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English

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College: College of Liberal Arts & Communication

Department: English and Philosophy

Description

The M.A. in English requires 30 semester hours of course work without a thesis or, optionally, 24 hours plus a thesis. The program gives students the opportunity to broaden their academic background and to develop expertise in specialized areas.

Our program is by and large a literature program preparing students for teaching at the community college level or for entering doctoral programs in English, although our graduates do go into many other fields.

A limited graduate enrollment assures a student-professor ratio conducive to a mutual exchange of ideas outside as well as within the classroom. Each student is assigned an adviser who makes every effort to draw the student into the scholarly community. This has proven to be one of the program's  greatest asset.

Graduate students in English are offered the opportunity to work as editorial assistants for Arkansas Review, with the possibility of moving up to editorial positions. Tasks fulfilled by editorial assistants include typing and proofreading of copy, managing business correspondence, meeting weekly with the general editor, assigning book reviews, screening manuscripts, preparing mailings, delivering copies to the post office and local bookstores, working with authors, and attending regional and statewide conferences and festivals to promote the journal. The experience gained as an editorial assistant can prepare a student for work at other scholarly journals or in the commercial magazine and other publishing areas.

Curriculum

Curriculum and degree requirements can be found in the most current Graduate Bulletin.

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  • Admission Process

    Students seeking admission into the Master of Arts in English must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School and the specific program requirements. 

    Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year institution with the appropriate undergraduate background in the field of the proposed academic emphasis and a grade point average of 3.00 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. (A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1, F-0).  The appropriate undergraduate background must include a minimum of 18 semester hours of course work, exclusive of any basic education courses, in the proposed field of the graduate major.  All courses attempted, including any repeated courses, are considered in the computation of the grade point average.

    Students who do not meet the requirements as stated above may be granted admission at the master's degree level provided they have a grade point average of 2.50 overall or a 2.75 average on the last 60 hours.

    1.  Applicants for admission to the master's degree program who have not completed the appropriate undergraduate background will be assessed undergraduate course deficiencies.

    2.  Applicants from an unaccredited college, who have satisfactory grades and a satisfactory undergraduate program, may be admitted with an entrance condition of 12 semester hours.

    Minimum hours required for this program:  30 hours.

  • Careers

    The English department aids in helping its graduates secure employment or enter doctoral programs. Members of the department write recommendations, provide contacts, and secure job interviews.  To date the department record has been outstanding.  ASU graduates have been employed throughout the country in business, industry, and education.  Though we recognize that one of our important tasks is to prepare high school and community college teachers, some of our students have been accepted in Ph.D. programs at such universities as Iowa, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas Christian, Kentucky, and Missouri. 


English
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Contact the Department of English and Philosophy

Natalie Turney

Phone: (870) 972-3043
Fax: (870) 972-3045

Room: 4141
HSS

Postal Address:
P.O. Box 1890
State University, AR  72467