Pictured | Briana Becker | English, Creative Writing | Mishawaka, Indiana (hometown)
Photo credit | Noah Becker (age 5)

Master of Arts in English

The Master of Arts (MA) in English offers a flexible program of study that enables students to shape their course of study. All students take four core courses in literary analysis, prose style, composition theory, and literary theory respectively. In addition, each student will choose a concentration in either literary analysis or creative writing and will take most of his or her four electives in that area.

Students must take at least one course in the literary period or genre that they choose for their directed writing project. A student who wishes to complete a creative writing project must take a total of three writing workshops in at least two genres. Any one of those courses may be taken twice for graduate credit.

World Languages Requirement

Students must have completed two college semesters of a single world language by the time the MA degree is conferred. Candidates who have completed these two courses as part of other graduate or undergraduate programs need not take additional courses as part of the MA degree program. Candidates who have gained world language skills outside of the classroom may take a world languages placement examination to demonstrate their achievement of language skills equivalent to those achieved from two semesters of formal study.

Students who currently hold a valid Indiana teaching license are exempt from the World Language Requirement.

Transfer Credit Hours

Applicants may be allowed to transfer up to two graduate courses or 8 credit hours from another graduate institution (or from previous graduate work at IU South Bend) if those courses demonstrably contribute to the work required for the Master of Arts in English. Unless transfer courses are clearly equivalent to the required core courses for the Master of Arts, those courses are counted as electives. Candidates must include in the application a request to transfer courses, a brief description of each course identifying how it contributes to the Master of Arts in English, and supporting documentation such as syllabi, assignments, papers, or other relevant material.

Academic Regulations

Students must confer with their academic advisors on a regular basis to determine an effective course of study.

An average grade of B (3.0) is required for graduation, and no course with a grade lower than B– (2.7) is counted toward the degree. Students are required to maintain good academic standing, i.e., to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Failure to maintain good standing may result in dismissal from the program.

Degree Requirements (36 cr.)

All courses are 4 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.

• ENG-G 660 Stylistics
• ENG-L 501 Professional Scholarship in Literature
• ENG-L 502 Contexts for Study of Writing
• ENG-L 680 Special Topics-Literature Study and Theory

• ENG-L 699 MA Thesis; OR
  ENG-W 609 Directed Writing Project

• Electives (16 cr.) | Four elective courses (Students may take a second ENG-L 680 course to fulfill elective credits as long as the course has a different variable topic)
  
  note | Students opting to complete a the final MA project in creative writing must complete three writing workshops for their electives, one of which must be in the project's genre of choice.  Likewise, students opting to complete a final MA project in literature must complete three literature courses for their electives, one of which must be in the project's area of specialization.