report (ASPR), sent through email by Sara Knight, with the required information for that academic year. The Adviser will submit the ASPR with his or her written evaluation of the student’s work based on a review of the student's grades, performance in courses, and timely progress toward degree. At the end of the Spring semester, the full graduate faculty meet to discuss each student’s performance and consider whether or not the student’s progress is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
If a student's annual evaluation indicates that he or she is not making satisfactory progress in the program, the Graduate Committee will review the case and make an official recommendation to the Graduate College. If a student receives an “Unsatisfactory” on an annual review, thereafter, he or she will be evaluated every semester. The Graduate College automatically disenrolls students who receive two “Unsatisfactory” reports. Unless there are extenuating circumstances approved by the advisor, students are automatically disenrolled by the Department if their cumulative GPA falls below 3.0.
4 weeks prior to the last day of finals (and at least 10 working days prior to the defense): Deadline to submit a reading copy of the thesis to the committee and to submit the Report of Reading Copy Submission and Request for Authority to Defend to the Graduate College.
3 weeks prior to the last day of finals (and at least 5 working days prior to the defense): Deadline for committee members to sign the Report of Reading Copy Submission and Request for Authority to Defend.
2 weeks (10 working days) prior to the last day of finals: Deadline to defend the thesis or dissertation.
1 week (5 working days) prior to the last day of finals: Deadline to submit the thesis or dissertation to SHAREOK in order to graduate during the current academic term.
Two additional changes in policy and practice will accompany these timelines.
