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Please explore this website and the page of Resources for New and Prospective Graduate Students.  I would be happy to talk with you about our program as you consider whether Cal Poly's M.A. in English is a good fit for your academic, personal and professional interests and goals.

Many questions about the M.A. program can be answered by visiting the pages of this website.  You will also find  information of interest (and a handy selection of Cal Poly links) on the page of Resources for New and Prospective Graduate Students. 

Please feel free to drop by my office (building 47, room 35G) with any questions you may have (or just for a chat).  I look forward to working with you, and I wish you all the best for your graduate studies at Cal Poly. 

• CLA Graduate Student Picnic, Saturday, May 17, 12:30-2:30 at Meadow Park (corner of Meadow and South Streets).  CLA graduate departments will provide pizza; please bring something to share -- salads, chips and dip, side dishes, drinks, cups and plates, etc. -- as well as your frisbees, volleyballs, footballs, etc.  Come meet some graduate students in other CLA departments and enjoy a fine spring day!  For more information, contact Grad. Student Representative Larrah Feliciano.
  
  
• Interested in continuing on to a Ph.D. program in either literature or Rhetoric and Composition?  Plan to attend an Informational Workshop for PhD-bound students at 8 PM on Tuesday, May 20, in 22-220.  This workshop is intended for students planning to apply for Ph.D. programs, whether next fall or at some future date.  Please plan to attend if you are interested in some practical guidance and advice from our recent PhDs on topics such as:


1) investigating doctoral programs;

2) deciding where to apply;

3) the GRE Subject test;

4) requesting letters of recommendation; 

5) effective self-presentation in the (extremely important) personal statement;

6) selecting and polishing an appropriate writing sample. 
 

• Your current and incoming graduate and T.A. reps are planning a Post-MA Exam celebration and spring potluck.  Keep your eye on this space for the details!

 
• Spring Commencement: University graduation ceremonies for colleges including Liberal Arts will take place at 10 AM on Saturday, June 14, 2008, in Mustang Stadium.  The mor intimate (and personal) English Department Ceremony will take place on the lawn behind the English Building immediately following the University Commencement ceremony.
    
• A hearty thank you to the faculty members who presented workshops this winter and spring in the "GRAD. TALKS WITH THE PROFS" series.  These workshops are an excellent way to put the pieces together as you prepare for the M.A. Comprehensive Exam -- especially if you would like to know more about the context for works on the M.A. Exam Reading List which you have read on your own.  Unless otherwise announced, talks take place at 8:10 PM in 22-220 (the English building).  Watch this space for announcements of next year's speakers . . . and thanks to all who spoke this time around!   

-- W 1/23:  PROF. BRAD CAMPBELL--modern American lit, incl. African-American lit.
-- M 1/28:  PROF. MARY ARMSTRONG--Victorians
-- M 2/11:  PROF. STEVEN MARX--Shakespeare
-- M 2/18: PROF. PATRICIA TROXEL--British and American drama
-- W 2/20:  PROF. KEVIN CLARK--modern American and British poets
-- M 2/25:  PROF. KATHRYN RUMMELL--18th c. British lit.
-- W 2/27:  PROF. DAVID KANN--Melville and Hawthorne
-- SUNDAY 4/13, 4 PM: PROF. BRENDA HELMBRECHT -- composition theory (at T.A. Rep. Marisol Thayre's house; see her email for details) 
-- M 4/14:  PROF. JOHN HAMPSEY--Romantics
-- T 4/22: PROF. DEBORA SCHWARTZ--Medieval

• The Spring, 2008 Comprehensive M.A. Exam will take place on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10, in 10-241.  Please plan to arrive 10 min. in advance of the scheduled exam time.  Bring a large-format Exam Book for each section of the exam you will be taking.  Because the exam is graded anonymously, please do NOT write your name on the exam book; you will be given an identifying number to write on your exam materials.   The approximate schedule for the exam follows: 

F 5/9: 
9:00-10:15 AM: British Literature (followed by 15 min. break) 
10:30-11:45 AM: American Literature (followed by 30 min. lunch) 
12:15-1:30 PM: Crossover Literature 
S 5/10: 
9:00-10:15 AM: Linguistics (followed by 15 min. break) 
10:30-11:45 AM: Composition (followed by 30 min. lunch) 
12:15-1:30 PM: "Emphasis" option (linguistics, composition or literature/close reading) 
  
• 4 PM on Wednesday, April 9 is the drop/add/audit deadline for spring quarter classes.  It is also your last chance to change a class from Graded to Credit/No Credit.  Please note that classes which are part of your 48-unit M.A. curriculum (i.e. which will be listed on your Formal Study Plan) or which you are taking as Conditional Coursework must be taken for a grade.  Additionally, please note that to receive credit in a class taken Credit/No Credit, a graduate student must earn a grade of B- or better.

 
• Students planning to take the Translation Exam in Spring, 2008 should fill out the appropriate paperwork located in the kiosk at the entrance of the English Department. This form must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator by the end of week two of the quarter, i.e., no later than Friday, April 11, 2008. Please submit this important paperwork to me in person or leave it in my mailbox in the main English office -- do NOT put it under my door or leave it tacked to my bulletin board. 

 
• Students planning to take the M.A. Exam in Spring, 2008 should fill out the appropriate paperwork located in the kiosk at the entrance of the English Department. This form must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator along with a copy of your Summary of Remaining Degree Requirements (generated by the Office of Academic Records after your Request for Graduation Evaluaion) by the end of week two of the quarter, i.e., no later than Friday, April 11, 2008. Please submit this important paperwork to me in person or leave it in my mailbox in the main English office -- do NOT put it under my door or leave it tacked to my bulletin board. 

 
• Students planning to take the M.A. Exam in Fall, 2008 who have not yet filed their Formal Study Plan and Advancement to Candidacy forms should see Dr. Schwartz ASAP! Copies of these forms should be appended to your Request for Graduation Evaluation, which should be submitted to the Office of Academic Records by the end of spring quarter at the latest -- or you will not have the required "Summary of Remaining Degree Requirements" (generated by the Office of Academic Records in response to your Request for Graduation Evaluation) in time to take the M.A. Exam next fall.  Also:  if you have previously filed your Formal Study Plan but there has been a change in your program of study, please see Dr. Schwartz ASAP to file an Amendment to Formal Study Plan. 

 
• Don't forget that FUNDING is again available to defray the expenses of Graduate Students presenting a paper at an academic conference.  For full details, see the announcement email sent out 1/8/2008.  If you have already presented a conference paper or will be presenting one this winter or spring, please let Dr. Schwartz know ASAP. 

 
• Registration for Fall Quarter, 2008 will likely begin on July 30 or 31 for first-quarter Cal Poly students and on July 31 or August 1 for continuing graduate students (specific dates have not yet been announced).   Once the dates have been set, you will be able to access your specific registration date and time on the Registration Rotation Chart. Registration reminders: 


1) The normal full-time load for a graduate student is 8 units of 500-level classes (plus as applicable a limited number of lower division classes, e.g. foreign language classes or coursework required for a certificate program). 

2) All first-year students (and any returning students who have not already done so) must register for ENGL 501 in the fall. 

3) The normal courseload for a first-quarter, full-time graduate student consists of ENGL 501, one graduate literature class (ENGL 511 OR ENGL 512), and as applicable ENGL 399 (Writing Lab. Tutor training, which should be taken by students interested in serving as TAs in their second year in the program) and/or foreign language classes needed to meet the Foreign Language Requirement. 

4) All first-quarter TAs must register for ENGL 506 in the fall.  This course is open only to persons who have been named 08-09 Teaching Associates.  New TAs are strongly urged to register for no more than 8 units during their first quarter of teaching.

5) Anyone who has not yet met the Foreign Language Requirement should register for appropriate foreign language classes (which tend to fill up quickly).

6) New graduate students should arrange an advisement meeting with Dr. Schwartz prior to registering. 

7) Students registering for conditional coursework must meet with Dr. Schwartz to discuss their options prior to registering.

8) Any 400-level classes which a student wishes to include as electives on his/her Formal Study Plan must be pre-approved by Dr. Schwartz.  NOTE: Because graduate students are limited to two 400-level electives, these classes are not typically taken during the first year in the program.

9) 500-level literature classes and any 400-level literature electives should be chosen to fill in gaps in your knowledge of the works and authors on the M.A. Exam Reading List.

• Registration for Summer Quarter, 2008 begins on T 5/13 for first-quarter Cal Poly students and on W 5/14 for continuing graduate students.  While no graduate classes are offered during the summer quarter, some of you may wish to register for undergraduate classes appropriate to your interests or programmatic needs (e.g. conditional coursework, foreign languages, or coursework you choose to take e.g. to fill in gaps in your knowledge of the works and authors on the M.A. Exam Reading List or to meet the requirements of a certificate program).  For your specific registration date and time, see the Registration Rotation Chart.
• Summer Quarter classes begin on Monday, June 23, 2008 (full-quarter and 5-Week Summer 1 classes) and on Monday, July 28 (for 5-Week Summer 2 classes).
• Registration for Fall Quarter, 2008 will likely begin on July 30 or 31 for first-quarter Cal Poly students and on July 31 or August 1 for continuing graduate students (specific dates have not yet been announced).  For your specific date and time, see the Registration Rotation Chart.  Prior to your registration date, please review the Registration Reminders listed under "For Your Information" at right and, as appropriate, schedule an advisement meeting with Dr. Schwartz during an office hour or by appointment.  Please note that a pre-registration advisement meeting is required of all new graduate students, of persons completing conditional coursework, and of anyone wishing to register for a 400-level elective. 
• Fall Quarter classes begin on Monday, September 22, 2008.
• The Fall, 2008 Comprehensive M.A. Exam will likely take place on Friday, November 7 and Saturday, Novement 8. 
• Winter Commencement ceremonies will take place on Saturday, December 13, 2008.