The Master of Arts in English

Course Requirements for the Master's Degree: 30 units

Continuous enrollment is required. A maximum of 6 semester units of transfer and/or CSU Chico Open University course work may be applied toward the degree. Graduate Time Limit: All requirements for the degree are to be completed within five years of the end of the semester of enrollment in the oldest course applied toward the degree. See "Graduate Education" in the University Catalog for complete details on general degree requirements.

The Master's program in English is available to students whose undergraduate record qualifies them according to the standards set forth by the Office of Graduate Studies and the Department of English. Students who don't have the equivalent of a major in English must complete the equivalent of a general English minor.

Prerequisites for Students Who Don't Have an English Major or Minor

Required:

ENGL 340 or equivalent ENGL 356 and ENGL 357, unless student has had a good survey of British and American literature in the last two years.

Electives:

One course selected from each of the following areas: Language: ENGL 371, ENGL 375, ENGL 475, or ENGL 477 Major Figures: ENGL 440, ENGL 441, or ENGL 442 Composition and Rhetoric: ENGL 335 Periods: ENGL 445, ENGL 446, ENGL 447, ENGL 448, ENGL 449, ENGL 450, ENGL 458, or ENGL 459 Genres: ENGL 451, ENGL 452, ENGL 453, ENGL 455, ENGL 456, ENGL 457, or ENGL 461

The Master of Arts degree in English offers patterns in British and American Literature, Creative Writing, and Language and Literacy.

Prerequisites for Admission to Conditionally Classified Status:

1. Satisfactory grade point average as specified in "Admission to Master's Degree Programs" in the University Catalog.

2. An acceptable baccalaureate from an accredited institution, or an equivalent approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

3. Completion of the Graduate Record Examination, General Test and Subject Test covering Literature in English, with a minimum score of 500 on the verbal portion of the General Test (native English speakers only). Typically the scores on the GRE Subject Test of students admitted to the program are 500 or above, but the GRE Subject Test score is only one of the factors considered on the assessment of the applicant.

4. Completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 580 (237 on the computer-based TOEFL) by all applicants who have not attended postsecondary educational institutions for at least three years where English is the principal language of instruction. Further, a score below 50 (18 on the computer-based TOEFL) on any of the three parts of the TOEFL will require that a student enroll in remedial courses appropriate to the area of weakness; the Graduate Advisor will specify the number of semesters of remedial work.

5. Submission, with the application, of a writing sample demonstrating critical and analytical skills.

6. The Graduate Committee will make assessments of the applicant's complete record, balancing GPA, letters of recommendation, GRE scores (both GRE/General and GRE Subject Tests), writing samples, and any other material in the application package.

7. Approval by the department and the Office of Graduate Studies.

Prerequisites for Admission to Classified Status:

In addition to any requirements listed above:

1. Completion of a departmentally administered essay assignment, by those required to take TOEFL, during registration week of the first semester. Remedial work in composition will be required for those whose writing is judged inadequate by essay readers, and a student may not be advanced to classified status until an acceptable level of proficiency is reached.

2. Two letters of recommendation, preferably from English department faculty who know the student's work, to the departmental Graduate Coordinator.

3. Completion of ENGL 356 and ENGL 357, Survey of British Literature, or its equivalent. Students coming to Chico from undergraduate institutions that offer an undergraduate comprehensive examination in literature or a course of the same kind as the Survey of British Literature are requested to submit, when possible, as one of their letters of recommendation, a statement from a faculty member directly involved with that examination or course.

4. A postbaccalaureate grade point average of at least 3.0 in a minimum of 12 departmentally specified units of letter-graded, graduate-level course work.

5. Completion of departmental literacy requirement.

Advancement to Candidacy:

In addition to any requirements listed above:

1. Classified graduate standing and completion at the University of at least 9 units of the proposed program.

2. Fulfillment of the foreign language requirement (see below).

3. Formation of the graduate advisory (thesis) committee in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator.

4. Development of an approved program in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator. Such a program will include: (a) A statement of aims. (b) An outline of course units to be earned in pursuit of these aims. (c) A description of the nature of the culminating activity.

Requirements for the MA Degree in English:

Completion of all requirements as established by the department graduate committee, the graduate advisory (thesis) committee, and the Office of Graduate Studies, to include:

1. Completion of an approved program consisting of 30 units of 400/500/600-level courses as follows: (a) At least 24 units of 600-level courses in the discipline of English, including

ENGL 601 Intro to Graduate Research 3.0 FS
ENGL 661 Seminar in Literary Criticism 3.0 FS

OR (the following course may be substituted for the above)

ENGL 662 Contemp Theory & Textual Crit 3.0 FS

Six units of literature prior to 1900.

ENGL 697 Independent Study 1.0 -3.0 FS
ENGL 699P Master's Project 1.0 -6.0 FS

OR (the following course may be substituted for the above)

ENGL 699T Master's Thesis 1.0 -6.0 FS

Students who plan to do a creative project (ENGL 699P) must have permission to do so from the creative writing coordinator and must have completed the requirements for the Creative Writing Pattern. (b) Twelve units selected from one of the following patterns (specific courses for each pattern will be chosen in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator):

Literature Pattern

4 courses required:

Courses may be selected from any 600-level literature courses. ENGL 689T may be counted as one of them, but only one enrollment in ENGL 689T will be allowed in the 30-unit configuration for the program.

Language and Literacy Pattern

1 course required:

ENGL 632 Theories of Literacy 3.0 SP

3 courses selected from:

ENGL 630 Writing in the Profession 3.0 FA
ENGL 634 Teaching Composition 3.0 SP
ENGL 636 Comp Prog Design/Development 3.0 F1
ENGL 670 Topics Contemporary Ling 3.0 FS
ENGL 671 Adv Theory 2nd Lang Acquisitn 3.0 Inq
Prerequisites: ENGL 470.
ENGL 692 Special Topics in English 3.0 FS

Note: ENGL 530, Northern California Writing Project, may be substituted for 6 units from among ENGL 630, ENGL 632, ENGL 634, ENGL 636, ENGL 670, ENGL 671, and ENGL 692.

Creative Writing Pattern

2 courses required:

ENGL 620 Writer's Workshop 3.0 FS
Prerequisites: At least one 400-level creative writing course or instructor permission.
ENGL 622 Form and Practice 3.0 SP
Prerequisites: At least one 400-level creative writing course or instructor permission.

1 course selected from:

ENGL 419 Chapbook Production 4.0 SP
Prerequisites: ENGL 415 or two 400-level courses from the Minor in Creative Writing, or ENGL 620, or ENGL 622, or instructor permission.
ENGL 420 Advanced Poetry Writing 4.0 FA
Prerequisites: ENGL 320 or instructor permission.
ENGL 421 Advanced Fiction Writing 4.0 FS
Prerequisites: ENGL 321.
ENGL 422 Advanced Play Writing 4.0 Inq
Prerequisites: ENGL 322 or instructor permission.
ENGL 423 From Page to Stage 3.0 FA
Prerequisites: ENGL 320, ENGL 321, or ENGL 322 or instructor permission.
ENGL 519 Chapbook Production 4.0 SP
Prerequisites: ENGL 415; or two 400-level courses from the Minor in Creative Writing; or ENGL 620.
ENGL 689T Internship in Teaching College 3.0 FS
Prerequisites: ENGL 431 or ENGL 470 for ESL; faculty permission.

1 course selected from:

Any graduate-level course in modern or contemporary literature or one of the following:

ENGL 451 Modern Poetry 3.0 FS
ENGL 453 Modern Drama 3.0 FS
ENGL 461 Modern Novel 3.0 FS

(c) No 400-level course that is a prerequisite for a 600-level course (e.g., ENGL 431 or ENGL 470) can be used as part of the 30-unit graduate program except for specified courses in the creative writing pattern. (d) Not more than 6 semester units of transfer and/or extension credit (correspondence courses and U.C. extension course work are not acceptable). (e) Not more than 15 units taken before admission to classified status. (f) ENGL 689T (Internship in Teaching College English) may also be used as an elective in the MA program. Permission of program coordinator and instructor of record needed. (g) Normally not more than a total of 6 units of Independent Study (697) and Master's Thesis (699T) or Master's Project (699P).

Note: ENGL 697 must be taken for a letter grade.

2. Completion and approval by the Graduate Coordinator of an acceptable culminating activity. The English Department graduate committee will recommend granting the master's degree to candidates who have satisfactorily completed one of the following: (a) A written thesis prepared according to the standards established in A Guide to Graduate Studies: Policies, Procedures, and Format, available from the Office of Graduate Studies. The thesis will present a scholarly/critical study or a sustained creative effort. (b) A terminal project equivalent in scope to the thesis or seminar papers options and appropriate to the candidate's focus of study or special competence.

3. Approval by the departmental graduate committee and the Graduate Coordinators Committee on behalf of the faculty of the University.

Graduate Literacy Requirement:

Writing proficiency is a graduation requirement.

English degree candidates will demonstrate writing competence through two examples of their writing which have been submitted as assigned work. These must be presented to the Graduate Coordinator by the instructor(s) who assigned them, together with a written statement of his/her opinion of the papers' authenticity. The papers may not represent work done in connection with the thesis or terminal project, and at least one sample must demonstrate documentation of research according to the latest edition of the MLA Handbook style standards. This requirement must be met before the student is advanced to classified status.

Foreign Language Requirement:

Prior to advancement to candidacy, students must fulfill a foreign language requirement in one of the following ways:

1. Show evidence of completion, within the last five years, of the equivalent of two years of foreign language study at the college/university level with a grade of B or better; or

2. Show evidence of completion, within the last five years, of an upper-division foreign language literature course taught in the language with a grade of B or better; or

3. Demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language through a departmentally authorized examination.

Note: Appropriate accommodations will be made for the deaf or hearing impaired. Units earned in language courses will not be counted toward the 30 units required for the Master of Arts in English. The language taken must be a major literary language. International students from non-English-speaking countries will be exempt from this language requirement.

Graduate Grading Requirements:

All courses in the major (with the exceptions of Independent Study - 597/697, Comprehensive Examination - 696, Master's Project - 699P, and Master's Thesis - 699T) must be taken for a letter grade, except those courses specified by the department as ABC/No Credit (400/500-level courses), AB/No Credit (600-level courses), or Credit/No Credit grading only. A maximum of 10 units combined of ABC/No Credit, AB/No Credit, and Credit/No Credit grades may be used on the approved program (including 597/697, 696, 699P, 699T and courses outside the major). While grading standards are determined by individual programs and instructors, it is also the policy of the University that unsatisfactory grades may be given when work fails to reflect achievement of the high standards, including high writing standards, expected of students pursuing graduate study.

Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average in each of the following three categories: all course work taken at any accredited institution subsequent to admission to the master's program; all course work taken at CSU, Chico subsequent to admission to the program; and all courses on the approved master's degree program.

Graduate Advising Requirement:

Advising is mandatory each semester for all English majors. Consult the Graduate Coordinator for specifics.

- The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Admissions to the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing are currently suspended. Please contact the English Department or the Office of Graduate Studies to learn the current status of the program.