Master’s Degree Requirements in English, Concentration in Language and Literature

The following requirements take effect in Spring semester 2009 and may be taken as an option for all MA students enrolled in the English Department MA in Literature program.

The Master of Arts, Concentration in Language and Literature, emphasizes research and writing, innovation and tradition, in order to promote well-rounded scholars in British, Irish, and American literature; literary history, criticism, and theory; and language theory. The combination of coursework and the multi-optioned portfolio enables MA students in Language and Literature to develop areas of special emphasis, while ensuring a broad understanding of a variety of historical fields. Applicants should already possess a Bachelor’s degree in English or a closely related discipline.

The degree requires 32 hours of coursework, competency in a language other than English, and a substantial portfolio of scholarly work and a reflective preface situating the work in a critical and/or historical context. All students work under Plan II (no thesis), as described below.

Course Requirements (32 hrs)

Core Courses (9 hrs):
Nine hours of courses including the introduction to professional studies in English, pedagogy, and theory.

Engl 500: Introduction to the Professional Study of English (3 hrs)
Engl 537, 538, 539 or 592: Pedagogy (3 hrs)
Engl 510, 511, 610 or 541 when taught from a theoretical perspective: Theory (3 hrs).

Area Elective Courses (20 hrs):
Twenty hours of area electives, including two four-hour seminars, with at least one course from each of the following four areas

1. Middle Ages (includes English 545, 547-51, and topics, genre, and seminar courses focusing on English literatures and language to 1450.)
2. Early Modern/Contact Period (Literatures in English 1450-1750)
3. Long Nineteenth Century (Literatures in English 1750-1900)
4. Modern and Contemporary (Literatures in English 1900-Present)

Portfolio (3 hrs)
See below for guidelines on completing the portfolio.

Engl 596: Portfolio (3 hrs)

Foreign Language Requirement
All MA students in Language and Literature must demonstrate the equivalence of a B or better in a second semester, second-year university course in a language other than English. CLEP or UNM-administered tests may be used to meet this requirement, as well as coursework at UNM or at another accredited college or university. Language hours do not count as part of the 32-hour course requirement for the degree.

The Committee on Studies (COS)
MA Students in Language and Literature must form a Committee on Studies (COS) at the beginning of their second semester; the COS advises the students on course selection and on portfolio preparation. The committee shall consist of three faculty members: two faculty members, at least one of whom is from the English Department, plus the Director of Graduate Studies, English (DGS). At the beginning of their first semester, MA students in Language and Literature must consult with the DGS for advisement on course selection and the appointment of the COS.

Portfolio Guidelines
MA students in Language and Literature must complete a portfolio and defense as the equivalent of the Master’s Examination. Students must assemble a portfolio for formal evaluation by their Committee on Studies (COS) no later than the ninth week of the final semester of enrollment. Portfolios may contain two article-length essays (18-25 pages each); or one long essay or project (40-50 pages); or other equivalent combinations of COS-approved scholarly, critical, and academic works from a variety of genres (annotated bibliographies, textual studies, scholarly book reviews, etc.) including written examination essays. All portfolios must also include a twelve- to fifteen-page preface situating the portfolio selections in a critical, theoretical, historical, or professional context. The reflective preface, which cites academic and other sources to demonstrate that the materials in the portfolio engage in the most pertinent theoretical and critical practices in their field(s), is important to evaluating the success of the portfolio.

Portfolio Proposal. In fall semester of year two, students submit a brief portfolio proposal to the COS for approval. Before the end of that same semester, students must submit the proposal to the full COS and when possible meet with the COS, as a group or individually, to discuss the merits of the proposal. This meeting should take place in the semester before the defense so that students can incorporate suggestions for revisions and corrections from the COS.

Portfolio Evaluation and Presentation. In the semester of their graduation, MA students in Language and Literature enroll in English 596 (3 hrs) with the chair of their Committee on Studies (COS) to complete the portfolio materials. The formal examination on and final evaluation of the portfolio by the COS occurs no later than the ninth week of the final semester. Portfolios are evaluated in terms equivalent to those stipulated by OGS in its MA examination form: Pass with Distinction, Pass, Pass with Minor Revisions, Fail. Any student who fails the portfolio more than once will be dismissed from the program without a degree. The COS reports the results of its evaluation to OGS as the “Examination for the MA Degree.” The COS chair, as the instructor of record for English 596, records the final grade.

Forms to File
These forms are available from the Graduate Advisor, who will assist in completing them. The forms are also available at: www.unm.edu/~grad/forms/forms.html.

Program of Studies

This form must be received by the English Graduate Office no later than June 15, September 15, or February 15, in the semester before graduation. The English Graduate Office forwards this form to OGS by July 1, October 1, or March 1. The form lists all the courses students will present toward the degree, including transfer credits and such requirements as 595 and 596.

Announcement of Examination

The English Graduate Office must submit this form to the Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks before the scheduled Master’s Examination. Hence, students must notify the Graduate Advisor of their intent to take the MA examination by the end of the semester before they plan to take it.

The Seven Year Rule

University regulations stipulate that all work toward the Master’s degree must be completed within seven years of the date of the earliest graduate course listed on the Program of Studies form. This time limit affects transfer credit and the date students need to complete their degree.

Teaching Assistantship Limits

MA students in Language and Literature who hold Teaching Assistantships are limited to five semesters of assistantship funding, excluding summer TA appointments. Petitions for extensions may be addressed to the Graduate Committee through the DGS. Extensions are the exception rather than the rule, and all extensions are contingent upon academic progress, the availability of funding, and departmental need.