English (M.A.)

Indiana University
Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department of English and Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Hardin Aasand, Chair
Lewis C. Roberts, Graduate Program Director
260-481-6841 Fax: 260-481-6985
ipfw.edu/engl ~ Liberal Arts Building 145

To earn this degree, you must complete at least 36 credits in courses administered by the department (courses are generally 3 credits each). You must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 or better in courses taken to fulfill degree requirements; no course with a grade below B will count toward the degree.

Your program must include three courses in professional scholarship, one course in critical theory, and two 700-level seminars offered by the Department of English. Courses in Liberal Studies will not fulfill this requirement. It must include at least four courses in one of five available concentrations: (1) British literature before 1700; (2) British literature after 1700; (3) American literature; (4) English language and linguistics, and (5) Writing Studies.

You may, with your advisor’s approval, apply courses that satisfy core requirements to your concentration requirements. If you do, you must still complete enough approved elective courses to meet the required minimum of 36 credits.

You must complete all M. A. degree requirements within five years of your admission to the program.

Teaching Assistantships

Graduate students may qualify for appointment as a teaching assistant (TA). To qualify, the student must have completed C505, Teaching Composition, with a final grade of B or better, be recommended by the instructor of that course, the Associate Director of Writing, and be approved by the Director of Writing. Also (effective Fall 2011) newly appointed TAs must complete the one-credit-hour course C506, Practicum in Teaching Composition, with a final grade of P(assing) in one of the first two semesters of their teaching. To become and remain a graduate TA, students must be in good academic standing.

Limited spaces are available for teaching. New TAs will typically be assigned one or two sections of W131, Introductory Composition. Subsequent assignments may include the assignment of W129, Basic Writing, with the approval of that course’s Coordinator. TA appointments carry a stipend and partial remission of fees.

Master of Arts in English Requirements

At least 6 hours of the concentration or Electives must be 700 – level seminars offered by the Department of English. Courses in Liberal Studies will not fulfill this requirement.
It is recommended that a student who plans to pursue a doctorate in literary study demonstrate reading proficiency in an approved foreign language under the auspices of the Department of International Language and Culture Studies by passing:
- A 300-level literature course in a foreign language with a grade of A or B, or
- A written examination that demonstrates a student’s proficiency in reading and translating a foreign language.
It is also recommended that a student who plans to pursue a doctorate in literary study elect to write a Master’s Thesis (3–6 Credit Hours).

Core (12 credits)

Concentration (12 credits)

Four courses from one of the following:

(1) British literature before 1700
(2) British literature after 1700
(3) American literature
(4) Language and Linguistics
(5) Writing Studies

Electives (12 Credit Hours)

Enough courses applicable to the degree to bring the program to at least of at least 36 credit hours.