Five literature courses at the 300 level or above, including an American novel course and a Shakespeare course. A minimum of 21 semester hours in English, exclusive of freshman English. The minor requires at least four courses at the 300 level or above. The Master of Arts degree program in English is designed to meet the needs both of students pursuing a terminal M.A. and those planning to work toward the Ph.D. and a career in university teaching. The terminal M.A. serves such career tracks as junior college or secondary-school teaching and writing or editing in the business or corporate community.
Creative writers find the degree meaningful in careers both in and out of the academic community.
For the Creative Writing Concentration, at least 15 semester hours of course work in English beyond the freshman level. A score of at least 500 on the Verbal subtest of the GRE General Test. Students lacking the literature component can qualify by completing additional upper-division courses in literature. Provisional Admission with fewer semesters hours than those stipulated requires specific approval of the Department's Graduate Committee. Applicants presenting a score of less than 500 on the Verbal subtest of the GRE General Test must enter in the Provisional category.