M.A. Curriculum
Students completing the M.A. in English at Cal Poly will take twelve courses, including nine required courses (36 units) and three electives (12 units). Though the graduate program does not accept transfer credits and offers no graduate courses in the summer, those students who plan their program of study carefully can complete their coursework, meet the foreign language requirement, and pass the M.A. exam in nine quarters.
Required Courses (9 courses)
- ENGL 501, Techniques of Literary Research (4 units)
- ENGL 502-A, Seminar in Historical Critical Analysis & Literary Criticism (4 units)
- ENGL 502-B, Seminar in Contemporary Critical Analysis & Literary Criticism (4 units)
- ENGL 503, Graduate Introduction to Linguistics (4 units)
- ENGL 505, Seminar in Composition Theory (4 units)
- ENGL 511, Seminar in American Literary Periods: variable content course (4 units)
- ENGL 511, Seminar in American Literary Periods: variable content course (4 units)
- ENGL 512, Seminar in British Literary Periods: variable content course (4 units)
- ENGL 512, Seminar in British Literary Periods: variable content course (4 units)
- beginning with the grad cohort of fall '11, students must take one Engl 511, one Engl 512, and two additional 500-level literature courses of their choice (any mix of 511, 512, and 513 courses); the program will no longer mandate two 511 and two 512 courses.
Elective Courses (3 courses)
Given the comprehensive nature of the M.A. reading list, the most common elective courses chosen by students are additional ENGL 511 and ENGL 512 courses. ENGL 506, Pedagogical Approaches to Composition, is another popular choice since all students wishing to teach composition in the first quarter of their second academic year must take it concurrently.
Other possibilities for elective coursework include:
- 400-level linguistics courses (495, 497, 498) required for the TESL certificate
- ENGL 424, an education course required for the Single-Subject Credential (this should only be taken towards the end of a student's M.A. coursework calendar)
- 400-level creative writing workshops (if you have taken an introductory creative writing course as an undergraduate)
Up to two 400-level English literature courses may count as electives on your Formal Study Plan (link opens in new window), but only with advance permission from the Graduate Director (link opens in new window) and only during your second academic year. Despite the fact that graduate students register before undergraduates, you should only enroll for 400-level courses after undergraduates have an opportunity to register as every English major needs five 400-level courses to graduate. You should also keep in mind that 400-level elective requests are not usually approved for a given quarter unless a student will be enrolled in two 500-level graduate seminars simultaneously. Be sure to contact the Graduate Director before signing up for such courses.