English

Program Description

The M.A. in English at CSUN offers intensive training in textual and cultural study, including rhetoric, book studies, literature, creative writing, creative writing studies and critical theory. Our graduates are versed in the study and production of texts of all kinds, including their social, cultural, political, creative and technological contexts. We welcome students who want to apply their critical reading and writing skills to the full range of cultural texts, past, present and future.

The M.A. in English consists of three options: Literature, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric and Composition. The English department offers a limited number of openings for classified graduate students who want to be Teaching Associates (TAs). Students accepted to the TA Program normally teach, under guidance, one section of Approaches to University Writing for a stipend. Other teaching opportunities may be available to second-year TAs. For further information concerning choice of option or career opportunities, students should see the graduate advisor. To apply for a Teaching Associateship, students should see the director of composition.

Program Requirements

A. Admission Requirements

In addition to the University requirements, the English department requires that students meet one of two conditions before being admitted into the department program:

1. Students with a B.A. in English must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in upper division English courses. This GPA is determined by the cumulative GPA of all approved upper division English courses.
2. Students with a B.A. in a subject other than English must have a minimum of 24 semester units of approved upper division English courses or their equivalent (as determined by their disciplinary relevance) with a minimum 3.0 GPA in these courses. This GPA is determined by the cumulative GPA of all approved upper division English courses.

One of these two conditions must be met before a student may be admitted into the English department M.A. program. Applicants who, upon departmental evaluation, do not possess enough qualifying units or the required GPA need to take additional undergraduate upper division English courses to make up any deficits before admission into the program.

International Applicants

International applicants must meet the standards for admission described above. Additionally, international applicants who did not receive their bachelor’s degree from a college or university where instruction is primarily conducted in English may demonstrate their proficiency by achieving the stated minimum score on one of the following English language tests:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT): 85
• International English Language Test System (IELTS) Academic: 7
• Cambridge C1 Advanced English (formerly CAE): 185
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic: 64
• Global Test of English Communication Computer-Based Test (GTEC CBT): 1275

B. Classified Status

A classified student has fulfilled the following criteria:

1. A B.A. in English or has already completed 24 upper division approved-English or their equivalent (as determined by their disciplinary relevance) semester units (upper division English GPA minimum required: 3.0).
2. A GPA of 3.0 or greater in upper division English and a 3.0 in the last 60 units.

C. Denied Students

Denied students fall into one or more of these categories:

1. Do not have a B.A. in English.
2. Do not have 24 upper division approved English semester units and/or the equivalent, as determined by their potential to be offered in English department curriculum.
3. Do not have the required minimum GPA of 3.0 in upper division English units.

Denied students may not take any graduate level courses (500- to 600-level).

Note that the English department’s requirements for classification are more stringent than the University’s requirements.

D. Degree Requirements

1. Core Requirements (15 units)

Introductory Seminar (3 units)

ENGL 507 An Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (3)

Seminar in Theory (3 units)

Select one of the following courses:

ENGL 638 Seminar in Critical Approaches to Literature (3)
ENGL 651 Rhetoric and Composition Theory (3)
ENGL 652 Creative Writing Studies (3)

Seminar in Genre Studies (3 units)

Select one of the following courses or equivalent:

ENGL 622 Seminar on Aspects of Poetry (3)
ENGL 623 Seminar in Studies in Prose Fiction (3)
ENGL 624 Studies in Dramatic Literature (3)
ENGL 653 Literary and Rhetorical Genre Theory (3)

Seminar in Cultural Studies or Textual Studies (3 units)

Select one of the following courses or equivalent:

ENGL 525A-Z Topics in English and Cultural Studies (3)
ENGL 630A-Z Seminar in Literary Periods (3)

Seminar in the Study of Language or Rhetoric (3 units)

Select one of the following courses or equivalent:

ENGL 455 Literacy, Rhetoric and Culture (3)
ENGL 459A-Z Selected Topics in Writing and Rhetoric (3)
ENGL 513 Composition Studies (3)
ENGL 604 Seminar in Language and Linguistics (3)
ENGL 651 Rhetoric and Composition Theory (3)
ENGL 654 Advanced Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (3)
ENGL 650 20th Century Rhetoric (3)
LING 510 Foundational Concepts in Linguistics (3)

2. Rhetoric and Composition Option Requirements (12 units)

Two 500- or 600-level ENGL seminars, with an emphasis on rhetoric and composition studies (6)
Two electives, selected with the approval of the graduate advisor (6)

3. Culminating Experience (3 units)

ENGL 698D Graduate Project (3)
or ENGL 697C Directed Comprehensive Studies (3)

Note: The department may not offer ENGL 698D every term. Students who choose not to take ENGL 698D must instead take ENGL 697C, the comprehensive examination.

E. Notes

1. In all options, students may choose, with consent of the graduate advisor, two 400-level courses in English or outside the English department that have been approved for graduate credit.

2. Students may repeat the following courses once for credit:
ENGL 512 Writing for Performance (3-3)
ENGL 608 Seminar in Narrative Writing (3-3)
ENGL 609 Seminar in Poetry Writing (3-3)
ENGL 622 Seminar on Aspects of Poetry (3-3)
ENGL 623 Seminar in Studies in Prose Fiction (3-3)

3. Students may repeat the following courses twice for credit:
ENGL 525A-Z Topics in English and Cultural Studies (3-3-3)
ENGL 620A-Z Seminar in Individual Authors (3-3-3)
ENGL 630A-Z Seminar in Literary Periods (3-3-3)

Total Units Required for the M.A. Degree: 30