2.2 MA in English Degree Requirements

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

Students who choose the Literature specialization will cultivate broad expertise in English and American literature and film and their historical, cultural, and theoretical contexts.

Students interested in the Literature and the Teaching of Reading (LTR) specialization will cultivate a broad expertise in English and American literature and prepare to teach reading in middle schools and high schools. These students must be interviewed by Prof. Brandon Sams (blsams@iastate.edu). Generally, only those students with current teaching licenses will qualify to specialize in LTR.

2.2.1 Degree Requirements

(Effective Fall 2023)

Requires 30 credits of coursework.

Area of Coursework	Courses	Credits
CORE COURSEWORK		18
Literature/Film	Choose 6 courses from the following: ENGL 5210, 5220, 5230, 5310, 5320, 5330, 5340, 5350, 5380, 5390, 5400, 5430, 5450, 5460, 5610, 5620, 5900A, and 5950A
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION		9 each
Literature Courses totaling 9 elective credits from English Dept graduate offerings in any of the graduate majors (LIT, RPC, CWE, or ALT). TAs may count 3 credits of either ENGL 5000 or SP CM 5130. With prior approval as a POS waiver/substitution, 3.0 credits of appropriate graduate Education (EDUC) coursework may be used.	*Courses strongly recommended for students planning to teach include: ENGL 5030: Composition Theory ENGL 5210: Teaching of Literature and the Literature Curriculum ENGL 5470: The History of Rhetorical Theory	9
Literature & the Teaching of Reading Students interested in this specialization must be interviewed by Brandon Sams (blsams@iastate.edu); generally, only those with current teaching licenses will qualify for this specialization.	EDUC 5520: Assessment for Literacy and Learning EDUC 5880: Supervised Tutoring in Reading One of the following: EDUC 5530: Teaching Adolescent Readers with Reading Difficulties or EDUC 5560: Integrating Technology into Literacy	9
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH	ENGL 6990: Thesis Research or ENGL 5990: Creative Component	3
TOTAL		30 minimum

2.2.2 Curricular Policies and Guidelines

Language requirement

The MA in English program does not have a foreign language requirement; however, students who intend to pursue a PhD should be aware that most PhD programs require demonstrable skill in one or two foreign languages.

Portfolio option of the creative component for the English M.A. program

Students who choose to complete a Creative Component have the option to produce a portfolio of original scholarly research, one that demonstrates a substantive understanding of key issues in literature and/or film and reflects on their intellectual experiences in the English MA program.

Description:

The portfolio must contain three substantially revised and expanded versions of their best work from the English MA program (approximately 15,000 words). These revised projects are to demonstrate students’ ability to successfully build on the work completed in graduate seminars and should represent highly polished works of scholarship. The portfolio should also feature an introduction (approximately 3,000-3,500 words) that reflects on students’ intellectual experiences in the program and how the skills, methodologies, and content that they explored might be helpful to them in the future. The introduction should also introduce and contextualize each of the three projects, discussing both the research and writing of the original work and how it was revised and expanded for the portfolio. Students are encouraged to highlight research methods, critical and theoretical approaches, and key questions that have informed their work in the English MA program as part of their introduction.

Timeline:

In the first year of their MA program, students who choose to pursue the portfolio option will complete the following steps:

1. Choose a Major Professor and POS Committee;
2. Submit a prospectus that includes:
   • an explanation of the significance or benefits accruing from the project, to them and other relevant parties;
   • a brief review of relevant literature related to key themes and questions they plan to explore in their portfolio;
   • a timetable or work schedule for completing the project.
3. Review the prospectus with the POS committee, revising as necessary so that it becomes a memorandum of understanding between the student and their POS committee.

2.2.3 Final Oral Defense of the Thesis or Creative Component (Final Oral Examination)

Students should refer to Guidelines for Thesis and Creative Component (MA) as soon as they begin to establish their POS Committee and share their research interests. See the section on Graduation for more details and information on finishing up as well as resources with links to very helpful information.

2.2.4 Student Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes students in this program are expected to meet include:

• Expand knowledge related to the study of literature and film that includes a diversity of authors/directors, genres, theories, and cultural-historical contexts.
• Communicate research effectively through oral and written presentations.
• Conduct independent scholarship in ways that consistently demonstrate ethical practice and professionalism.
• For graduate students who receive a teaching assistantship, develop strategies for the effective teaching of undergraduate students.