/Institutions/Catholic-University-of-America/json/2023-2024/Graduate-Announcements-local.json

/Institutions/Catholic-University-of-America/json/2023-2024/Graduate-Announcements.json

Graduate Announcements > School of Arts and Sciences > Departments and Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences > Department of English Language and Literature

Department of English Language and Literature

Professor	Ernest Suarez, David M. O’Connell Professor of English, Chair;
Emeritus Professors	Glen Johnson; Virgil Nemoianu; Anne O'Donnell, SNDl; Joseph M. Sendry; Christopher Wheatley
Associate Professors	Gregory Baker; Daniel Gibbons, Director of Undergraduate Studies; Tobias Gregory, Director of Graduate Studies; Lilla Kopar; Michael Mack; Megan Murton
Assistant Professor	Amanda Auerbach
Clinical Associate Professor	Taryn Okuma
Clinical Assistant Professor	Kevin Rulo, Director of Writing and Rhetoric Program and the University Writing Center
Lecturer	Anca M. Nemoianu

The Department of English offers the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in British and American literature. Further information is available on the departmental Website.

Applying for Admission

Prospective students may apply online. In addition to the completed application form and fee, graduate applications should include a personal statement detailing plans for graduate study, official transcripts from all previous institutions of higher learning, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample of 15-20 pages of critical prose, preferably in the applicant's prospective field of specialization. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in English accept applications for the fall semester. The deadline for funding consideration is February 1; applicants seeking funding should ensure that all their application materials have been received by that date. For logistical or technical questions on the application process, contact the CUA Office of Graduate Studies at 202-319-5247 or cua-gradadmissions@cua.edu. For academic questions, contact Dr. Megan Murton at murton@cua.edu.

M.A. in English Language and Literature

The M.A. in English is conferred upon completion of 30 credit hours of coursework (normally ten courses), of which up to six credits may be transferred with the approval of the graduate director, and a capstone. Degree requirements are as follows:

• ENG 711: History and Theory of Literary Criticism (3 credits), to be taken at the student's first opportunity
• At least one research seminar (800-level course) (3 credits)
• 8 additional courses (24 credits). Two of these courses may be devoted to pursuing the MA thesis option (see below).
• Reading knowledge of a foreign language, demonstrated by means of coursework or a proficiency exam, or by means of a passing grade in a graduate-level Old English course (e.g. ENG 501, 502, 503) or History of the English Language (ENG 621).
• Capstone: Either an M.A. thesis, written under the guidance of a faculty advisor and counting for two courses (6 credits) toward the coursework requirement, or a Comprehensive Examination in two parts (English literature to 1800, and English literature since 1800), both essay-based and taken in timed exam conditions.

Ph.D. in English Language and Literature

The Ph.D. in English is conferred upon completion of 54 credit hours of course work following the B.A., a qualifying examination, and a dissertation. Up to 24 credits may be transferred with the approval of the graduate director. Degree requirements include those for the M.A. (see above) with the following additions:

• Two additional research seminars (800-level courses)
• Reading knowledge of a second foreign language, demonstrated by means of coursework or a proficiency exam, or by means of a passing grade in a graduate-level Old English course (e.g. ENG 501, 502, 503) or History of the English Language (ENG 621).
• Ph.D. Qualifying Examination, consisting of three parts: 1) literature in the student's historical period of specialization, 2) literary theory and the history of criticism, and 3) the student's field of dissertation research. All three parts are essay-based tests taken in timed exam conditions. Admission to PhD candidacy will be determined thereafter.
• Dissertation: a substantial piece of original research. After being admitted to candidacy, the student develops a dissertation proposal and submits it to the dissertation committee. The committee, in consultation with the graduate director, must approve the proposal before the student begins to write chapters.

Students are expected to submit the dissertation proposal to the committee within six months of successfully completing the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. The dissertation normally takes two to three years to complete.

With the approval of the graduate director, graduate students in English are welcome to take pertinent courses in other departments for degree credit. Courses from other departments that are taken to meet the language requirement do not also count for degree credit.

Students who receive two grades of C or below are subject to dismissal from the program.

M.A./Ph.D in English Language and Literature

Prospective students should apply to the M.A./Ph.D program if they seek a Ph.D. in English and do not already hold an MA in English. If they already hold an M.A. in English literature, they should apply directly to the Ph.D. program.

The requirements for the M.A. component of the M.A./PhD program are those of the M.A. program.

Financial Support

Financial support for graduate students in English includes scholarships and teaching assistantships. Outstanding students entering the department's programs are also eligible for university-wide tuition scholarships. A number of graduate teaching assistantships become available each year within the department. These are awarded on a competitive basis. Teaching assistantships provide a full waiver of tuition and a cash stipend, in return for teaching six hours of lower-division English per semester or equivalent duties. Provided that all materials are received by February 1 (see application procedures, above) all applicants will be considered for any available scholarships and assistantships for which they qualify.

Joint M.A. (English)-M.S.L.I.S. Program

The Department of Library and Information Science and the Department of English offer a joint-degree program that enables students to have careers as editors in publishing, humanities librarians or antiquarian booksellers. The program requires 54 semester hours, 30 hours in library science and 24 in English. Applicants for joint degrees must submit complete and separate applications to both degree-granting units of the university. Joint degrees are conferred simultaneously after all requirements for both degrees have been met.