DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

[Course Descriptions]

English Program

The graduate program in English is designed to train students in preparation for doctoral work in university graduate schools, to improve the professional competence of public school teachers, to prepare promising scholars for college teaching, to advance the skills of creative writers, and generally to train students whose careers require advanced verbal and analytical abilities.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission to the graduate program in English must meet the basic requirements of Graduate Studies specified in the ADMISSION section of this catalogue. In addition the following are required:

1. A combined GRE score (Verbal and Quantitative) of at least 1000; a Verbal score of at least 500; and a GPA of at least 3.0
   Or
   A combined GRE score (Verbal and Quantitative) of at least 800; a Verbal score of at least 450; and a GPA of at least 3.25.
2. At least two letters of recommendation that discuss your suitability for graduate study;
3. A writing sample with a minimum of 10 pages.
4. A student must have completed at least 12 hours of upper-division English courses with a GPA of 3.0 or better.

The English graduate curriculum is organized into five blocks containing twelve areas of study:

BLOCK I: English Language and Linguistics; Early and Middle English Literature
BLOCK II: World Literature; Literary Criticism and Theory; Rhetoric and Composition; Creative Writing
BLOCK III: Renaissance and Seventeenth Century English Literature; Eighteenth Century English Literature; American Literature Before 1800
BLOCK IV: Nineteenth Century English Literature; Nineteenth Century American Literature
BLOCK V: Twentieth Century English Literature; Twentieth Century American Literature

There are three additional curriculum courses: Bibliography (ENG 698); Thesis (ENG 699); and Directed Study of Selected Topics (ENG 539).

Students are required to take at least one course from each block and at least one course each in British and American Literature.

One 400-level English course may be taken for graduate credit with pre-approval by the department's Graduate Advisor and the Chair. ENG 539, Directed Study, may be taken up to two times for credit, with pre-approval by the Graduate Advisor and Chair.

DEGREE PROGRAMS

A student majoring in English may choose from three degree programs: Master of Arts, Plan I; Master of Arts, Plan II; and the Master of Education, Plan II (which is administered by the College of Education).

PLEASE NOTE: Plan I may be thesis or nonthesis; Plan II and Master of Education Plan II are nonthesis degrees only.

All MA students must complete four steps before being admitted to candidacy and filing an official degree plan:

1. Must complete ENG 698 (Research Methods). ENG 698 should be taken during the first semester of graduate work if possible, but in any event must be completed by the end of the second long-term semester for which a student is enrolled.
2. Must complete the language requirement (Block I course).
3. Must complete 6 additional hours of course work.
4. Must have a B or better average for the 12 hours completed.

Once these requirements are met, an Admission to Candidacy form and Declaration of Major form should be filed with the Graduate Advisor, who will file your degree plan.

All MA students must also pass the English Program's written comprehensive examination (offered in October, February, and June of each year) and an oral defense of a designated portion of their graduate work (the oral covers either the areas chosen for the written examination or, in the case of thesis students, the thesis).

Master of Arts, Plan I. (Thesis or nonthesis). This degree plan is designed for prospective junior and senior college teachers, for students who plan to continue their studies at a doctoral level, and for teachers of high school English who wish to increase scope, depth, and expertise in their teaching specialty. There is no minor under Plan I. Nonthesis students will take 36 hours of course work; thesis students will take 30 hours of course work and 6 hours of ENG 699 (Thesis). Creative writing students may pursue a creative writing emphasis, which includes a one-semester internship with the Texas Review Press, two creative writing workshops, and the writing of a creative thesis.

CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAN I:

Research Methods (ENG 698) ...............3 hours
Block I (ENG 577; ENG 583; ENG 589) .....3 hours
Block II (ENG 568; ENG 571; ENG 573; ENG 584) 3 hours
Block III (ENG 572; ENG 575; ENG 578) 3 hours
Block IV (ENG 579; ENG 580; ENG 585; ENG 586) 3 hours
Block V (ENG 581; ENG 587; ENG 588*) 3 hours
Electives 12 hours
Thesis 6 hours
Total 36 hours

NOTE: When appropriate, a student under Plan I may elect to substitute for the thesis (ENG 699) nine hours of graduate course work, resulting in 36 hours of course work.

Master of Arts, Plan II. (Nonthesis only). Designed for teachers who wish preparation in 2 teaching fields, the degree plan consists of 24 semester hours of English and 12 hours in a second field. The minor field must logically support the major and should be chosen from departments offering graduate-level courses, such as history, art, political science, or, in the case of public school teachers, education.

CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAN II:

Research Methods 3 hours
Block I (ENG 577; ENG 583; ENG 589) 3 hours
Electives (Selections must be from at least 3 different blocks) 18 hours
Courses in the minor 12 hours
Total 36 hours

Master of Education, Plan II. (Nonthesis only). This program is for teachers of English in the secondary schools; interested students should apply to the College of Education. The plan requires:

1. A minimum of 24 hours of undergraduate credit in English
2. 36 hours of graduate credit, with 12-24 hours in English
3. 6-12 hours in second teaching field
4. 12-18 hours in education

Students in this degree program will be advised by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the English Program. Comprehensive examinations are supervised by the College of Education.

GRADUATE COURSES

ENGLISH COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

All courses are 3 credit hours.

ENG 539 DIRECTED STUDY OF SELECTED TOPICS IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE. Designed for individual students who wish intensive supervision in the study of a topic in language or literature. May be taken only with the written consent of the department chair; limit 6 hours.

ENG 567 PRACTICUM IN TEACHING COLLEGE COMPOSITION. An examination of modern rhetorical principles and methodologies used in teaching college-level writing.

ENG 568 LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY. An examination of various theories and theorists of literary interpretation, with application and practice writing criticism.

ENG 571 STUDIES IN MODERN WORLD LITERATURE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of 19th and 20th centuries.

ENG 572 COLONIAL AMERICAN LITERATURE. Studies in the literature of exploration and colonization of the New World and in the early national period of the United States.

ENG 573 CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP. A graduate writing workshop that emphasizes the writing and revision of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, with related outside readings.

*ENG 574 STUDIES IN WOMEN'S LITERATURE. Selected women writers from various historical periods, genres, and nationalities. Emphasis may differ each semester.

ENG 575 STUDIES IN RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of Restoration and 18th Century Britain.

ENG 576 THE CLASSICAL TRADITION. A survey of the Greek and Roman heritage and its influence upon subsequent literature.

ENG 577 STUDIES IN EARLY AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE. A study of selected works in Old and Middle English literature.

ENG 578 STUDIES IN THE LITERATURE OF THE RENAISSANCE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of 16th and 17th Century England. Topics include Studies in Shakespeare, Studies in Spenser, Studies in Milton, etc.

ENG 579 STUDIES IN ROMANTIC LITERATURE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of the English Romantic period.

ENG 580 STUDIES IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of the English Victorian period.

ENG 581 STUDIES IN TWENTIETH CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of 20th Century England.

ENG 583 STUDIES IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS. Areas of study include sociolinguistics, dialectology, lexicography, stylistics through linguistic analysis, principles of semantics, and linguistics in relation to the teaching of English.

ENG 584 STUDIES IN RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION THEORY. Selected topics in historical and contemporary rhetoric, rhetorical criticism and composition theory.

ENG 585 STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1800-1860. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of the period.

ENG 586 STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1860-1920. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of the period.

ENG 587 STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1920-THE PRESENT. Selected writers, movements, or literary types of the period.

ENG 588 THE STUDY OF MAJOR FIGURES IN AMERICAN POETRY. Selected writers and movements contributing to the development of an American poetry.

ENG 589 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. A cultural, historical, and philological survey of the development of the English language from its IndoEuropean prototype through AngloSaxon, AngloFrench, and Early Modern English to its present form.

ENG 698 THESIS RESEARCH METHODS (BIBLIOGRAPHY). An introduction to research methods in literature and the study of the book. Required of all English majors under M.A., Plan I, M.A., Plan II, and M.Ed., Plan II. Counted as first 3 hours of thesis under M.A., Plan I and M.A., Plan II.

ENG 699 THESIS.