About the M.A. Degrees

Credits and time restrictions

For the M.A. in English, M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication, or M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language/Applied Linguistics, students must complete a minimum of 27 credit hours of graduate course work plus three hours of credit in 599 or 699.

Students with a B.A. or B.S. degree are expected to complete a master's program at Iowa State University within five years. Cases in which the student leaves ISU during his or her graduate career and later returns are dealt with individually by the Director of Graduate Education, the student's POS committee, and the Graduate College.

Graduate courses used to meet the requirements for a bachelor’s degree cannot be counted toward the credits required for your graduate degree; however, they can be used, where appropriate, to argue for a waiver of a POS requirement. For instance, you could substitute an advanced linguistics course for a required linguistics course, if you have taken the equivalent of the required graduate course. You would still have to take 30 credit hours as a graduate student in order to graduate. Up to 9 credits of graduate course work taken as a non-degree graduate student or an advanced undergraduate before being admitted to the major can be applied towards your degree (see Graduate courses taken as an ISU undergraduate).

M.A. in English areas of specialization

Students admitted to graduate study for the M.A. in English are approved for one of two disciplinary specializations: Literature or Literature and the Teaching of Reading (LTR).

Changing your area of specialization

Admission to the M.A. in English with a specialization in Literature does not automatically guarantee your acceptance into the specialization in Literature and the Teaching of Reading. If you wish to change your specialization from Literature to LTR, you must meet with Prof. Donna Niday to determine if you are qualified for the LTR specialization. Generally, only those students with current teaching licenses will be accepted into the LTR specialization. 

M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication

Students admitted to graduate study for the M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication do not declare a specialization but may choose electives from a particular area of concentration to strengthen their understanding of that area (e.g., teaching composition and/or professional communication, writing professional documents, understanding communication technology, analyzing visual design).

M.A. in TESL/Applied Linguistics areas of specialization

Students admitted to graduate study for the M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language/ Applied Linguistics can declare up to two of the five elective disciplinary specializations: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Language Assessment, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Literacy, and Literature in ESL.

Co-majoring in English Department M.A. programs

Co-majoring in English Department M.A. majors requires that all requirements in each of the two majors (including areas of specialization), not counting the thesis credits, be met to complete this single M.A. degree. POS committees include co-major professors, each representing one of the co-majors.

In order to co-major, you will need to meet all the requirements for both majors.

• Apply for the co-major in time to meet POS, thesis, and final exam requirements. You can download the Request to Co-Major form.
• Outline your entire proposed POS (42 credit hour minimum). Completed Degree Planning Sheets for each major with major professor signatures (co-major professors required) must be filed with the application.
• Acquire admission approval from both majors (including areas of specialization). Students applying to co-major in English must complete coursework for one of the specializations in Literature.
• Have a POS committee with co-major professors representing both majors. In addition, because your majors represent two distinctly different areas of expertise, you will also need to have a second faculty member from within each major and at least one who is outside both majors (i.e., a committee of five members, unless one or more of your committee members is listed within both of your two department research areas). This is a department requirement that is more stringent than the Graduate College minimum requirement. If a committee and POS have already been approved by the Graduate College, a Request to Change Committee Appointment form and Modifications to the Program of Study form must be submitted for approval with co-major professors in both majors (and area of specialization if appropriate) and course work meeting minimum requirements for both specializations.
• Satisfy all requirements for both majors (and areas of specialization). This will mean that you will need to take extra hours beyond the 30 credit hours of most master’s students. However, it will not mean that you must take an additional 30 credits hours, for some courses will work for both majors (and areas of specialization).
  • A co-major will require a minimum of 42 credit hours (12 extra credit hours beyond the standard 30 credit hours).
  • A student with a co-major must take at least 15 credit hours of specialized courses in each of the two majors, not counting the thesis.
• Write a thesis or creative component that applies to both majors (and areas of specialization) and satisfies your POS committee members from both majors.