English M.A.

CIP: 230101

Requirements

15 hours must be at the 600 level

Required Courses

ENGL 10610	Introduction to Practical and Theoretical Criticism	3
	English Electives	21
	Approved Electives	6

Total Credit Hours: 30

ENGL 10580 (Methods in Secondary School English) cannot be applied toward the English M.A.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Program

This program allows outstanding students to concurrently pursue a Bachelor’s degree in either English or Writing and a Master of Arts degree in English and to complete graduation requirements for both degrees within five years. It works by allowing undergraduate students in the accelerated program to complete 12 credit hours of graduate coursework, which will count towards both their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, in their junior and senior years. Students can complete the remaining 18 hours of graduate coursework in the two semesters of the fifth year.

Admission Requirements:

The English graduate committee or coordinator will review applications to assess whether the applicants meet these requirements:

1.      Students must be currently pursuing a B.A. or B.S. with a major in English or Writing at Northwest or transferring into one of these programs from another accredited institution within the United States.

2.      Students must apply for admission to the program no sooner than the end of the sophomore year (at least 60 hours of graded courses) and no later than the beginning of the final semester of their undergraduate program.  (N.B.: Students who begin the program in their final undergraduate semester will need to complete summer coursework in order to finish the M.A. by the end of the fifth year.)

3.      Students must submit their transcripts, a writing sample, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member in a relevant discipline to the Graduate School.

4.      Students must also have an overall GPA >= 3.0 AND a major GPA >= 3.3.  Students with a slightly lower GPA may be considered for conditional admittance to the program with a strong writing sample and recommendation letter.

5.      Applicants must satisfy all of the eligibility requirements of the Graduate School as outlined in the Graduate Catalog at the beginning of the fifth year.

Students are not eligible to apply to the accelerated program after they are awarded a Bachelor’s degree but can still apply for the traditional English M.A. program.  Students who are not admitted to the accelerated program may reapply later and/or apply for the traditional program.

Advising for courses in the junior and senior years:

1.      The program will begin after a student is admitted to it. Students can enroll in graduate courses only after the sophomore year (60 graded hours).

2.      The students’ undergraduate academic advisors and the English graduate coordinator will assist them in developing a plan for enrolling in classes to complete both degrees within a five-year time frame.

3.      During the junior or senior years, a student may take graduate courses under the following conditions:

a.      Students can enroll in 500- and 600-level courses for undergraduate and graduate dual credit.

b.      Students may take a maximum of 3 hours of graduate credit per semester during the junior year with no more than 16 total credit hours.

c.       Students may take a maximum of 6 hours of graduate credit per semester during the senior year with no more than 16 total credit hours.

d.      The graduate coordinator and the associate provost of graduate studies may approve exceptions to the maximum credit hours.

e.       Earned undergraduate credits cannot be retroactively applied as graduate credit.

Advising during the fifth year:

1.      The English graduate coordinator will be the primary advisor for all fifth-year students.

2.      Students will complete the M.A. degree by fulfilling the degree requirements as stated in the graduate catalog.

Degree Status:

1.      Students are awarded a B. S. or B.A. degree as soon as those degree requirements are completed and are then admitted as candidates for the M.A. degree.

2.      Students are awarded an M.A. degree in English as soon as their M.A. requirements are completed.

3.      For the purposes of financial aid and scholarships, students are considered to be undergraduates until the B.S. or B.A. degree is awarded and graduate students thereafter.  Students are eligible for graduate assistantships after receiving the B.S. or B.A. degree but not before.

Please review the policy section on Accelerated Programs for additional information.