MA PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND OPTIONAL CONCENTRATIONS

Students pursuing the MA in English should be advised in their selection of courses each semester in order to assure progress toward the degree. For an advising appointment, please contact Erin Kiley at ekiley1@xuanyuzg.com or 561-297-3830. Graduate Advising is located in CU 306.

The department offers two optional concentrations: Science Fiction and Fantasy or Rhetoric and Composition. We are one of the only programs in the world offering graduate-level coursework in SFF. This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of SFF at FAU! Recent course offerings have included Theorizing the Fantastic, Mythologies in Latinx SFF, Afrofuturism: Race to the Future, Cyborg Rhetorics, Artificial Intelligence in Literature and Film, Cyborg and Posthuman Rhetorics, Utopia/Dystopia, and Superheroes. SFF graduate students in the program regularly present and publish their research.

Students in our Rhetoric and Composition concentration gain theoretical background and situate their own practices of writing and approaches to teaching within current discussions in composition studies. Students have opportunities to develop portfolio materials that demonstrate their experience in professional and technical writing. Recent course offerings have included Composition Theory and Methodology, Rhetoric of Race in Social Discourse, Rhetorics of the Body, Cyborg and Posthuman Rhetoric, and Professional Writing: Pedagogy and Practice.

Core Courses and Requirements

MA students take two core courses (6 credits):

  1. Research Methods for Advanced Literary Study (ENG 6009)
  2. Literary Criticism I (ENG 5018)  OR  Literary Criticism II (ENG 5019)

MA students must also fulfill three historical coverage requirements:

  1. one Medieval and/or Early Modern (pre-1700) course
  2. one 18th and/or 19th century (1700-1900) course
  3. one 20th and/or 21st century (1900-present) course.

MA students must complete a thesis or a comprehensive exam (6 credits, taken over two semesters).

If the foreign language requirement (two semesters of college-level study in a language other than English) is not already met, it may be fulfilled by taking LIN 6107: History of the English Language, Readings for Research, or by a FLATS or CLEP exam demonstrating proficiency. 

No course with a grade below "B-" (2.67) will count toward the Master's degree, and students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 ("B") for graduation.