Graduate Programs

Class Preparation

Master of Arts Degree in English: English Studies for Teachers
The M.A. program in English with an Emphasis in English for Teachers is primarily designed as a professional development tool for licensed, practicing teachers in the public schools. This program provides teachers with the opportunity to enhance content area expertise in English studies and/or obtain a basis for an additional teaching endorsement. Students take courses across a wide range of topics within English studies including composition, rhetoric, and professional communication; creative writing; film; and literary study. Students select one of these four as an area of specialization. Students may also supplement these areas with related coursework in journalism, speech, and theatre.

The faculty in the Department of English approach research, teaching, and other professional practices from multiple perspectives. We value collaboration and synthesis. We encourage critical engagements that challenge the borders traditionally drawn between theory and practice, production and reception, and creativity and critique. We promote situated inquiry that encourages teachers to develop a broad view of English studies and relates that understanding to teaching in the discipline.

Degree Requirements | Portfolio & Exams | Assistantships | Application

Faculty
Faculty are drawn from the entire Department of English.

Degree Requirements
In addition to meeting the requirements of the Graduate School, students electing this emphasis must fulfill the following requirements.

Course Work (36 Semester Credit Hours)
Students in the program will develop individualized plans of study in consultation with an advisor. Students will complete at least 36 hours of graduate course work including

12 credit hours in core courses;
18 - 21 credit hours in courses in an area of specialization
3 - 6 credit hours meeting the capstone requirement

Core Curriculum (12 credit hours).
Students take one core course in each of the following areas:

Composition, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication
Creative Writing
Film
Literature

Each of these courses will feature a prominent research component that will provide the student with the skills necessary to extend the knowledge and competencies developed in the core courses. The products of core course research will constitute one component of the student's Masters Portfolio.

Specialized Courses (18 - 21 credit hours).
Students take six to seven additional courses in their area of specialization determined in consultation with an advisor. Up to two appropriate courses (six credit hours) might also be taken in other departments. Students might consider coursework in related departments such as Communication Studies, Education, Journalism, and Theatre.

Master’s Capstone Requirement (3 credit hours).
Students fulfill the capstone requirement through one of the options below:

3 credit hours of English 577: Workshop in Technical Communication.
3 – 6 credit hours of English 585: Preparing a Professional Portfolio.
With advisor approval, students may develop an alternative capstone experience and enroll for appropriate credits (such as independent study).

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 advisor.

Top | Degree Requirements | Portfolio & Exams | Assistantships | Application

Master’s Portfolio and the Oral Examination
As part of their degreeprogram, students develop a portfolio and defend that portfolio in an oral exam. This portfolio may provide material for public schools’ Professional Development Dossier.

Master’s Portfolio
Students complete a master’s portfolio, which should include representative documents to illustrate research in the four areas of the core coursework, teaching expertise, and an introductory essay. Guidelines for the portfolio are available on the NMSU English Department website or from advisors. Students who develop a portfolio take an oral exam after obtaining approval on the portfolio. The oral examination covers course work as well as the portfolio.

Oral Examination Committee
The oral examination committee should be formed by students in the semester before graduation and consists of two members of the English graduate faculty and one member of the graduate faculty outside the department. The committee administers and evaluates the oral examination.

Top | Degree Requirements | Portfolio & Exams | Assistantships | Application

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 2007-2008 is $15,500 for the academic year for master’s students. An assistantship requires twenty hours of work per week; normally this includes teaching one course and performing additional duties such as working in the writing center, working on the department's publications, or other instructional assignments. For the first year, Graduate Assistants pay tuition at the in-state tuition rate. After the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for establishing 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 weeklong teaching orientation that begins the week before classes start. In addition, all new Graduate Assistants are required to enroll in English 571: Composition Theory and Pedagogy during their first semester as assistants.

Top | Degree Requirements | Portfolio & Exams | Assistantships | Application

Application Procedures
Admission to the M.A. program in English Studies for Teachers will be determined by the English Department's Graduate Studies Committee. The Committee will consider any material that an applicant presents, but a completed application must include the following:

A completed Application for Admission to Graduate School (the last page of the NMSU Graduate Catalog or register online at http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/)
Complete official transcripts of all college work.
A completed Application for Study in English http://www.nmsu.edu/~english/apply/application.htm
A curriculum vitae or professional resume.
A statement of purpose addressing personal, academic and professional interests and experience. This statement should also indicate how our program is appropriate for the applicant’s research interests and career goals and which emphasis the applicant plans on pursuing.
A statement of teaching interests and qualifications, with a description of relevant experience.
Samples of writing. These samples should include academic work that reflects strong teaching potential. They may also include work done as a professional communicator, such as grant proposals, research reports, manuals, program evaluations, or brochures. Work whose authorship is either shared or unspecified should be accompanied by a brief statement clarifying the applicant’s role in the project.
Three letters of recommendation from professors, employers, or others qualified to evaluate potential for graduate work. If applying for a graduate teaching assistantship, these letters should also address experience or potential as a teacher.

The first two items on the list should be submitted to the Graduate School. All remaining items (and the Application for Financial Support) should be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies in the English Department. An application cannot be considered until all items are received. 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, October 1 for Spring admission.
Note: Students interested in being considered for a Graduate Assistantship should indicate their interest on the application form for the English Department.