The program is administered by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research through the Faculty of English, Department of Literature and Languages, College of Arts and Sciences.
The purposes of the Master of Arts program in English are at least five-fold: (1) to train students to work with the materials of literature with scholarly competence and maturity; (2) to prepare students to teach English in schools and colleges; (3) to provide additional professional training for English teachers currently employed in elementary and secondary schools; (4) to prepare students for such non-teaching vocations as publishing, advertising, editing, civil service, and management; (5) and to offer sound professional training on the Master's level for students who intend to pursue a doctorate elsewhere in literary studies, including rhetoric, and composition.
Admission Requirements
Requirements for acceptance include a minimum of 24 undergraduate semester credits in English at the sophomore level and above. Two letters of recommendation will need to be submitted to the Graduate Studies office.
Regular Admission Status
- Bachelor's Degree in English or 24 hours of undergraduate English classes at the sophomore level or above from an accredited college or university.
- GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 credit hours
- Writing sample:
- A 2-3 page statement of purpose explaining motives and goals for choosing to complete an MA degree in English at the University of Texas Permian Basin and your aptitude/strengths for success in graduate study.
Conditional Admission Status
Applicants who do not meet the Regular admission requirements may be considered for Conditional admission. Evaluation of materials is done on a case-by-case basis.
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university.
- GPA below 3.0 but not lower than 2.5 in the last 60 credits.
- The program will evaluate the applicant's academic preparation to determine potential academic performance. Leveling courses may be required.
- Writing sample:
- A 2-3 page statement of purpose explaining motives and goals for choosing to complete an MA degree in English at the University of Texas Permian Basin and your aptitude/strengths for success in graduate study.
- Applicant must submit a resume that lists relevant experiences.
American Literature: 3 courses are required
British Literature: 3 courses are required
| ENGL 6324 | Studies in Later British Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 6323 | Studies in Early British Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 6360 | Film and Media Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 6332 | Literature And The Visual Arts | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Electives - 6-11 hours - depending on Capstone hours (i.e. 12 remaining hours minus Capstone hours)
Capstone
Capstone Options
After completing 18 graduate hours, at the beginning of their first semester of research (by the end of the first 4 weeks), students who choose the Thesis, Article, or Project should submit to their committee a 5-10 page prospectus with a working bibliography.
Thesis
At the MA level, the thesis should constitute an original contribution to the scholarly discourse on a well-defined topic. The thesis will demonstrate the writer's grasp of the history of that discourse and the major voices within it. The thesis will be a lengthy paper (typically 50-70 pages of text) combining original analysis with thorough research. The thesis is not a doctoral dissertation or a book. A total of 6 credits will be devoted to ENGL 6399.
Scholarly Article
A scholarly article, to be submitted for publication after its completion and the suggested revisions by the student's committee, should be an original contribution to scholarship. The student's committee must agree that the student's proposed work at the prospectus level is a publishable article. The scholarly article option involves two phases, the first of which is the passage of a broad oral exam in the area in which the student wishes to write the article. Once the exam is passed, the student may write an article suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Students choosing this option must also successfully perform in an oral examination following the completion of their writing in which they defend their work. The examiners will be members of the candidate's committee and a representative of the Graduate Faculty. The article will be a lengthy paper (20-25 pages of text) combining original interpretation with thorough research. A total of 6 credits will be devoted to ENGL 6399 for this option.
Project
The candidate, in consultation with their committee, will design a 9 hour concentration of course work (a maximum of three hours of which may be taken as ENGL 6390) which will lead to the preparation of a 30-40 page Research Report. This Research Report is not intended to constitute an original contribution to scholarship but will otherwise conform to the standards of scholarly discourse in the field of English.
Portfolio
In the semester they plan to graduate they should submit 3 of their graduate papers to be evaluated by their graduate committee; an oral exam will follow this evaluation in which the student will be asked to demonstrate how these papers have met the goals of the graduate program. One credit is given for this option.