M.A. in English With Concentration in Writing
The Master's with Concentration in Writing offers specialized training for students who plan to do free-lance writing, to teaching writing courses at the college level, to work as professional writers in business or industry, or to pursue the Ph.D. in writing, rhetoric, composition, and related fields. The program combines aspects of our regular M.A. degree training with specific writing courses and a thesis project that allows students to explore their topic in greater depth. Our graduates go on to excellent Ph.D. programs in English as well as careers in editing, publishing, technical writing, and the non-profit and private sectors. Students who go on to complete the Ph.D. may also find the Master's with writing emphasis excellent training for programs in Rhetoric and Composition as well as Creative Writing.
We look for intelligent, thoughtful candidates who will enrich our intellectual community in a variety of ways and who will benefit from the breadth of our resources. We have a world-class research library with special collections in British and American literary and cultural history, excellent financial support, and a nationally and internationally recognized faculty. Our students have many opportunities to collaborate with faculty on scholarly journals and advanced research, share creative work at poetry and fiction readings, design their own undergraduate courses, and participate in reading groups. The GSE, area study groups, and other activities draw students together as an intellectual and social community, with shared passions and aspirations. Click below for more information about the following:
Entrance Profile of Candidates
We have a single admission deadline, January 15, for admission to all our degree programs. All admitted applicants begin their work together as a class in the fall. While candidates who have majored in English generally have an advantage in our competitive pool, we are also very interested in those who bring other disciplinary backgrounds to bear on their work with us. Generally, we do expect candidates to have 18 semester hours of upper-division coursework in English. The Graduate School requires a 2.7 average; most of our applicants have a 3.5 or better in their English courses.
We evaluate all of our degree candidates holistically, based on a portfolio of grades, recommendations, GRE scores (with an emphasis on the verbal and analytical scores), a statement of goals, and a writing sample. We are interested in the overall picture of strengths and interests that these materials provide. We have no specific cutoff numbers for the GRE scores, though our most competitive candidates have verbal scores of 600 or above and analytic scores of 5.5 or higher.
For the forms and a checklist of materials you will need to complete your application, click on How to Apply.
Teaching in the M.A. Program
We believe in the importance of excellent teaching in the graduate and the undergraduate classroom. Our professorial faculty and our graduate students share in the balance of teaching and research that makes up the academic life. Our teacher-training program, our primary assistantship program for graduate students, introduces students to that balance and to the rewarding work of classroom instruction. First-year M.A. students on Teaching Assistantships apprentice with a master teacher, assist in the Writing Center, and study the best practices in writing and critical reading instruction with our Rhetoric and Composition faculty as they prepare to take responsibility for their own classes independently in their second year as Teaching Associates. M.A. Teaching Associates can expect to teach two sections of First-Year Composition each semester of their second year. The Director of First-Year Composition and the Director of the Writing Center provide valuable guidance, insight, and support throughout the teaching experience. Our graduate student teachers as well as our professorial faculty regularly win departmental, college, and university teaching awards for their superb work in the classroom. Our assistantships and associateships include a tuition waiver, and current stipend amounts are $7226 for first-year assistants and $12,245 for second-year associates. For more Information about our teaching assistantships and associateships, see Financial Assistance.
Requirements for the M.A. Degree
- A minimum of twenty-four semester hours in the Department of English beyond the B.A. degree. In this course work, students must maintain at least a B average.
- Six hours at the 600 level.
- Twelve additional hours at the 500-600 level. (A student may apply only three hours of 593--Independent Study-- toward the M.A. in English.) (Note: Writing students may substitute one 400-level writing course for one 500-level course.)
- Six hours for graduate credit at any level, including the 400 level.
A student must take at least nine hours in writing and nine in literature, the remaining six to be selected from any English courses at the proper level. Of the courses in writing, at least three hours must be taken at the 500 level; additional 500-level courses are strongly recommended.
- Students in the M.A. Concentration in Writing program may choose one of the following writing projects, each for six hours of credit.
- A thesis, using research to analyze some aspect of writing or rhetorical theory.
- A creative project. A collection of poems or short stories, a short novel, a play, or a creative work of non-fiction prose are acceptable as creative projects.
In addition to the director, two other English Department faculty members will supervise and approve the project; at least one should be drawn from the literature faculty.
- Evidence of proficiency in one foreign language, to be fulfilled in one of the following ways:
- Completion of a second year of a language at college level with a grade of C or better. (Please note that this method does not fulfill part of the Ph.D. language requirement. Methods b and c do.)
- Completion of French 302 or German 332 at the University of Tennessee with a grade of B or better.
- Passing the regular Ph.D. foreign language examination as administered at the University of Tennessee.
- A final examination. A candidate presenting a thesis or creative project must pass a ninety-minute oral examination, focusing in part on the thesis, but consisting chiefly of questions covering the general history and interpretation of English and American literature, not merely the courses he or she has taken. A reading list of primary works designed to help M.A. students pursuing the Concentration in Writing prepare for these questions is available in the Office of the Director of Graduate Studies in English. A candidate may reduce the reading list by one-fifth but may not eliminate any one author or more than one entry from any one author. At least one hour of the oral examination should focus exclusively upon the literature outlined in the revised reading list.
There is no residency requirement for the M.A. degree, but students should attempt to pursue a full-time program whenever possible. We offer only a few courses in the summer, making it very unlikely that a candidate could complete a degree only in the summers.