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.
To be considered for regular admission to the Master's program in English, candidates must present the following:
1. Department Requirements for Literature and Composition/Rhetoric Programs: An undergraduate major in English with a GPA of 3.2 or better in undergraduate course work in English.
OR20 quarter 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.>
Department Requirements for TESOL Program: A GPA of 3.2 in any undergraduate degree with strong evidence of excellence in language skills.
2. Regular Admission : 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 93 quarter hours (60 semester hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree.
Conditional Admission : Overall GPA of 2.7 or better in undergraduate coursework OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.5, but with 3.0 or better for the last 93 quarter hours (60 semester hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree.
3. Writing Sample : A paper using secondary sources (5 pages minimum) written on a topic in English or in a related field. This may be a paper previously handed in for an undergraduate class.
4. Nonnative speakers of English : 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 English as a Foreign Language) or, for conditional admission, 80/213/550. 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 from the Graduate School or from the Office of Admissions. Applications and supporting credentials must be received no later than one month before the beginning of the quarter in which the student wishes to begin graduate study.