Degree Track Options

British and American Literature

• Concentration in this track is on the study of British and American literature; a student may emphasize any time period in either national literature and will work with graduate faculty who are experts in that period.

Children's Literature

• Concentration in this track is on the study of children’s and young adult literature; a student may emphasize a particular period or region, such as nineteenth-century American literature, or a particular genre, such as picture books. Students will work with faculty who have expertise in the area, or in a field that complements the student’s focus.

Creative Writing and Literature

• Concentration in this track is on the student’s creative work in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or drama; the student will work closely with graduate faculty well-published in the genre the student chooses to emphasize. The department’s visiting writers program brings several writers of national stature to campus each year. In addition, opportunities for editorial experience are open to graduate students in this track.

Cultural Studies and Literature

• Concentration in this track is on training in Marxist, feminist, poststructuralist, and psychoanalytic theory. A student may complement the study of literature with the study of politics, sociology, political economy, popular and mass culture, film, and other art forms.

Composition, Rhetoric and Literature

• Concentration in this track is on composition and rhetorical theory. Like the other M.A. tracks, this one can prepare students for Ph.D. work, for teaching in community colleges, and for a career in technical writing.