MA/PhD Requirements

1. 10 graduate courses in 5 semesters:
   • 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
2. Second Language Requirement
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. Courses counted toward a completed degree are not eligible for transfer.
4. While in the pre-doctoral MA program at UMass, students may also take 2 courses in departments outside of English. 
5. In order to proceed into the Doctoral Program, students will be expected to:
   • Achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the course work for the MA degree. 
   • Participate in an Advisory Session with four faculty members. 
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 with input from the student.
   • The student will prepare a 5-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 their intellectual development. This statement, together with 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.

1. 6 graduate courses in 3 semesters:
   • 1 course in theory to be chosen by the student
   • 5 elective courses
2. Second Language Requirement
3. Doctoral Examination (6 credits): A two-hour oral examination, to be taken in the fourth semester of the PhD 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 with input from the student. 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 or an exploration of a certain critical, theoretical, or methodological approach. 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. The two areas should be distinct, and yet capable of speaking to one another in intellectually productive ways.
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 three weeks prior to the examination.

See course requirements for the American Studies concentration.
See course requirements for the Composition and Rhetoric concentration.

Work across languages is a significant component of research in the Humanities, though different areas of research require different forms of proficiency. Conversations around research across languages will be introduced during the graduate student orientation by the Graduate Program Director and/or in the fall practicum ”Introduction to English Graduate Studies” (698G) required of all first-year students in the MA/PhD and PhD tracks.

In their first semester at UMass, students will consult with their faculty mentors about which languages (if any) would be beneficial to their research trajectory, and together they will develop a plan of study that aligns with the student’s timeline in the graduate program. This plan may include the acquisition of a new language or historical language; strengthening current language proficiencies; study of a coding language or means of data analysis; or work in translation. If the faculty and student determine that work across languages is not necessary to a student’s proposed research area, the student will not be obligated to fulfill a requirement that would divert them from their studies.