Graduate Studies In English
The Master of Arts in English at Cal Poly
Students in the Master of Arts in English explore and research texts and their contexts, in intimate cohorts and with award-winning, nationally- and internationally-recognized faculty. Designed to provide a comprehensive experience of the field of English Studies, the M.A. offers courses in American, British, and World Anglophone literatures; literatures in translation; composition and rhetoric; technical and professional writing; linguistics; and literary theory and criticism. Students in their second year have the opportunity to teach first-year writing courses, and all students complete a thesis as their culminating experience.
Cal Poly also offers the only Blended B.A. + M.A. Program in English in the CSU, allowing highly qualified students to complete both degrees in five years. Students interested in the Blended Program can learn more at this link.
Program Learning Objectives
- Understand how British and American literary traditions developed, becoming familiar with significant writers, their works, and the connections between them.
- Understand the structure of language and its change over time and across social situations and groups.
- Understand the movements and traditions of Composition and Rhetoric Studies.
- Be able to think creatively and critically and to write effectively within all these areas of English Studies.
- Know how to conduct original research and integrate criticism (secondary sources) into your own analyses.
- Be prepared for lifelong learning.
- Be ready and able to pursue a wide range of personal and professional goals or to undertake further graduate studies.
Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to emphasize the breadth, diversity, and interdisciplinarity of the field of English Studies. Students in the program move through coursework that involves them in the study of literary and cultural texts, literary criticism and theory, composition and rhetoric, theories and practices of writing pedagogy, professional and technical communication, and the digital humanities. Moreover, they gain an intimate working knowledge of where our discipline is in the contemporary moment – of the heterogeneous objects, methods, frameworks, questions, and debates that comprise its present horizon of concerns.
English M.A. students complete 32 units of coursework, typically across two years (four semesters): 7 four-unit seminars, and a four-unit thesis.
Required: 12 units of "Foundational" Coursework
| COURSE NUMBER | COURSE TITLE |
|---|---|
| ENGL 5501 | Introduction to English Studies |
| ENGL 5502 |
Introduction to Criticism and Theory |
| ENGL 5504 | Introduction to Technical and Professional Communicaiton |
| ENGL 5505 | Introduction to Composition Theory |
Electives: 16 units (at least 4 of these units must be literature coursework)
| COURSE CODE | COURSE TITLE |
|---|---|
| ENGL 5506 | Pedagogical Approaches to Composition |
| ENGL 5511 | U.S. American Literature |
| ENGL 5512 | British Literature |
| ENGL 5513 | Global Anglophone Literature or Literatures in Translation |
| ENGL 5514 | Film and Media Studies |
| ENGL 5516 | Cultural Studies |
| ENGL 5519 |
Rhetoric and Writing |
| ENGL 5520 | Topics in Criticism and Theory |
| ENGL 5521 |
Topics in Technical Communication |
| ENGL 5523 | Topics in Literature |
| ENGL 5524 | Topics in Film and Media Studies |
| ENGL 5525 | Topics in Cultural Studies |
| ENGL 5570 | Special Advanced Topics |
| ENGL 5599 | Thesis |
The English M.A. Graduate Teaching Associate Program
Students completing a graduate degree in English are encouraged to apply for a position as a Graduate Teaching Associate. Graduate TAs teach one section of ENGL 134: Writing and Rhetoric per term during their second year in the program. Learn more about eligibility requirements and the application process for the Graduate Teaching Associates Program.