The graduate English programs cover all areas of English and
American literature (including world Anglophone literature) and also
offers a writing track and a concentration in women`s and gender
studies.
The program is flexible. Students may take courses on
a full-time or a part-time basis. They may enter the program on a
nonmatriculated basis and later, upon admission, count up to 12 earned
credits toward the master`s degree.
The literature program
requires 30 credits for the degree. Students can meet this requirement
by taking 10 3-credit courses, or they can take eight 3-credit courses
and offer an additional 6 credits for a master`s thesis. In addition,
students must pass a foreign language exam and meet the following
distribution requirements:
- completion of 26:350:503 Introduction to Graduate Literary Study (3),
- two courses in literature prior to 1800 (6),
- one course in American literature (3).
Finally, students must pass a comprehensive written exam, based on a core reading list, in order to obtain the degree.
Literature track students who choose a concentration in women`s and
gender studies take this area`s two core courses: History and Theory of
Women`s/Gender Studies and Feminist Research and Methods. In addition,
they take two courses in the English master`s degree program designated
for this purpose and meet all other literature track requirements.
Admission to the English program is separate from acceptance into the
writing track. Students who wish to be considered for this track must
submit a writing sample to the program director. Like their
counterparts in literature, students in the writing track must earn 30
credits for the degree. This requirement consists of five 3-credit
courses in literature and five 3-credit courses in writing. One of the
literature courses must be in literary theory. No foreign language or
exam is required. As an exit requirement, students must submit a
portfolio of their best written work, along with a publication plan.
Certain genre-based courses satisfy requirements for both the
literature and writing tracks. These include 26:350:523 Nonfictions
(3), 26:350:524 Poetry for Poets (3), 26:350:525 Fiction for Fiction
Writers (3), and 26:350:527 Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir (3).
Designated courses in the M.S. in professional and technical
communication at New Jersey Institute for Technology may be taken by
cross-registration if the student gets permission from the directors of
both master`s programs. Literature and writing track students may count
two of these courses toward the degree requirements for an M.A. in
English.
