Graduate Studies in English
Graduate Admissions Information
Program Requirements: M.A. in English: Literature Specialization
- M.A. in English: Literature Specialization
- Ph.D. in English: Literature Specialization
- M.A. in English: Writing Studies Specialization
- Ph.D. in English: Writing Studies Specialization
- M.F.A. in Creative Writing
The M.A. degree may be completed in one year, but most students take one and a half or two years, combining their study with a teaching assistantship. The basic requirements are:
- Eight semester-long courses in British and American Literature and Critical Theory.
- Demonstrated reading knowledge of a foreign language.
- Courses (worth four hours of credit each) must be taken in six of the following nine areas:
- Medieval British Literature (beginning to 1485)
- Renaissance British Literature (1485-1660)
- Restoration/Eighteenth-Century British Literature (1660-1800)
- Nineteenth-Century British Literature (1800-1900)
- Twentieth-Century British Literature (1900-2000)
- Early American Literature (beginning to Civil War)
- Later American Literature (Civil War to present)
- Anglophone Literature (other than British and American)
- Critical Theory
Candidates may substitute another area (such as film) for one on the above list with the permission of the Director of English Graduate Studies. However, all students must take at least one course in a period before 1660, and one course in either Early or Later American Literature.
At least four of the nine courses must be in 500-level graduate seminars (limited to 14-18 students). The others may (but need not) be in 400-level courses (limited to 36 students) in which graduate students complete work beyond that expected of undergraduates.
- In their first year of teaching, students are required to complete a Professional Seminar in the teaching of composition or business and technical writing for four hours of credit.
- The Foreign Language Requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating a reading knowledge of an appropriate foreign language in one of the following three ways:
- By completing the equivalent of three full years of undergraduate work;
- By passing a proficiency exam administered by a UIUC foreign language department;
- By passing a non-credit 501 language course with a grade of B or better.
After completing the M.A. Degree, students may apply for admission to the Ph.D. program; admission is ordinarily granted to students in good standing committed to continuing their studies.
