Application and Admission

Classes and Credits

Graduate Assistantships, Fellowships, and Scholarships

Graduation

Advising and General Program Information

What does an advisor do, and how do I get one?
You are assigned an advisor when you are first admitted into the program. This advisor usually is the coordinator for that program.

Which forms do I need to complete for my program of study?
You must have a program of study form on file with the Graduate School to transfer credits or to graduate from the program. A program of study is a form that records the classes that you intend to or have taken. The form, which you can find in the graduate handbook, is kept in your file in the English Department and is also sent to the Graduate School. All graduate assistants are also required to have programs of study on file. You should see your advisor as soon as possible after you begin the program to start preparing a program of study.

The program of study is a contract between you, the department, and the Graduate School. It is signed by your advisor. A copy is then filed with the Graduate Records Office. If you decide to change the courses you had planned to take, you should revise the program of study in consultation with your advisor.

If you apply for financial aid, that office will ask for a program of study. When you apply for graduation, the Graduate Records Office will check the courses on your program of study against your transcript to make sure that you have completed all the listed courses. If there are discrepancies, you will be contacted to update or revise your program of study.

You can use the program of study form as a worksheet in planning your courses. Your advisor will enter the approved program in the department's master file. You should also be sure to keep the most up-to-date copy in your own files.

How do I maintain good academic standing?
You must maintain a 3.0 grade point average to remain in good standing in the English graduate program. Grades below B may be compensated for by higher grades in other courses. Students on probation will be given a semester to improve their average and avoid dismissal. For graduation, you must have a 3.0 GPA both overall and in your area of concentration. Students on probation may not begin a thesis or master's writing project, nor take a comprehensive examination.

What are the guidelines and procedures for theses and writing projects?
Please see the theses and writing projects section of the site for detailed information.

How much time do I have to complete my degree or certificate?
You have six years to complete a master's degree and three years to complete a graduate certificate.

Application and Admission

How do I apply for admission to the graduate program in English?
To apply for admission to the graduate program in English, prospective students must submit an online or paper application. Applications are available here through the Graduate School Web site. The fee for mailed applications is $35, and the fee for online applications is $25.

Students must also submit the following materials:

• official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate programs previously attended
• a personal statement
• at least two letters of recommendation
• a writing sample*

International students are required to submit English proficiency test scores in addition to the above materials. Please see below for the minimum test scores required.

What are the categories of admission?
The categories of admission into the English graduate studies program are degree, conditional, and non-degree. For a more detailed explanation of each category, please see the categories of admission page.

Is the GRE required for admission?
The GRE is not required for admission into the English graduate program, although it can be a useful supplement to other credentials.

What are the required test scores for international students?
International students must have a minimum TOEFL paper-based score of 575, TOELF computer-based score of 230, a TWE (Test of Written English) score of 5.0, or a MELAB score of 77. If the scores are lower, students may be admitted on the condition that their proficiency in English will be tested by EMU faculty prior to their initial enrollment period. Depending on the results of these tests, students may be required to register for appropriate courses in English as a Second Language (ESL).

Effective Fall 2005, students must have an internet-based TOEFL score (total) 88 and an IELTS score of 6.5.

When are the application deadlines?
Priority deadlines for applications are October 15 for winter, March 15 for spring, April 15 for summer, and May 15 for fall. The exception to this is the Creative Writing program, which only admits students for the fall semester and has a February 15 deadline for applications.

Priority deadlines for international and non-degree students vary and can be found here on the Graduate School Web site. Admissions are on a rolling basis so deadlines are not adhered to strictly.

How do I transfer from another department or change concentrations within the department?
If you are either transferring from another department or changing concentrations within the department, you must fill out a program transfer request through the Graduate Studies Web site. Be sure to talk with a department graduate advisor first to make sure that you qualify for admission to the program into which you are transferring. Also, students transferring programs must submit a new personal statement that describes their interest in the new program.

Classes and Credits

How do I determine whether I have a full-time or part-time status?
What is considered full- and part-time status for graduate students at EMU varies. For students with graduate assistantships, six credit hours each in fall and winter and one in spring/summer is considered full-time. For students with fellowships, scholarships, or federal loans, eight credit hours each in fall and winter and four in spring/summer is considered full-time. International students must take eight credit hours each in fall and winter and four in spring/summer to be considered full-time. To receive financial aid, part-time students must take a minimum of four credit hours each in fall and winter and two in spring/summer.

How do I transfer credits from another institution?
Students may transfer up to six graduate credits earned at another institution as long as those credits are recent and relevant to the student’s degree program. If you wish to do this, you should complete the transfer of credit form available through the Graduate School and have the form signed by your advisor. The Graduate School also requires a transcript and an up-to-date program of study, which you complete with your advisor.

What should I know about course offerings?
The department offers a range of courses in all concentrations in fall and winter semesters, and some courses during the spring and summer terms. (Fewer faculty members are available during spring and summer, so fewer courses are offered during those terms.) Faculty leaves or other departmental obligations affect patterns of course offerings, so you should always check with your advisor about when certain courses are likely to be offered.

You should take required courses early in your program to ensure that you can meet your degree requirements. Your advisor will inform you of any special sequence issues. For instance, LITR 510 Critical Practices in Literary Studies and LITR 511 Literary Criticism provide critical and theoretical positions for literary studies and should be taken early in the literature program. ENGL 621 Research in the Practice and Theory of Writing prepares students for the thesis or master's writing project and so should not be taken until the end of the written communication program.

Which 400-level courses can I take for credit?
You may take up to nine hours (three courses) of 400-level courses with the approval of your advisor. Before you take these courses, you must complete a request for graduate credit form. In order for these courses to count toward your graduate degree, you must talk with the instructor before taking the course and agree on the additional work you will complete so that the course is appropriate for graduate-level study. Visit this page for a list of 400-level courses that are approved for graduate credit.

What is an independent study, and how many hours of it can I apply to my degree?
Independent study projects allow you to investigate topics not ordinarily covered in regular department courses, or to expand on a specific aspect of a course you’ve already taken. The guidelines and contract form appear in the appendix of the graduate handbook. You should work out your project ideas with a graduate faculty member in your area of specialization.

You can apply a maximum of six hours of independent study credit towards your degree, but only if you are admitted as a degree student.

Can I take courses in other departments or English programs?
You can take courses in other programs in English and in other departments, but you should discuss these courses with your advisor prior to enrolling in them.

If I am an undergraduate or non-degree student, can I take a graduate-level course?
If you are not admitted into an English Department graduate program, you can only be permitted to enroll in graduate courses with specific permission from a departmental graduate advisor. This requirement ensures that students already admitted can enroll and that non-degree or undergraduate students have the prerequisites necessary to succeed in the course.

When and how can I get a prerequisite waived?
Occasionally graduate courses have prerequisites attached to them. If you are taking a course during the same semester that you’re taking the prerequisite for it, you can generally just have the prerequisite waived. There are other situations when this is acceptable as well, so it’s a good idea to check with your advisor if you know there’s a prerequisite for a course or if you are blocked from registering for a course because of a prerequisite. The advisor or a department secretary needs to waive a prerequisite in the system before you can register for the course.

What should I do before I register for classes?
Before you sign up for any courses, make sure that they will apply to your program. Discuss course selections with your advisor, following the requirements listed in the most recent Graduate Catalog or in the departmental program descriptions. Be sure to get your advisor's approval for electives and cognate courses before you enroll in them.

Graduate Assistantships, Fellowships, and Scholarships

What is a graduate assistantship, and how do I apply for one?
The English Department offers numerous graduate assistantships. Graduate assistants teach first-year writing courses, work in the writing center, assist literature faculty in large lectures, or assist faculty with various other duties. To apply for a graduate assistantship, you must complete the Graduate School Assistantship application, which goes to the Graduate School. You must also complete the department assistantship application and assistantship recommendation form, which are also available in appendixes A and B of the graduate handbook.

In addition to the completed forms, applications must include your undergraduate records, a personal statement, and letters of recommendation. If you are applying for an assistantship for the fall semester, your application must be submitted to the department by March 1. The department graduate committee will then evaluate all of the applications (you may also be called in for an interview) and make its decisions. The committee will announce the awards in late March.

Which fellowships or scholarships are available to me?
Numerous fellowships and scholarships are awarded each year by the Graduate School. You can learn more about these awards and find the guidelines for applying for them here on the Graduate School Web site. The application for all awards is the same: You simply need to check the boxes for the awards that interest you or for which you qualify.

Graduation

How do I apply for graduation?
You must complete an application for graduation and turn it into the Graduate School by the published deadline. The deadlines are the first week of the semester in which you plan to graduate. You must also pay a graduation fee of $90.

The Graduate School will send a graduation recommendation form to the department, and a copy of the form to you. This form notes any requirements that still need to be met: courses listed on your program of study, a thesis or project, or comprehensive exams. If you do not finish one or more of your requirements by the specified cut-off date for the graduation for which you applied, you can request to graduate at the next graduation. You do not have to re-apply or pay another fee. You simply need to make a written request (email is sufficient) to the Office of Records and Registration. You must indicate in this request which semester you now intend to graduate.

EMU does not maintain a credentials file. You must ask individual professors to keep your letters on file if you want them sent subsequently to more than one place.