Students enter an M.A. program in English for a variety of reasons. Some wish simply to extend their liberal education beyond the bachelor's level; others want professional training for high school or junior college teaching; still others see the M.A. as a stepping stone to the Ph.D. and a career in college teaching. The Department of English offers an M.A. program that meets the diverse needs of these different students. We believe all students should have a thorough grounding in the basic elements of literary study; thus, all students must satisfy a common set of core requirements. We also believe, however, that you should have the right to give your studies a particular emphasis; thus, we offer a choice of seven departmental concentrations. These concentrations are carefully selected groups of courses that give each master's program a distinctive focus.
Our M.A. program is a two-year under-taking, although full-time students who are not teaching associates may complete it in less than two years.
Admission. Application must be made to the Office of Graduate Student Services. You should present at least 27 quarter hours (18 semester hours) of superior work on the undergraduate level in English language and literature. You should also submit evidence of having completed one full year of college-level foreign language beyond the freshman-level language requirement. This can be either one year of intermediate (sophomore) level or one year of advanced (junior or senior level) foreign language. You may apply if you do not meet the foreign language prerequisite but otherwise have outstanding qualifications for graduate study; however, if accepted, you must complete two quarters of a graduate foreign language reading course before graduating. Applications for admission also will be considered from students who have had extensive training in academic fields closely related to English. You should arrange for letters of recommendation from three professors with whom you have studied on the undergraduate level to be sent to the chair of the graduate committee in English.
You must, in addition, submit your scores for the Graduate Record Examination (general test only), a letter of purpose, and a writing sample. For potential creative writing students, the writing sample should be a portfolio of poems, a manuscript of short fiction, or a selection of creative nonfiction, which should be mailed to the director of the creative writing program. All other applicants should submit to the chair of English graduate studies a critical essay completed for undergraduate academic credit at the junior or senior level.
You must apply by March 1 for entry in fall quarter of the following academic year.
M.A. Requirements. To pursue the Master of Arts in English, you must satisfy the following requirements:
Like the master's essay, the master's thesis is expected to show originality, rigor of argument, and thoroughness of research and documentation. It should, however, include more extensive research than a master's essay, particularly more detailed analysis of the theoretical approach being used, a wider and deeper survey of research and scholarship, and a more thorough contextualization of the central argument. The creative writing thesis is a piece of original creative writing.
Of these three seminars, one must focus primarily on literature before 1700, one on literature after 1700, and one on American literature.
The Ph.D. in English is designed primarily as professional training for teachers and scholars of literature, composition, and creative writing. Such training requires at least four elements: a solid general background in literary history, a detailed knowledge of a specialized area, successful completion of a scholarly, critical, or creative dissertation, and-for those with associateships-experience teaching a variety of courses.
Admission. If you have a master's degree from a school other than Ohio University and wish to be admitted to the doctoral program, you must apply for admission to the Office of Graduate Student Services. Your application should include complete graduate and undergraduate transcripts, Graduate Record Examination scores, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample.
Ph.D. Requirements. To earn a Ph.D. in English, you must fulfill the following requirements:
The reading lists for all three portions of the exam will be drawn up by your examining committee with your consultation.
All Ph.D. students will have reading knowledge of one foreign language, to be proved by the Princeton exam or equivalent.
Once a topic has been decided upon, you and your advisor will draw up a prospectus to be approved by the dissertation committee.
In lieu of the traditional oral examination, you will deliver a public lecture on some aspect of your dissertation and lead a discussion on the work. You and your committee may, however, decide that the traditional examination would be more appropriate.
Supervised Teaching. All Ph.D. students holding associateships are expected to teach as part of their professional training. Because Ohio University is a moderate-sized state university, it has a wide variety of undergraduate English courses to be staffed. Consequently, graduate associates receive considerable experience in teaching different courses. As a Ph.D. graduate associate, you will probably leave the university having taught at least three or four different courses at the freshman through junior levels. Although you will have received supervision, you will have been primarily responsible for organizing and teaching these classes. Recent Ph.D. graduate associates have found this varied experience particularly valuable when they enter the professional job market.
University Publications and Computer Services revised this file (http://www.ohiou.edu/~gcat/97-99/areas/engl.htm) June 1, 1998.
Please e-mail comments or suggestions to "gcat@www.ohiou.edu."