The Department has articulated the following goals and student learning outcomes for students in graduate programs:

Learning Objectives - Master of Arts

Stated Mission and Goals: The M.A. program provides advanced training in British and American literature and culture, and opportunities to pursue advanced work in other areas of English studies, including linguistics, TESOL, and composition. the M.A. provides students with training to enter any field where verbal and analytical ability is essential, especially teaching, as well as preparation for further graduate work in Ph.D. programs.

Student Learning Objectives

  • M.A. students will understand major literary traditions in British and U.S. cultures.
  • M.A. students will understand ways that literary works are shaped by and participate in broad cultural trends.
  • M.A. students will understand important theoretical approaches to the study of literature and culture.
  • M.A. students will analyze and synthesize on-going scholarly conversations in English studies and situate their arguments in relation to these conversations.
  • M.A. students will understand linguistic structures (i.e. language and/or rhetoric) and employ this understanding in their readings of texts and in their writing.