Master's in English Requirements

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog.  The program-specific requirements for admission to the Master of Arts in English program include:

1. 20 credit hours in English (literature, literary theory, advanced academic writing, creative writing, writing pedagogy, linguistics, or other closely related subjects).  First-year composition courses do not count towards this total.
2. A written statement of goals.  At the M.A. level, this statement should specify the candidate’s background in English Studies, research interests, and possible career goals.  Candidates seeking a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should use this statement to specify any previous teaching experience and to express their interest in the teaching of writing.
3. A writing sample of 10-15 pages.  Successful candidates will include written work in literary criticism as at least part of the sample.  Candidates may also include other genres of written work (creative writing or other analytical work in the field of English).

Note:  Writing ability is a key factor in admission to the M.A. in English; therefore, neither the writing sample nor the statement of goals may be composed through generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, other chatbots, or similar technology.  Candidates using generative artificial intelligence in these admission materials will not be admitted to the program.  This policy applies to generative artificial intelligence (AI-embedded features that do writing or revision for you); using spelling or grammar checkers to support proofreading is not a violation of this policy.

Applications will be considered for fall admission.  Application deadlines can be found on the UND website.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Master of Arts degree must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies, as well as the following particular requirements set forth by the Department of English:

1. A minimum of 31 credit hours, half of which must be at or above the 500-level.

2. The required courses listed below; ENGL 500 and 510 must be completed with grades of A or B:

3. Elective credits may consist of departmental courses in literature, writing, or linguistics.  In rare circumstances and with departmental approval, up to 3 credits of ENGL 590 – Readings and/or ENGL 593 – Research may count as electives, as a supplement to standard course offerings.

4. Students serving as Graduate Teaching Assistants must take ENGL 501 – Teaching College English, as 3 of their elective credits, and must take ENGL 501L – Teaching College English Lab, as an additional 1 credit.  GTAs will graduate with 32 total credits.  Both 501 and 501L must be completed with grades of A, B, or S.

5. The scholarly project will be a portfolio consisting of two pieces of work from earlier in the student’s career, significantly revised with attention to rhetorical purpose and presentation, and a critical introductory statement framing the work done on the portfolio within professional discourses in the field of English.

6. In rare circumstances and with departmental approval, students may select a thesis option, taking 5 credits of ENGL 998 – Thesis in place of ENGL 598 and ENGL 995.  The thesis will be an original scholarly or creative project consistent with disciplinary standards in English.