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MA in English
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M.A. in English

This concentration requires 34 hours of interdisciplinary course work of which 22 hours must be in English, plus the other requirements of the MA in Language and Literature. These requirements include the Master's Examination and the Master's Portfolio. General information on the exam and the portfolio are outlined in the Masters of Language and Literature program.

Required Courses (15 hours)

  • English 500 Introduction to Graduate Study (3 hours)
  • English 551 Topics in Medieval Studies: Bibliographic and Research Methods (3 hours)
  • English 547 Old English (3 hours)
  • English 581 Chaucer (3 hours)
  • History 503 Early Middle Ages, 300 to 1050, or 504 High Middle Ages (3 hours)

Distributed Literature Requirements (9 hours)
These hours should come from at least two of the following groups, but should not include the 4-hour seminar requirement or other courses in Old or Middle English:

Group A: British Literature to 1660
Group B: British Literature 1660 to 1900
Group C: American Literature to 1900
Group D: Literatures in English since 1900
Group E: Literary criticism and theory, rhetoric, and writing.

Seminar Requirement (4 hours)
Any 600-level seminar course in Old or Middle English literature or language.

Multidisciplinary Courses (6 hours)
Students must take two courses, one of which must be taken in History (see the course list for Medieval Studies for a current listing of available classes):

Art History, History, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Italian or Latin.

Foreign Language Requirement:
Students in this requirement must choose Latin as their foreign language, and pass Latin 202: Intermediate Latin or 352: Accelerated Latin - Reading with a grade of B or better.

Master's Examination:
This examination is generally taken after completing 24 hours of graduate credit and the foreign language requirement. The examination is given twice per year, on the third Monday in February and the third Monday in September.

The examination is a four-hour, closed-book test covering a 50-item list of multidisciplinary medieval works that is given to students when they enter the Master's program. If students do not take the MA examination on schedule (typically, in the Spring or Fall semesters two years after entrance), they will be responsible for the 50-item list in effect at the time of their examination, which may include changes.

An item on the list may be a work (or groups of works) of literature (e. g., epic, hagiographic, lyrics), history (e.g., chronicles, histories, legal documents), art history, or philosophy. Items are distributed chronologically between the early and high Middle Ages, that is from 500 A.D. to 1400 A.D. The Medieval Studies Graduate Committee will review the 50-Item List every two years and make any needed changes.

Portfolio
The Portfolio consists of two article-length essays (5000-7000 words) showing a high level of scholarship, critical thinking, and writing. The essays must either represent two different medieval periods, combine two different cultures within one period, combine a medieval period with a later historical period, or combine an historical topic with one in literature (or another discipline).

Institute for Medieval Studies
University of New Mexico
2045 Mesa Vista Hall | (505) 277-2252 | medinst@unm.edu