Admission to Graduate Study in English
Admissions Requirements
Graduate Study in English is essentially professional study. It is demanding and requires ability and commitment. For this reason, minimum admission standards for the M.A. in English are higher than those of the Graduate School. The average GPA of students admitted to the program is 3.33, with grades in English averaging 3.5.
Regular Admissions:
To be considered for regular admission to the various concentrations in the Master's program in English, candidates must present the following:
1. For Regular Admission to Literature and Composition/Rhetoric Programs:
- An overall GPA of 3.0 or better in undergraduate course work OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7, but with a 3.3 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree
- A satisfactory writing sample (a paper of at least five pages using secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)
-
An undergraduate major in English with a GPA of 3.5 or better in undergraduate course work in English
OR
15 semester hours or equivalent appropriate upper-division courses in literature, writing, language, and/or linguistics with a GPA in those courses of 3.5 or better. (In some cases, extensive experience in an appropriate subject area may satisfy part or all of this requirement.)
2. For Regular Admission to TESOL Program:
- An overall GPA of 3.0 or better in undergraduate course work OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7 but with a 3.3 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree
- A satisfactory writing sample (a paper of at least five pages using secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)
- A GPA of 3.2 in any undergraduate degree with strong evidence of excellence in language skills
Conditional Admissions:
To be considered for conditional admission to the various concentrations in the Master's program in English, candidates must present the following:
1. For Conditional Admission the Literature and Composition/Rhetoric Programs:
- An overall GPA of 2.7 or better in undergraduate course work OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.5, but with a 3.0 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree
- A satisfactory writing sample (a paper of at least five pages using secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)
- An undergraduate major in English with a GPA of 3.2 or better in undergraduate course work in English
OR
15 semester hours or equivalent appropriate upper-division courses in literature, writing, language, and/or linguistics with a GPA in those courses of 3.2 or better. (In some cases, extensive experience in an appropriate subject area may satisfy part or all of this requirement.)
2. For Conditional Admission to TESOL Program:
- An overall GPA of 2.7 or better in undergraduate course work OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.5 but with a 3.0 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree
- A satisfactory writing sample (a paper of at least five pages using secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)
- A GPA of 3.2 in any undergraduate degree with strong evidence of excellence in language skills
Additional Admission Requirements for nonnative speakers of English: In order to be considered for regular admission, applicants from abroad or applicants whose native language is not English must also present a score of 100 IBT/250 CBT/600 PBT or better on the TOEFL (Test of Englsih as a Foreign Language) or 7.5 or better on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). To be considered for conditional admission, such applicants must present a score of 80 IBT/213 CBT/550 PBT on the TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS. These applicants will also be asked to submit a sample of written English, and they may be interviewed by a representative of the department.
Upon petition of the student seeking admission, reasonable exceptions to these requirements may be made for sufficient cause.
Application forms are available at https://app.applyyourself.com/AYApplicantLogin/fl_ApplicantLogin.asp?id=wrightgrad.
The deadline for first consideration for admission is January 31. Applications will be accepted until July 1.