Graduate Programs Information/MA in English (Prior to Fall 2010)
Master of Arts in English
Requirements for students who were admitted prior to Fall 2010 are below.
Course work for the MA consists of (1) the core requirements and (2) one of the three areas of concentration: English & American Literature, Literature & Culture, and Rhetoric, Writing and Culture and (3) an optional minor field.
A minimum of 48 credits is required to complete the program. A minimum of 30 credits must be taken in residence at Oregon State after admission as a graduate student.
Requirements include a thesis and final oral examination.
Also required is proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to a second-year university course. For more information, see the OSU graduate catalog.
The MA is designed as a two-year program, but all requirements—minimum credits, foreign language, thesis, and examination—must be completed within seven years.
Core Requirements: 18 Credits
- 12 credits: Literature (including at least 6 credits in English and/or American)
(6 credits: pre-1800 Literature, 6 credits: post-1800 Literature)
- 6 credits: Theory: Two courses from the following with not more than one from a single area:
Composition: WR 512, WR 595
Language: ENG 590, ENG 595
Criticism: ENG 514, ENG 575
Other courses in theory are occasionally offered and may be used to satisfy this requirement with the approval of the graduate advisor.
Major Fields
(1) English and American Literature
- 6 credits: ENG 503 (thesis)
- 21 credits: (12 credits also fulfill core requirements in Literature)
3 credits in Poetry
3 credits in Drama
3 credits in the Novel
6 credits in English Literature
6 credits in American Literature - 3 credits: any other ENG course at the graduate level not used to fulfill other requirements
(2) Literature and Culture
- 6 credits: ENG 503 (thesis)
- 3 credits: ENG 575—Studies in Criticism: Literary and Cultural Theory (may simultaneously fulfill half of the core requirement in theory; if used for this purpose, 3 elective credits must be taken to complete the 48 credit requirement)
- 9 credits from the following:
ENG 514—Criticism, Culture and World Community
ENG 515—Industrialism and the English Novel
ENG 516—Power and Representation
ENG 520—Studies in Difference, Power and Discrimination
ENG 552—Studies in Film
ENG 557, 558—Comparative Literature: Colonialism/ Postcolonialism
ENG 575--Studies in Criticism (topics change from term to term; only “Literature and Cultural Theory” is required)
ENG 580—Studies in Literature, Culture and Society
ENG 582—American Literature, Culture and the Environment
ENG 588—Literature and Pedagogy
ENG 590—Development of the English Language
ENG 595—Language, Technology and Culture
ENG 597—Women’s International Voices
ENG 598—Women and Literature
WR 511—The Teaching of Writing
WR 595—Introduction to Literacy Studies - 12 additional credits to reach the minimum requirement of 48
(3) Rhetoric and Writing
- 6 credits: WR 503 (thesis)
- 3 credits: WR 593—The Rhetorical Tradition and The Teaching of Writing
- 9 credits from the following:
ENG 545—Studies in Nonfiction
ENG 595--Language, Technology, and Culture
WR 511—The Teaching of Writing
WR 512—Current Composition Theory
WR 516—Advanced Composition
WR 520—Studies in Writing
WR 527—Advanced Technical Writing
WR 548--Magazine Article Writing
WR 549--Critical Reviewing
WR 595--Introduction to Literacy Studies - 12 additional credits to reach the minimum requirement of 48
Optional Minor: 12 Credits
The minor may be a second of these areas and consists of the 12 credits required for the major field, excluding ENG 503. The minor may also be an area in another department (the Graduate Catalog lists minors).
Guidelines for Masters of Arts Thesis
Students are strongly advised to begin thinking about the thesis requirement early. Satisfying it demands extensive preparation.
The thesis should be a professional achievement—a product resembling what professionals are publishing in the field of the thesis project. The thesis should indicate that the student has mastered the current state of the conversation in the field—and is making an original contribution to it. Such mastery appears explicitly in the research article, through discussion of relevant and important publications, but it is equally necessary, even though it appears implicitly, in fiction, the essay, and comparable forms.
The thesis typically ranges between 40 and 60 pages.
Theses that include explicit documentation of their research should follow the guidelines in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Other theses should supply a bibliography conforming to guidelines supplied by the student’s major professor.
Work on the thesis is directed principally by the student’s major professor. Ideally, this professor should be the member of the faculty with the greatest expertise in the subject area of the student’s thesis project. Students should formulate their thesis project early and discuss it with the Graduate Advisor, who can often direct them to the faculty member best suited to help. Students should keep in mind the Graduate School requirements that before completing 18 hours, students must file a program of study formally approved and signed by their major professor.
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
To complete the course of study for the MFA degree in Creative Writing, a minimum of 60 quarter/term hours are required in the following categories:
24 hours/credits in Creative Writing Workshops
24 hours/credits in Literature and/or Composition
12 hours/credits in Thesis and/or Writing and Conference
Students are required to take one course emphasizing literary roots (ENG pre-1800). TAs and students planning to apply for a TA are required to take one course focusing on theory of composition (WR 511, WR 512, WR 593, or WR 595).
No additional hours in disciplines other than Creative Writing, Rhetoric and Composition, or Literature will normally apply toward the degree.
Creative Writing Workshops (a total of 24 credit hours is required)
Literature and/or Rhetoric and Composition (a total of 24 credit hours is required)
- 12 credits by selecting four of the following courses:
ENG 511 ENG 512 ENG 513 ENG 515 ENG 516 ENG 517 ENG 518 ENG 519 ENG 520 ENG 524 ENG 525 ENG 526 ENG 528 ENG 529 ENG 530 ENG 531 ENG 532 ENG 533 ENG 534 ENG 535 ENG 536 ENG 537 ENG 538 ENG 539 ENG 540 ENG 542 ENG 545 ENG 550 ENG 552 ENG 554 ENG 557 ENG 558 ENG 560 ENG 565 ENG 570 ENG 575 ENG 580 ENG 582 ENG 585 ENG 586 ENG 588 ENG 590 ENG 595 ENG 597 ENG 598 WR 511 WR 512 WR 516 WR 541 WR 548 WR 593 WR 595
- 4 credits by selecting one of the following courses (required for TAs):
- 4 credits by selecting one of the following courses (must have pre-1800 literature focus):
ENG 511 ENG 512 ENG 517 ENG 525 ENG 526 ENG 528 ENG 529 ENG 530 ENG 531 ENG 532 ENG 533 ENG 535 ENG 580 ENG 590
Thesis/Writing and Conference (a total of 12 credit hours is required)
- 12 credits by selecting from the following courses:
WR 503 (thesis)
WR 504 (writing and conference)
All MFA candidates will be required to complete a thesis, which is to be a sustained piece of creative writing of literary merit (for prose, roughly 70 pages, and for poetry, 35-48 pages).
A formal examination will be also required of MFA students. The exam will usually be given in the student’s final term of study, and consists of questions assessing the student’s grasp of the history of the genre, the contemporary creative writing situation, influences and models, and matters of craft, all within the context of the student’s own writing.
Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
Administered by the Graduate School, the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies is granted for attainment of broad, advanced knowledge and achievement integrated from three fields of study.
Requirements include a minimum of 45 credits and a thesis or research paper. At least 9 credits must be in each field of study. No more than 21 (excluding thesis or research paper credit) may be taken in any field unless the total program exceeds 45 credits.
In completing the “Department of major” section of the application for admission, please write “Interdisciplinary Studies” and your choice of three fields. A field may be a department or an area of concentration within a department. Two of the three fields may be different areas of concentration in one department. English offers three areas of concentration: English & American Literature, Literature & Culture, and Rhetoric & Composition.
Teaching Assistantships
Students beginning a teaching assistantship and a graduate program simultaneously should normally finish their program in two years and may serve as a teaching assistant for two years, if reappointed. Students starting a teaching assistantship later in their graduate career—usually in the second year of their program—should normally also finish their program in two years, serving as a teaching assistant for one year. In unusual circumstances, a third year may be possible. Typically, the term of service is no longer than two years.
To apply for a teaching assistantship, check the “Teaching Assistant” box of the application form. Please note: research assistantships are not available in English.
Courses recommended for Teaching Assistants:
WR 511—The Teaching of Writing
WR 512—Current Composition Theory
WR 517—Teaching Practicum: English Composition
WR 595—Introduction to Literacy Studies
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