English Graduate Degree Programs
Candidates must fulfill the requirements of the College of Graduate Studies and of the Department of English. See the College of Graduate Studies section for the general requirements applicable to each degree.
Master of Arts. Major in English. Of the minimum of 33 credits required for the degree, at least 24 credits must be earned in the Department of English at the University of Idaho, and of these no more than nine credits earned at the Grace Nixon Summer English Institute may be applied to the degree; included in the total credits required, 3 credits are to be taken in a theory course (which may include Engl 506, Engl 511, or a theory course approved by the department’s director of graduate studies) and 3 credits in pre-1900 literature. Course work for the M.A. in English is normally at the 500s level; however, up to six credits of work at the 400s level may be included, but only with the approval of the student's major professor and the department's director of graduate studies. Students are allowed to take 3 credits maximum in practica applying toward the degree.
Thesis and Non-Thesis Options:
The thesis option requires 27 credits of coursework and 6 thesis credits, leading to the submission of an acceptable thesis of 60 pages or more. See the College of Graduate Studies "Graduate Handbook for Theses and Dissertations."
The non-thesis option requires 30 credits of coursework and 3 research credits (ENGL 599). The student works with a faculty member to produce a revised seminar paper suitable to be submitted for publication, an abstract for the paper, a concise explanation of initial and additional research and revisions (3-5 pages), and a substantial annotated bibliography of work in the field.
For both the thesis and non-thesis options, each student will take an oral M.A. examination following completion of work submitted in acceptable form, as confirmed by the major professor. The oral examination will be designed to test the student's ability to defend his or her work articulately with respect to research methodology, critical perspective, and applicability to related work in the area.
Students and their major professors and committees will design their programs.
Theses or papers may address topics in literature and literary theory and criticism or composition and rhetorical theory.
Candidates for the master's degree in English are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in one of the following languages: French, German, Italian, Latin, Classical Greek, Spanish, or Russian.
Master of Arts. Major in Teaching English as a Second Language. The M.A. in TESL is intended for students who are interested in learning to teach English as a second language at the post-secondary level. The students take courses in linguistics and in language teaching pedagogy. This curriculum provides them with theoretical background and practical training in the areas of second language acquisition.
Of the minimum of 33 credits required for the degree, at least 24 must be earned while enrolled in residence at UI, and at least 21 credits must be earned in courses numbered 500 and above. The 33 credits are to include the following courses (18 credits):
Studies in Linguistics (6 cr) (Descriptive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition) |
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ESL Methods I: Basic Oral/Aural Skills (3 cr) |
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ESL Teaching Practicum (3 cr) |
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Introduction to Applied Linguistics (3 cr) |
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Sociolinguistics (3 cr) |
The remaining 15 credits are to be taken in approved electives in the Department of English, which may include thesis credits.
The M.A. in TESL offers a thesis option. Students who choose to complete the thesis option will write a thesis which may be up to 6 credits of their required 33 credits.Students who do not elect to write a thesis must complete their non-thesis option in the form of a comprehensive examination.
Native speakers of English in the TESL program must complete or have completed two years of college work (or its equivalent) in a modern foreign language. They must have studied a foreign language for at least one semester (or equivalent) within the preceding five years. Non-native speakers of English are excused from this requirement.
Master of Fine Arts. Major in Creative Writing. The M.F.A. is the terminal degree for those wishing to teach creative writing at the college or university level; it is also among the credentials expected of those seeking employment in arts administration, editing, and related fields. The curriculum provides theoretical and practical training in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and editing and publishing.
The program’s principle aim is to teach aspiring writers their craft and at the highest possible level. We gladly speak to students about publishing their work, or about teaching or editing, but our first concern is teaching and learning the craft of writing. While we encourage applicants to apply only in one genre, once they are admitted, we encourage them to "cross-pollinate": we like to see poets working at narrative pacing in a fiction or nonfiction class, and we like to see the prose writers attentive to individual syllables in poetry. We encourage students to experiment and to push themselves in new directions. We also insist that they know where they fit in the continuum of writers, and that they understand and can speak with conviction of where they might place themselves in any of several literary traditions.
Of the minimum 54 credits required for the degree, at least 15 are to be taken in graduate-level literature (which may include ENGL 506); 15 in graduate-level creative writing courses; 3 in workshops taught by Distinguished Visiting Writers; 3 in a Techniques course (ENGL 581, 582, or 583); 9 elective credits; and 9 in thesis. A minimum of four semesters in residence is required.
The thesis will take the form of a collection of poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, or novel, and will be prefaced by an introduction. Upon completion of the thesis in acceptable form, each student will take an oral examination designed to test the student's ability to discuss articulately his or her creative process, intellectual and creative influences, chosen genre, aesthetic perspective, design, and intent.
Students who enter the program with advanced work in creative writing at the undergraduate level will ordinarily take only 500-level courses in English. Those who have not completed an advanced undergraduate course in one of the three major genres (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction) will in addition to the above ordinarily take advanced undergraduate courses, as advised by the director of creative writing.