Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

English, M.A.


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The M.A. degree program in English is designed to satisfy the needs of a variety of students: those who wish to prepare themselves for college teaching on the freshman and sophomore levels or for continuation into doctoral studies; those who are currently high school English teachers and wish to broaden their knowledge of their specialty; those who plan to enter high school teaching; and those who wish to receive training in professional writing. The student must pursue a concentration in (1) creative writing, (2) folklore, (3) linguistics, (4) literature, (5) professional writing, (6) rhetoric and composition, or (7) TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Additional information for each of these concentrations is available in the Department of English Graduate Student Handbook.

Admission


In addition to the general application and admission requirements of the Graduate School, application to the M.A. program in English requires submission of a statement of purpose (1-2 pages), a curriculum vitae or resume, and a critical writing sample (10-20 pages). Applicants for the creative writing concentration also must submit a creative writing sample (10-20 pages) in the genre in which they intend to specialize. It is expected that applicants will have an average GPA of 3.0 in all English courses taken and that they will have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours of intermediate or advanced literature coursework. Should an applicant not be admitted to the concentration of choice, the applicant may be considered for admission to the program in another concentration area.

Degree Requirements


The M.A. degree program in English requires completion of 33-36 graduate credit hours, satisfaction of a foreign language requirement, and successful completion of a comprehensive examination and/or thesis. The program offers both a thesis and non-thesis exam track in four concentrations (folklore, linguistics, literature, rhetoric and composition). The TESOL concentration offers both a thesis and a practicum track. The creative writing and professional writing concentrations offer only a thesis track.

For students pursuing the non-thesis exam track in folklore, linguistics, literature, or rhetoric and composition, a minimum of 33 credit hours of course work plus 3 credit hours in exam preparation is required; the non-thesis exam track in TESOL requires 27 credit hours of course work plus 6 credit hours. For students pursuing the non-thesis practicum track in TESOL, 27 credit hours of course work and 6 credit hours of practicum is required. For the thesis track in creative writing, folklore, linguistics, literature, professional writing, or rhetoric and composition, 30 credit hours of coursework plus 6 credit hours of thesis credit is required. For the thesis track in TESOL, 27 credit hours of coursework plus 6 credit hours of thesis credit is required.

Concentrations


To earn the M.A. degree in English, students must choose a concentration and complete the coursework as described below.

Creative Writing Concentration


Note

Workshop courses must include at least two different genres. They also must be completed at UL Lafayette and cannot be transferred; any transfer credit for workshop courses may count only as elective credit.

Total: 36 Credit Hours

Folklore Concentration


Total: 36 Credit Hours

Linguistics Concentration


Total: 36 Credit Hours

Literature Concentration


  • 3 Credit Hour(s)
  •  

  • For thesis track students:

  • 3-9 Credit Hour(s) (6 credit hours)
  •  

  • For non-thesis exam track students:

  • 3-24 Credit Hour(s) (3 credit hours)
  • 3 credit hours of an additional graduate-level ENGL course
  •  

  • 3 credit hours of Old English, Middle English, Linguistics, and/or Theory coursework as identified in the Notes section below
     
  • 15 credit hours of Literary Studies coursework in five different periods of literary history
     
  • 9 credit hours of ENGL graduate-level electives (students appointed as GTAs should take ENGL 501  as one of these electives)
Total: 36 Credit Hours

Professional Writing Concentration


Total: 36 Credit Hours

Rhetoric and Composition Concentration


Total: 36 Credit Hours

TESOL Concentration


Total: 33 Credit Hours

Foreign Language Requirements


All students pursuing the M.A. degree in English, regardless of concentration, must demonstrate reading knowledge of an approved language other than English in one of the following ways:

  1. by successful completion of a reading knowledge examination administered by the Department of Modern Languages;
  2. by successful completion of 4 credits in Old English at the graduate (500-600) level, either during the graduate program in English at UL Lafayette or within the last six years prior to entering the M.A. program;
  3. by presenting evidence of having completed, within the past six years, the second semester sophomore-level college course in any non-English language with a grade no lower than C;
  4. by presentation of a satisfactory score in a particular language on the ETS Graduate School Foreign Language Test.

Students must satisfy the language requirement before taking the comprehensive examination and/or defending their thesis.

General Comprehensive Examination and Thesis Requirements


Successful completion of a comprehensive examination is required of all degree candidates pursuing a non-thesis track. Offered each regular semester, the examination consists of a three-hour comprehensive written portion and a one-hour oral examination. A student may take the oral examination only after passing the written examination. The student must pass both the written and the oral components to satisfy the degree requirements. The written examination consists of two components. The first, which is standard for all examinees, is devised and evaluated by the faculty M.A. Examinations Committee according to a prescribed format. This format is available online in the English Graduate Student Handbook. The second component, which is tailored to reflect each student’s program of graduate courses, is devised and evaluated by the student’s faculty advisory committee. The student must pass both components to pass the written portion of the comprehensive examination and thus be eligible to stand for the oral portion, which is comprehensive and is conducted by the student’s advisory committee. Non-thesis students pursuing the non-thesis comprehensive exam track must complete literary breadth coursework and language requirements before taking ENGL 899: Examinations.

Students who pass one written component and fail the other are not required to retake the passed component. Students who fail their M.A. exams should consult with the Graduate Coordinators and with their M.A. Committee for procedures to follow. As per Graduate School requirements, M.A. candidates are not permitted a third try on the comprehensive exam.

For students pursing the thesis track, a general, comprehensive knowledge of a field of study is demonstrated through completion of the thesis. Early in the third semester, the candidate should begin work on the thesis prospectus. Once approved by the candidate’s committee, the prospectus should be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator for Continuing Students by the middle of the semester. In the final semester, thesis-track students will present an oral defense of their thesis to be conducted by their thesis committee.

Notes


Students must complete ENGL 500 - Professional Colloquium  (0 credit hours) in each of their first two semesters.

A minimum of 30 of credit hours must be in English courses at the 400(G), 500, and 600 levels. At least 15 of these credit hours must be at the 500/600 level.

Literary Studies coursework and the foreign language requirement must be completed before a student may enroll in ENGL 899 - Examinations .

With prior permission of the English Department, students may take selected graduate courses in related disciplines.

M.A. students who are appointed as graduate teaching assistants in the English Department should take ENGL 501 - Teaching College English  (3 credit hours) in the spring semester of their first year and ENGL 509 - College English Practicum  (1 credit hour) during both semesters of teaching.

Additional Courses


Old English, Middle English, Linguistics, and/or Theory coursework:

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