EMU English Department

 M.A. in Literature

Program Overview          Degree Requirements          Our Students            Our Faculty

Teaching Opportunities          Application Procedures          Graduate Student Events 

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Program Overview

The M.A. in Literature program offers students the opportunity to take seminar-style classes with award-winning professors who are actively engaged in research and professional development in their fields.  Designed to provide a grounding in the advanced study of literature, the program features courses in literary theory and a range of literary periods, as well as providing students the ability to focus on areas of particular interest through electives, all while emphasizing the growth of advanced research and writing skills.  The program can further be tailored to a student’s needs through the choice of a culminating exam or a thesis project; an advisor will happily discuss the pros and cons of each option with each student, depending on his or her individual goals.  A student population with a broad range of long-term goals creates a valuable cross-section of perspectives in classroom discussions and beyond.

With the needs of working students—including those who work as Graduate Assistants in our English Department—in mind, all graduate courses are taught from 5 p.m. onwards, Monday-Thursday.  In addition, while the full complement of courses is offered only in Fall and Winter terms, there are at least limited offerings every Spring and/or Summer term to help students to pace their way through the program as best suits their needs.  Teaching opportunities, attentive faculty, and the vibrancy of an ever-growing program make the M.A. in Literature ideal for those who want to teach at the Community College level, those who are pursuing a higher degree to augment their current careers, or those who are trying to decide whether taking the next step into a Ph.D. program is right for them.

Degree Requirements

Graduate students in literature must complete 30 credit hours as designated below. Students must also maintain a 3.0 GPA in the program and pass the MA exam or complete a thesis.

1.      Students must take LITR 510 Critical Practices in Literary Studies as early as possible in the program.

2.      Students must take LITR 511 Literary Criticism, preferably right after completing LITR 510.

3.      Students must take 2 courses (6 hours) in Medieval/Renaissance literature. Students can choose from the following or take any special topics courses that address these periods:

·        LITR 512         Middle English Literature

·        LITR 520         Old English Poetry

·        LITR 530         Studies in Chaucer

·        LITR 540         Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama

·        LITR 541         Studies in Shakespeare

·        LITR 545         Studies in Renaissance Literature

·        LITR 592         Special Topics in Medieval/Renaissance Lit

4.      Students must take 2 classes (6 hours) in 18^th/19^th century literature. Students can choose from the following or take any special topics courses that address these periods:

·        LITR 561         Studies in 18^th Century Literature

·        LITR 563         Studies in 18^th Century Fiction

·        LITR 565         Studies in 19^th Century Fiction

·        LITR 570         Studies in Romantic Literature

·        LITR 575         Studies in Victorian Literature

·        LITR 568         Studies in 19^th Century American Poetry

·        LITR 569         The American Renaissance: 1830-1860

·        LITR 523         Realism and Naturalism in American Literature

·        LITR 592         Special Topics in 18^th or 19^th Century Lit

5.      Students must take 2 classes (6 hours) in 20^th century literature. Students can choose from the following or take any special topics courses that address these periods:

·        LITR 526         Studies in African-American Literature to 1945

·        LITR 527         Studies in African-American Lit since 1945

·        LITR 566         Studies in 20^th Century British Fiction

·        LITR 567         Studies in 20^th Century Irish Literature

·        LITR 576         Studies in 20^th Century American Fiction

·        LITR 577         Studies in 20^th Century American Poetry

·        LITR 580         Studies in Contemporary Literary Trends

·        LITR 592         Special Topics in 20^th Century Lit

6.      Students must also take 2 elective or cognate courses (6 hours).  Electives are any of the courses listed above that have not already been taken to satisfy the requirements.  Thus, for example, if a student discovers a strong interest in 19^th century American literature, it would be possible to take up to two additional courses in this area beyond satisfying the 18^th/19^th century requirement.  A “cognate” is a graduate-level course in another program or department that reasonably fills a knowledge gap in a students’ program of study.  For example, a Renaissance History course would be a reasonable option for a student highly interested in that literary period. * 

* Please note: Students who hold teaching assistantships and teach first-year writing must take ENGL 596, which will count as one of their electives.  Students who choose to do a thesis instead of taking the MA exam will register for ENGL 692 after their thesis proposals have been approved.  ENGL 692 gives students 3 hours of credit for the process of writing the thesis, and it will count as one of a student’s electives.

For fuller details of the contents of the courses listed above, please see the Graduate Course Descriptions page of this site.   Descriptions of graduate courses in other departments that might fill cognate requirements can be found through the EMU Graduate Catalogue.  This general Catalogues page provides links to each college's graduate programs to make navigation easier.

7.      The literature program also requires students to pass a comprehensive written exam or to write a thesis.  The exam is a four-hour written test based on a set reading list.  Students answer two questions (one each from a pair of choices) set by the exam committee, as well as writing on a third question that is based on a short reading list and project description they have developed in conjunction with one faculty member.  The exam is offered twice a year, once in the summer and once in early December.  In an effort to continue meeting our students needs and improving our program, the exam format is undergoing some revisions.  Students accepted into the program before the changes have been approved and implemented will be allowed to take the exam under the old format, whenever they complete their coursework.  For more details on the exam, as well as the complete exam reading list, see the Literature program portion of the Graduate Student Handbook.  For a complete explanation of the thesis option, its procedures and details, see the following information on Theses (excerpted from the Graduate Student Handbook).

Our Students

Our students range from those who have come directly from traditional undergraduate majors in English departments to those who have had long and distinguished careers in other fields and have chosen to pursue an M.A. in Literature in their retirement.  The two largest demographic groups are those who aspire to become professionals in the field of literary studies at the community college or university level and those who are currently high school teachers and who have chosen to get an M.A. as part of their continuing certification credits.  Some of our recent graduates have gone on to gain full-time tenure-track positions in English Departments at places such as Schoolcraft College and Oakland Community College, as well as at comparable schools out of state.  Others have been admitted to prestigious Ph.D. programs around the country and are currently working towards those degrees.  Still others have successfully completed their degrees to gain promotions, raises, and other benefits within their current careers—jobs they were able to maintain in good standing throughout their progress in the M.A. program.

The two core courses that all students take within the program, Literature 510 and 511 are designed in part to address the fact that our students come from a wonderfully diverse range of backgrounds and thus could do with some common footing from which to launch into the remainder of their coursework.  These courses focus on graduate-level research and writing (510) and exploration of literary theory (511) in sufficient complexity to provide a sound framework not just for coursework at the M.A. level but also for experiences as both student and teacher beyond the M.A. classroom.

Our Faculty

Our faculty has a wide range of expertise in British and American literature from the poetry of Chaucer to contemporary African American literature.  They publish regularly in prominent journals, write books, edit collections of essays, organize conferences, present papers at national venues, give invited talks, and sit on the editorial boards of an array of professional publications.  In addition, at least one member of the literature faculty has been honored nearly every year as an outstanding classroom teacher in campus-wide awards—both those nominated by peers and by students.  You will find our faculty supervising theses and independent studies, advising students on career progress in the profession, and organizing brown-bag discussions for peers and students on both practical and intellectual topics related to the study of literature.  We pride ourselves on being both intellectually rigorous and accessible, and we invite you to send us email or come to our office hours no matter what the issue you want to discuss. 

For more detailed information on the specialties, accomplishments, and contact information of our faculty, please use the following links to individual faculty pages.

Paul Bruss: 20^th century British and American fiction, Postmodernism

Lori Burlingame: 20^th century American literature, specialty in Native American literature

Abigail Coykendall: 18^th century British literature 

Joseph Csicsila: 19^th century American literature, specialty in Mark Twain and late 19^th century culture

Charles Cunningham: 20^th century American literature, theories of race, cultural studies

Elisabeth Daumer: 20^th century British and American poetry, literary theory

Craig Dionne: Renaissance literature, specialty in Shakespeare and literary theory

Jeffrey Duncan: 19^th century American literature

David Geherin: 20^th century American and British literature

Robin Lucy: African-American literature

Heather Neff: African-American literature

Christine Neufeld: Medieval literature

Sandy Norton: 19^th century British fiction, women's studies

Martin Shichtman: Medieval literature, Jewish studies

Andrea Kaston Tange: 19^th century British literature and culture, 19^th century gender studies

Teaching Opportunities

There are teaching opportunities available to you as a Graduate Assistant (GA) in the English Department.  Currently, GAs teach in the following ways.

1. Teach introductory-level writing courses for first-year students. This involves taking a course on teaching writing (which will count as one of your electives for the MA and will be a support for your teaching) during your first semester as a teacher.  You will be responsible for the writing course, planning the syllabus and assignments and teaching all sections of the course.  You will have substantial guidance about departmental standards and expectations for the design and implementation of this course, as well as feedback on assignment design, responding to student writing, and many other aspects of teaching along the way.
2. Assist professors who teach large-lecture-style literature courses.  Currently, this involves running study sessions and holding office hours to supplement the work of the professor who gives the lectures to 250-325 students twice a week.  Depending on the professor with whom you work, you may also be asked to maintain the gradebook and/or provide other logistical support, and you may be invited to give one or more guest lectures over the course of the term.  A pilot program for Fall 2006 is in the planning stages (not currently funded) to enable one large-lecture course to run with multiple GAs who would be responsible for teaching mandatory once-per-week small discussion sessions.  Every GA would have multiple sections of approximately 25 students, and all students enrolled in the course would be required to register for one section.  In this capacity, GAs would do more direct teaching of literature, planning the syllabus for these sessions, designing and grading assignments with the input of the lecturing professor, in order to provide the students with more individual attention than a large-lecture hall can accommodate.  It is our hope that in the long term, more such opportunities will be available to our GAs—and to our undergraduates—every semester.
3. Work in the Writing Center.  This involves working as a sort of writing tutor for students from across campus who come for help in revising their papers for many different courses.  The work is NOT editing.  Rather, it is a collaborative effort with the student to help the student come to a better understanding of how to make his/her paper more successful.

More information about how to apply for these positions, as well as information on other GA positions besides teaching ones, and links to the relevant application forms, are available on the FAQ page on the Graduate Programs site.

Application Procedures

Admission to the program requires the standard EMU Graduate School application form, as well as the additional materials required by all programs in the English Department:

-         official transcripts from all universities previously attended

-         at least two letters of recommendation

-         a statement of purpose

-         a writing sample.

For purposes of the MA in Literature program, the most appropriate writing sample to submit would be an academic paper you wrote for an upper-division undergraduate literature course.  If you have been out of college for some time, and you feel your undergraduate work is no longer an accurate reflection of you as a thinker and writer, then you are welcome to submit more recent writing that was not done for a class you were taking.  Whatever you choose to submit, we are looking for a writing sample that demonstrates your abilities to do one or more of the following well: think critically and carefully, write about texts, synthesize ideas, make an argument, do research…in other words, a writing sample that demonstrates that you have the potential to do graduate-level work in the study of literature.  Since we have a required course designed to help sharpen your skills in these areas, we do not expect that all of our incoming students are already writing at a graduate level—only that with a bit of guidance you clearly will be able to do so in order to succeed in your courses and beyond.

If you were admitted to the program in the past and have taken a hiatus from your studies, you can easily apply for readmission.  Depending on how long ago you took courses and how successful you were in the program at that time, some or all of your previous coursework may count towards your degree, though you may be asked to meet the current program requirements if your break from Master's level work has been longer than 2 years.  Please feel free to discuss your individual case with the Program Coordinator (Andrea Kaston Tange akastont@emich.edu) or the Graduate Director (Ann Blakeslee ablakeslee@emich.edu).

Please see the FAQ page on the Graduate Programs site for more information about application procedures for admission or readmission, including details about deadlines. 

Graduate Student Events

Throughout the year, there are multiple events that bring together graduate students in professional and social ways.  Some of these are facilitated by the English Department, some by the University, and others by professional organizations beyond our campus borders. 

·        The literature faculty offers informal sessions a few times per year on topics ranging from preparing for the MA Exam to applying for PhD programs to applying for and presenting papers at conferences.  These are typically 1-2 hour session, at which one or more faculty members provide information and make themselves available for round-table-style discussion.  This is a great way to get to know professors better, meet peers who may not be in your classes, and get useful information at the same time.  Schedule of Events for the 2005-2006 academic year. 

·        Graduate Symposium.  Sponsored by the University, this is a one-day, campus-wide conference (typically scheduled to occur in March) at which graduate students present the best of their work.  Professors nominate papers to be considered, and the Symposium organizers arrange the accepted papers into panels.  Panelists typically have about 20 minutes to present, and the panel takes questions.  Acceptance into the Symposium is competitive, and in addition to providing an honor for the student’s CV, this is an excellent warm-up for participation at regional or national conferences.

·        Participation in regional and/or national conferences.  Professors in our department who are on organizational committees for conferences being held in the Midwest will often ask promising graduate students to submit a paper for consideration.  In addition, the University of Pennsylvania maintains a Call for Papers list organized by categories of literary studies that students may wish to examine periodically for promising conferences (scroll down the page to get the list of categories).  There are, nationally, a number of graduate-student-only conferences, as well as many conferences that encourage graduate students to apply.  Both are excellent venues for students who are considering going further within the profession, and Calls for Papers typically indicate whether a conference is grad-student-only or welcomes applications from graduate students.

·        Graduate Students Awards.  At the end of each academic year, in late April or early May, the department hosts a Graduate Student Awards event, at which prizes for teaching, research, and other scholarly activity in all the various M.A. programs in the English Department are awarded.  Professors nominate students for these awards.  This is both an awards ceremony and a social event capping the academic year.

More information about these events can be obtained in a variety of locations; the Literature Coordinator (Andrea Kaston Tange akastont@emich.edu) can direct you to sources of information as needed.

Thank you for your interest in the M.A. in Literature Program. 

Do not hesitate to contact us if there are other questions we can answer!

Click here to return to the main English Department Graduate Programs site.