Graduate Programs

Fall Afternoon Chat

Master of Arts Degree in English: Emphasis in Literature
The Department of English at New Mexico State University offers the Master of Arts Degree in English with an Emphasis in Literature under two options: a thesis option and a nonthesis option. Both options require completion of 36 hours of graduate credit. Students who elect the thesis option write a thesis and take a final oral examination. Students who elect the nonthesis option write a Master's Essay and take a final oral examination.

Course Work | Second Language | Examinations | Assistantships | Application

Faculty

Degree Requirements
Any variation from these requirements must be approved by the Department Head. Requests should be submitted in writing to the Graduate Studies Committee through the adviser. In addition to meeting the requirements of the Graduate School, students electing this emphasis must fulfill the following requirements:

Course Work (36 Semester Hours)

Literary Theory and Methods. 3 hours. Appropriate courses include: English 511: Theories of Discourse; English 515: Introduction to Critical Theory; English 517: Graduate Study in Literary Criticism

Literature. 18 hours minimum. Appropriate courses include:

English 501, Graduate Study in English Literature I
English 502, Graduate Study in English Literature II
English 503, Graduate Study in American Literature I
English 504, Graduate Study in American Literature II
English 505, Graduate Study in Chaucer
English 507, Graduate Study in Milton
English 508, Graduate Study in Shakespeare I
English 509, Graduate Study in Shakespeare II
English 521, Graduate Study in a Literary Period or Movement
English 522, Graduate Study in a Literary Form or Genre
English 523, Graduate Study in a Major Author
English 524, Graduate Study in a Major Text
English 525, Graduate Study in Comparative Literature

Students must take at least one course in each of the following areas:

British Literature pre-1700 OR American Literature pre-1900
British Literature post-1700 OR American Literature post-1900
In addition, students must take at least one course in British Literature AND at least one course in American literature.

Optional Courses. Up to 9 hours.
These courses may be taken inside or outside the department and should be selected in consultation with the adviser.

Note: Graduate Assistants must take English 571: Composition Pedagogy and Practicum during their first semester as assistants. This course will count within the 9 hours.

English 598 Master's Essay. 3 hours (optional)
Students electing the non-thesis option must complete the Master's Essay. The Master's Essay requires revision of a scholarly essay of 25-30 pages, the approximate length of a journal article, and reformulation of this essay to the 7-8 pages appropriate for presentation at a conference, preferably a department colloquium. Students are encouraged to undertake the Master's Essay process in the first half of their third semester of full-time graduate coursework, or soon after completing 18 hours of credit work.

In addition to the primary focus on revision, the process for this project involves research of appropriate publication venues, and a final oral defense of the project as whole. In both length and in level of scholarship the long version of the paper should be modeled after articles published in specific scholarly journals in the field and the abbreviated version should reflect familiarity with conventions of conference presentation. The Master's Essay, in addition to coursework, will form the basis of the oral exam.

English 599 Master's Thesis. 6 hours (optional).
Students electing the thesis option complete a master's thesis on an appropriate topic, chosen in consultation with a thesis director and approved by the thesis committee, which consists of at least two members of the graduate English faculty and one member of the graduate faculty from outside the department. Students who wish to pursue the thesis option should form their thesis/examining committees early in their second semester of course work.

Typically theses will represent a substantial body of original research, usually between 60 and 75 pages (exclusive of Works Cited). Students are required to meet with their committees early in the writing stage to present and discuss a thesis proposal. This proposal hearing should be held early in the first half of a student's third semester of full time graduate work, or soon after completing 18 hours of course work.

Second Language Second language proficiency must be demonstrated by one of the following:

Achieving a minimum score of 62 for French, 63 for German, or 66 for Spanish on the CLEP foreign language exam (College Level Examination Program).
Successfully completing one hour of 449 in a chosen language through the Department of Languages and Linguistics.
Completing an upper-division literature course in a chosen language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student).
Completing the final course of a four-semester sequence of one language with a grade of at least a B (typically, as an undergraduate student).
Petitioning the Graduate Studies Committee. Students who have current multilingual skills that can be verified by credentials other than the ETS score or the course described above may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to certify their second language proficiency. Normally this petition will be submitted before the end of the student's second semester in the M.A. program. The petition, a memorandum with supporting evidence, should be submitted through the student's adviser to the Graduate Studies Committee.

Examinations
All students take a two-hour oral examination. In that exam, students are expected both to defend their thesis or Master's Essay and to answer questions regarding their course work. Students should form their examining committee by the end of their third semester of course work. The committee consists of at least two members of the graduate English faculty (including the thesis or Master's Essay adviser) and one member of the graduate faculty from outside the department.

Graduate Assistantships
Each year a limited number of graduate assistantships are available for qualified students. To be eligible, students must have regular admission status certified by NMSU's Graduate School. The graduate stipend for 2008-2009 is $15,800 for the academic year. An assistantship requires that you work twenty hours per week, typically teaching one course and performing additional duties such as working in the writing center, working for the department's publications, or on the department web site. For the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for paying tuition at the in-state tuition rate. After the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for establishing their New Mexican residency so that they can continue to pay tuition at the in-state rate. All new Graduate Assistants are required to attend a week-long teaching orientation that begins the week before classes start.

Application Procedures Applicants who wish to be competitive and who are applying for a graduate assistantship should complete the following application procedure by February 1 for Fall admission, October 1 for Spring admission.

Submit an application for admission to the Graduate School: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/admit-form.html
Submit a completed Application for Study in English form: http://www.nmsu.edu/~english/apply/application.html
Arrange to have your undergraduate transcripts sent to the Graduate School. (Note: The Graduate School requires transcripts from all institutions attended, not just degree-granting institutions.)
Write a letter of application to the English Department indicating when you wish to be admitted and including a statement of your objectives for your graduate program. Include with this letter the completed Application for Study in English form and, for Fall admissions only, indicate whether you wish to apply for a graduate assistantship.
Submit a sample of your academic or professional writing to the English Department. Work whose authorship is either shared or unspecified should be accompanied by a brief statement clarifying your role in the project.
Have three persons submit letters of reference directly to the English Department. They may write on their own stationery; however, there is a standard letter of reference form available from the Department. Those writing letters of recommendation are customarily former or current professors of the student; however, people who know the applicant in other capacities are also appropriate. Students applying for an assistantship should consider asking someone who has observed their teaching (if this is possible) or someone who has supervised their work.

Note: Although the Graduate School and the English Department do not require applicants to submit scores on psychometric examinations (e.g., the Graduate Record Examination), applicants are encouraged to submit scores to the English Department if they have already taken the exams.

Note: An application cannot be considered until all items are received. We also encourage applicants to submit a FAFSA to the Graduate School. Applicants who wish to be competitive and who are applying for a graduate assistantship should complete the application procedure by February 1 for Fall admission.