The Program

UNC’s Master of Arts program in English is a relatively small program in which a limited number of students work closely with faculty mentors. Because of the size and mission of UNC and the English program, we have the resources and quality faculty of larger universities but remain small enough to sustain the intellectual community and atmosphere of a quality liberal arts college. Class sizes in the MA program are small, usually eight to twelve students. The program offers course work in all major periods of British and American literature, rhetoric and composition, and creative writing, as well as in fields of study as Latino/a literature, critical theory, women's literature, film, American ethnic literatures, and the literatures of the Americas and Asia. Graduate courses also mentor students into the discipline as a whole, requiring, for example, that students locate their individual work in contemporary academic issues and debates about the subject of each course. Additionally, graduate students are encouraged to participate in academic life by presenting papers at national and regional conferences, and the Graduate Student Association has funds to help pay the costs of these activities. Graduate students are also invited to participate in the academic life of the department; there is a graduate student on each hiring committee, for example, and graduate students participate in other work of the department as well. Finally, graduate students are encouraged to develop and pursue their own intellectual development and interests; the Graduate Student Association has funds for research as well as the funds for conference travel mentioned above, and graduate students work closely with individual faculty to develop their Master’s Projects.

Students

Because the program is organized around a common core but still allows for some customization, it serves students with a variety of interests and career goals:

• Teaching, at the secondary or junior/community college level: The MA in English extends the student's knowlege of literature and literary theory, develops close reading, research, and writing abilities, and offers coursework in rhetoric and composition theory and practice. Recent graduates are working at many of the community colleges in Colorado and neighboring states.
• Doctoral study: The MA is a stepping stone for more advanced study of British and American literature, composition, theory, and other fields. UNC graduates have been accepted into PhD programs at such universities as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado–Boulder, Iowa, Indiana, Kent State, Marquette, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Southern Illinois, Texas Tech, University of Denver, Wisconsin–Madison, and Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
• Work in other fields: The MA in English is excellent preparation for careers in editing and the several areas of professional writing, law, library science, public relations, and various communications fields. Recent graduates are working in professional writing careers along the Front Range and in Denver. Others think they are musicians—what can we say?

Degree Requirements

The MA has recently been redesigned to reflect changes in the discipline and to ensure that students can graduate within two years. See the program requirements as stated in the UNC Catalog.

Course Work: The degree requires thirty hours of course work. All students take ENG 600, Introduction to Graduate Study, one graduate course in literary theory (usually ENG 638), two graduate courses in British literature (one before 1800), one course in American literature, and four elective courses. The Master's Project (see below) carries three hours course credit.

Exam: Comprehensive exams are based on three lists of twenty-five works: the lists in British and American literature are set by the program, while the third area of the exam is based on a list selected by the student, in consultation with a faculty member, to represent her or his field of special interest.

Master’s Project: All students complete a Master’s Project, usually a research paper of thirty to fifty pages, often on a topic initially developed in a graduate course. The Master’s Project may also involve a creative work (poems, short stories, or chapters of a novel, for example). The student makes a public presentation of the Project before an audience of students and faculty. The public presentation of the Master’s Project is an approved equivalent for the comprehensive examinations.

For Further Information...

For application information, please visit the UNC Graduate School’s pages on Admissions and Finances.