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M.A. / Ph.D. Programs
Overview
The Graduate Program offers both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English and American Literature. While we offer a broad range of graduate-level courses in these fields, we encourage interdisciplinary approaches informed by cultural studies and contemporary critical theory. On this page, you'll find Admissions Information, a list of M.A. / Ph.D. student Requirements, and a discussion of the Concentrations available to M.A. / Ph.D. students.
Jenny S. Spencer
Director
Bartlett 452-B; 413.545.5495
jspencer@english.umass.edu
Admissions Information
Important Note: Applicants to the M.A.-Ph.D. program interested in receiving financial support through a Teaching Associateship should go to the Writing Program's website and download an application from it. You need not submit letters of recommendation with that application if you have already included letters of recommendation in your application to the Graduate Program.
Because we are not able to offer them Teaching Associateships, applicants to the terminal M.A. program (see below) need not apply to the Writing Program. The completed application should be sent to:
Wanda Bak
Graduate Program
Department of English, Bartlett Hall
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
What are the most important elements of my application & w here do I send my application materials?
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Important Elements:
We place great weight on your personal statement. This statement is your opportunity to get the committee interested in you, in your potential as a professional and as a human being.
We require a writing sample which demonstrates your ability to do critical work in literature. It should be between five and no more than twenty pages long.
Excellent recommendations by your professors are essential. They should be extensive and detailed, not simply flat statements that you are a "good student." Nearly all of our applicants are "good students." Many of the successful letters of recommendation in our application files are about a single-spaced page long. You may want to provide your recommenders with copies of your college or university transcripts, of the papers you wrote for their course(s), and a brief resume of your accomplishments, both academic and professional.
We look carefully at your course preparation and GPA. Nearly all of the students we accept have an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or better. Students entering with a Masters degree are expected to have attained a high GPA (3.75 or better) for their graduate work.
Where to send all supporting application materials:
UMass Graduate Admissions
530 Goodell Building
140 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9333
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What about the GREs? And do I have to take the subject test?
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The Graduate School
requires that MA/Ph.D and Ph.D applicants take the GRE general test. Students applying for the terminal Master's degree, need not
take the GRE's. The English
Department requires in addition that all students--except for those
applying in the American Studies concentration--also take the subject
test. Our department does not require a minimum score on the GRE. Most
of the students we accept into our program have earned GRE scores above
600 (verbal) and 500 (English subject test). However we do not consider
these numbers a "minimum" because many other wise excellent students
fare poorly on standardized tests. Conversely, extremely high GRE scores
do not guarantee admission.
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If I am an international student, do I have to take the TOEFL?
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Yes. For international applicants, a TOEFL score of 550 or better is required by the Graduate
School for admission to any graduate program.
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How selective is your program?
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Admission to the
UMASS English graduate program is highly competitive. We usually have
somewhere between 200 and 400 applicants 15 available
spots per year. We reach this figure through a preliminary winnowing
process that gives us a group of several dozen students we would love
to accept. From that group of superb students we are then forced to
pick the small number we can afford to accept. Every April we find ourselves
having to explain to 20 or 30 disappointed applicants that they
were not turned down on the basis of any perceived weakness. One of
the grounds on which we make our final choices is the need to balance
areas of student interest with our own faculty resources.
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What are the costs of your program?
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The costs of the program as of 2009-2010 are:
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Tuition:
$414 per credit for out-of-state students
$165 per credit for New England Regional student
$110 per credit for in-state students
Fees:
9 or more credits: $1,788 per semester
5-8 credits: $1,330 per semester
1-4 credits: $572 per semester
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What are your program's strongest areas of literary study?
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Our program has special
strengths in Renaissance literature and culture, American literature
and American Studies, multi-ethnic and postcolonial literatures, Rhetoric
and Composition, and critical theory.
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How do most of your students support themselves during graduate
school?
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Teaching Assistantships are the principal source of support for English graduate students. TAs are awarded by the Writing Program to teach composition, and by the English Department primarily to teach course sections in large general education classes and a handful of smaller literature classes. Students entering the program, and students in the program who have not yet taught a Writing Program course, are required to apply directly to the Writing Program for an assistantship. Assistantships, which are limited, get awarded according to the following criteria: 1) the student is entering the program with a guarantee of support, 2) the student shows progress toward the degree, 3) the student has taught successfully in the past. Most students teach in the Writing Program for at least two years of their guaranteed support and are guaranteed at least one literature course before graduating. Students must re-apply for assistantships each year. Students in the MA-only program are not eligible for assistantships in the department.
Please Note:
A full TA carries a teaching load of one course each semester, pays
$14,516, and comes with a tuition and fee waiver.
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What's the deadline for my application and where should I send it?
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December 15. Send
it to: Graduate Admissions Office, 530 Goodell Building, UMass-Amherst,
140 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003.
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How do I get an application?
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For application forms
and/or a Graduate School Bulletin, contact the Graduate Admissions Office
at 530 Goodell Building, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003.
Their telephone number is 413.545.0721. You may also apply online to the UMass Graduate School
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What is the application fee?
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The fee is $50 for U.S.
citizens and permanent residents, $65 for international students.
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How do I contact the English department graduate program?
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For more information,
contact: Graduate Studies in English, Bartlett Hall, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA 01003. Our telephone number is (413) 545-0979; fax (413)
545-3880. You may also contact Wanda Bak, our graduate administrator,
at wbak@english.umass.edu.
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Requirements
Terminal Masters Degree (30 credits):
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1. 10 graduate courses or 8 courses (24 credits) and a Master's Thesis (6 credits).
2. Foreign Language requirement (see below).
3. Students may transfer credit for 2 graduate-level English courses taken at other schools or
at UMASS before their formal admission to the Graduate English Program.
4. While in the MA program at UMASS, students may also take two courses in departments outside of English.
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Pre-Doctoral Masters Degree (30 credits):
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1. 10 graduate courses in 5 semesters:
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(1 course) Theorizing the Discipline (Eng 791).
2 courses in English or American literature pre-1800.
2 courses in English or American literature pre-1900.
5 elective courses.
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2. Foreign Language requirement (see below).
3. Students may transfer credit for 2 graduate-level English courses taken at other schools or
at UMASS before their formal admission to the Graduate English Program.
4. While in the pre-doctoral MA program at UMASS, students may also take two courses in departments
outside of English.
5. In order to proceed into the Doctoral Program, students will be expected to:
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A. Achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the course work for the MA degree.
B. Participate in an Advisory Session with four faculty members.
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6. The advisory session
will review the candidate's preparation and projected course of study,
timetable, and goals. This session will be conducted by a committee
consisting of either the Director or one of the Associate Directors
of Graduate Studies, and three other faculty to be chosen by the Graduate
Program Director. The student will prepare a five-page statement that
will constitute a narrative synthesis of what the student has accomplished
thus far, and the kinds of issues and questions that arise at this point
in her/his intellectual development. This statement, together of one
or two papers, will be submitted to the committee two weeks in advance
of the session.
The committee will
review these materials, including the student's transcripts and faculty
comments on course work, which together will constitute a dossier roughly
comparable to admissions applications for students proposing to enter
the program with the MA. The committee's role is advisory: to help students
refine their understanding of prior study and possible future research,
and to provide suggestions about courses to take, books to read, people
with whom to work.
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Ph.D. (24 credits plus 18-credit dissertation)
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1. 6 graduate courses in 3 semesters:
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1 course in theory to be chosen by the student.
5 elective courses.
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2. Second foreign language at intermediate level, or advanced proficiency in first language.
3. Doctoral Examination (6 credits)
A two-hour oral examination,
to be taken in the fourth semester of the Ph.D. program and to be administered
by a committee of four faculty: one the student's chosen advisor for
a First or Major Research Area, one the student's chosen advisor for
a Second Area, and two appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies.
In advance of the examination, the student will present work in writing
for each area. The scope and substance of this work will vary somewhat,
depending on the degree to which the student has already defined a major
area for the dissertation, one that will therefore be more prominent
than the second area, which might be (for example) a secondary field
of research and/or teaching. As a rough guide, the student should submit
a combined maximum of 30 written pages defining the two areas,
and a pair of bibliographies for the areas consisting of a minimum
of 60 works.
The First Area should
be seen as defining an area of research that the student hopes will
lead to a dissertation. The work submitted for the exam will be a carefully written
essay with an attached reading list. The essay will not be a formal
dissertation proposal but will describe as searchingly as possible a
field of interest, define the important issues, take stands, and consider
possible methodologies. The student will be expected to defend and elaborate
on the essay's argument and to speak knowledgeably about the reading
list, especially as its items bear on the argument.
The work submitted
for the Second Area will be an essay--also with a reading list--defining
this second area of interest and describing current issues in the field.
It may also include, where appropriate, a syllabus for an advanced undergraduate
course in this area, prefaced by a course description of no more than
one page. In this case, the syllabus should be a secondary document
during the examining process: it should seem to arise naturally from
the interest described in the essay, and might be conceived as an answer
to a hiring committee's question, "And how would you hope to make use
of this research in teaching for us?" Accordingly, the syllabus should
be "teachable"--a course that might be a legitimate undergraduate draw
wither at UMASS Amherst or at some other institution the student has
in mind.
4. Appointment of
a Dissertation Committee by the Graduate Dean
A committee of three
faculty members is chosen by the student in consultation with faculty
advisors and the Director of Graduate Studies. At least two members,
one of whom must chair the committee, must be from the English department.
The third member must be a UMASS Graduate Faculty member from another
department.
5. Dissertation Prospectus
A document which
gives a preliminary description of the work to be undertaken in the
dissertation. It must be approved and signed by all committee members
and the Graduate Director at least 7 months before the dissertation
defense.
6. Dissertation Defense
During the defense
students field questions about their work and its methodology. The Defense
must be scheduled with the Graduate Program Administrator at least 3
weeks prior to the examination so it can be published in The Campus
Chronicle.
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Second Language Requirement
A student must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in one language other than English for the M.A., the M.A./Ph.D., or the Ph.D. program.
Intermediate proficiency should enable a student to read a language with the aid of a dictionary and use it to conduct research. Plans to
complete the language requirement should be approved in advance with the Graduate Program Director. Students can demonstrate intermediate
proficiency in any a number of ways:
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1. A student who has completed substantial recent course work (e.g., 6 undergraduate semesters) may qualify as demonstrating intermediate
second language proficiency, as may the satisfaction of a language requirement for an M.A. earned at another university.
2. A student who is a native speaker of a language other than English automatically qualifies in his or her native tongue.
3. Students may demonstrate intermediate proficiency by participating in a pre-approved overseas language study, or an accelerated summer
language program. Note: No funding is available for students seeking to fulfill their language requirement through summer courses.
4. Students may arrange to be examined by a professor in the English department or in one of the language departments. In each case, the
professor must attest to the student's level of proficiency. These exams typically consist of either:
* a one-hour translation with the aid of a dictionary of a text chosen by the examiner OR
* a longer project in which the student works under the direction of a professor to produce a relatively polished translation of a foreign text. (The translation length would determined by the level of difficulty of the text.)
* a graduate-level seminar in which most of the readings are in the original.
5. Students may arrange to take a standardized placement examination in a second language that qualifies them to begin work at an advanced level. |
In choosing among possible languages at this stage in one's scholarly career, a student should consider several factors. One's intended area
of specialization may make a specific language essential or highly desirable. Early Modern Literature specialists would be well advised to
learn Latin, for example, and Spanish is increasingly necessary for scholars of American Studies. One will normally choose to study the
language of a literature one wants to read in the original, or of a country in which one hopes to spend time. Americanists in particular can
expect to have opportunities to lecture abroad in their field.
Concentrations
We have strong faculty interests across a spectrum of interrelated fields, including African American literature, post-coloniality, Native American studies, and 20th-century popular culture. Graduate students also have the option of pursuing interdisciplinary work through the American Studies concentration. In addition, our Composition and Rhetoric Program provides cutting-edge opportunities in that area, while the University of Massachusetts Renaissance Center gives us a special strength in early modern studies. Underlying our activity in all these fields is a strong programmatic commitment to practical preparation for a profession in transition.
American Studies
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American Studies
is an interdisciplinary study of cultures in the United States. Required
America Studies seminars in the concentration are regularly supplemented
by interdisciplinary courses such as "Representations of Race," "Photography
and American Culture," "The Ragtime Era" and "African American High
Culture." In addition to the several American literature and culture
faculty who work with American Studies graduate students, affiliate
faculty frequently come from history, anthropology, communications,
theater, journalism, legal studies, psychology, art history, and music.
Also available to graduate students in American Studies is the Five
College Center for Crossroads in the Study of the America, and, for
those interested in arts and culture, Historic Deerfield and the Northampton
Historical Society. For more information about the American Studies
concentration, please consult the American Studies Home Page.
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Composition and Rhetoric Program
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At the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, graduate students in English wanting to specialize
in Composition Studies have available to them a rich array of resources:
a distinguished faculty, a nationally-known first-year writing program,
a well-established writing across the curriculum program, and a computer
equipped writing facility. Students can take courses in composition
theory, rhetorical theory, writing and emerging technologies, voice
in writing, research methods, and literary studies. These courses complement
the Department's extensive graduate offerings in literary and cultural
studies, creative writing, and American Studies. For more information
about the concentration in Composition and Rhetoric, please visit the Composition and Rhetoric Home Page.
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University of Massachusetts Renaissance Center
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Each term the Massachusetts
Center for Renaissance Studies (Arthur Kinney, director), housed in
the Daiken Estate at the University of Massachusetts, offers interdisciplinary
courses involving the age of Shakespeare; recent offerings have included
English/Theater, "Re-inventing Shakespeare", English/History, "Court
and Culture in England, 1590-1625"; English/Art History, "Text and Voice
in Renaissance Art"; English/Hispanic Studies, "The Golden Age." In
addition, the Center invites graduate students to participate in local
and regional colloquia and international conferences held on campus;
edit and work on two book series, the journal English Literary
Renaissance and the forthcoming Garland Encyclopedia of
Tutor England; and use the Center's special collection of Renaissance
materials (15,000 rare books and supplemental materials). All of these
actives complement the course offerings in Renaissance English literature
offered by the Renaissance faculty in the English department and elsewhere
in the University. For information about the Massachusetts Center for
Renaissance Studies, please consult the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies Home Page.
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