English
Department of English
Chairperson: Kevin J. Gardner
Graduate Program Director: Richard R. Russell
The undergraduate requirements for admission to graduate study in English normally include eighteen semester hours of English beyond the sophomore level. However, if a candidate’s background in English is deemed inadequate, the graduate faculty of the department has the prerogative to require additional, designated courses as prerequisites for graduate work. Suitable undergraduate GPAs, both in English and overall, and scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) predictive of success in this program are significant criteria in admissions decisions in the English Department (all applicants must submit GRE General Test scores).
For admission into the doctoral program one ordinarily must have a master’s degree from an accredited university. However, exceptionally well-qualified students with the B.A. degree who have high GRE scores and a high GPA both in English and overall, as approved by the department, may enter the Ph.D. program. Also, students who enter the M.A. program may petition to enter the Ph.D. program after successfully completing fifteen hours with a GPA of 3.5, without completing the M.A. thesis. The Graduate Program Director appoints a committee of three graduate faculty, usually instructors of the candidate, to study the student’s petition and the student’s performance. The committee may recommend to the graduate faculty either that the student proceed toward the Ph.D. or complete the M.A.
All graduate students are responsible for securing the supplementary departmental requirements for their respective degrees from the English office at the time of initial enrollment. The deadline for applying to the M.A. or Ph.D. program is January 31; however, it is clearly advantageous to the applicant who wishes to receive an assistantship to have all components of the application in by January 15. The English graduate program has three types of assistantships available to both M.A. and Ph.D. students. These assistantships carry stipends and tuition coverage that are highly competitive with those offered by other universities. Also, health insurance premiums are paid for Ph.D. students who are Teaching Assistants. Inquiries should be made of the Graduate Program Director.
English (ENG)
ENG 5199 Non-Thesis Degree Completion (1)
To fulfill requirements for non-thesis master's students who need to complete final degree requirements other than coursework during their last semester. This may include such things as a comprehensive examination, oral examination, or foreign language requirement. Students are required to be registered during the semester they graduate.
ENG 5301 Old English Language (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of the instructor
Introduction to the Old English language through intensive study of Old English grammar and reading of Old English texts. Required for doctoral candidates.
ENG 5302 Old English Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing and at least one course in Old English language (ENG 5301 or equivalent) or permission of the professor
Continuation of ENG 5301. Introduction to a wide range of Old English literary texts and the textual and critical discussion surrounding them. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5303 Studies in Linguistics (3)
Tools and methods for the analysis of language. Subject matter may include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse, language in society, dialect and variation, or stylistics. Topic varies according to demand. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5304 Bibliography and Research Methods (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5304
Practical introduction to the nature of printing and transmission of written material; a guide to the use of the libraries for graduate-level research; approaches to purposes for graduate studies. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5306 Literary Criticism: Seminar (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5306
Issues in critical theory from Plato to the present with particular attention given to current practice and trends in literary analysis. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5308 Independent Study in Literature (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5308
Research or reading project undertaken by an individual student working under the direction of a professor. Project to concern literary topics beyond what is included in the defined seminars. Prospectus to be approved by the director of graduate studies in English. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5309 Seminar on Curriculum and Pedagogy in English (3)
Seminar designed for M.A. and Ph.D. students who intend to teach in higher education or secondary school as a career. While most graduate courses in the program focus directly on the contents of literary knowledge in the form of authors, genres, periods, styles, and so on, this course focuses on curriculum and pedagogy issues. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different. Maximum six semester hours.
ENG 5310 Rhetoric and Composition: Seminar (3)
Issues in rhetoric from antiquity to the present, focusing on historical development and theoretical problems; contemporary studies in the production of texts and the teaching of writing. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5312 Middle English Literature: Seminar (3)
Study by seminar method of an aspect of Middle English literature: Chaucer, the alliterative revival, medieval drama, and romance. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5314 Creative Writing (3)
Workshop in creative writing and designed for thesis track and non-thesis track students actively engaged in creative writing. Course content varies according to instructor preference and expertise. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different. Maximum six semester hours.
ENG 5324 Sixteenth-Century English Literature: Seminar (3)
Poetry, drama, and/or prose of a single author, or of a movement, or of a topic integral to sixteenth-century English literature. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5330 Seventeenth-Century English Literature: Seminar (3)
Selected works of Donne and other Metaphysical poets, Jonson and his followers, Milton, Bacon, Browne, Burton, Bunyan, and others to the Restoration Period. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5340 Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Literature: Seminar (3)
Major writers, literary background, and cultural aspects of the Restoration and eighteenth century. Major emphasis varies with each offering. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5350 Early English Romantic Literature: Seminar (3)
One or more of the poets and essayists of the Early English Romantic period. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5352 Later English Romantic Literature: Seminar (3)
One or more of the poets and essayists of the Later English Romantic period. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5361 Victorian Poetry: Seminar (3)
Poetry of a single author or a movement or topic embracing several writers of nineteenth-century England. May be repeated once for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5362 Victorian Prose: Seminar (3)
Selected works of fiction and/or non-fiction from the Victorian period. Course may emphasize a single author or a movement or topic embracing several writers of nineteenth-century England. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5364 Browning: Seminar (3)
Several key poems with an examination of the evolution of interpretation of these poems. Major focus on The Ring and the Book: its sources, structure, autobiographical content, and interpretation. Students are advised to complete ENG 4364 before registering for ENG 5364. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5371 Modern British Literature: Seminar (3)
Poetry, fiction, and/or drama of a single author or a movement embracing several British authors writing between 1900 and 1940. May be repeated once for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5372 Contemporary British Literature: Seminar (3)
Poetry, fiction, and/or drama of a single author or a movement embracing several British authors writing after 1940. May be repeated once for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5374 Studies in Literature (3)
American, British, or World literature as it crosses national boundaries or treats themes or movements that do so. Topic announced for each session. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different. Maximum six semester hours.
ENG 5376 Religion and Literature Seminar (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing in the doctoral Religion and Literature concentration or consent of the instructor
Designed to clarify the plurality of ways in which the integrative study of religion and literature may be engaged. Among the theoretical approaches to be examined, these are representative: humanist, feminist, atheist, Jewish, and Christian. The course will include at least one major theological aesthetician and two or three major literary texts that are susceptible of multiple religious readings. May be repeated one time for credit provided the topic is different.
ENG 5377 English Religious Authors: Seminar (3)
Imaginative literature with religious concerns broadly defined, of a single author or complementary authors, writing in English. May be repeated once for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5391 Early American Literature (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5391
Poetry or prose of a single author or of a movement or topic embracing several writers of eighteenth-century America. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5393 Nineteenth Century American Literature (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5393, ENG 5390
Poetry or prose of a single author or of a movement or topic embracing several writers of nineteenth-century America. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5394 Modern American Literature (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5394, ENG 5392
Poetry, fiction, or drama of a single author or a movement embracing several writers from 1900-1940. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5395 Contemporary American Literature (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5389
Poetry, fiction, or drama of a single author or a movement embracing several writers from 1940 to the present. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5396 American Studies: Seminar (3)
Cross-listed as AMS 5396
American studies, treating such subjects as literature, history, philosophy, psychology, theology, and education. The course focuses on examining texts as cultural documents. May be repeated one time for credit provided topic is different.
ENG 5V99 Thesis (1-6)
Supervised research for the master's thesis. 1-6 semester hours; maximum ten semester hours.
ENG 6374 Advanced Studies in Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Twenty-one semester hours of English graduate courses
Specialized topics not ordinarily included in regularly scheduled graduate seminars, e.g., the Pre-Raphaelites, American Puritanism, Derridean influences. Topic announced for each semester or session.
ENG 6V10 Prospectus Research (1-3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of required course work
Supervised research for developing and writing a Dissertation Prospectus Proposal that will be subject to review and approval by the Supervisory Committee.
ENG 6V99 Dissertation (1-12)
Supervised research for the doctoral dissertation. One to twelve semester hours; maximum seventeen semester hours.