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Master's in English

As an English master's student, you will be able to develop expertise in a variety of areas, including literature, literary theory and criticism, screen studies, rhetoric and writing studies, and linguistics. In consultation with your advisory committee, you will devise an individualized curriculum that reflects your own intellectual interests and prepares you to enter a Ph.D. program, teach at the college level or meet other professional goals.

Curriculum

  • Thesis: six credit hours
  • Qualifying exam
  • Second language requirement

Professional Writing:

  • Thesis: six credit hours
  • Non-thesis: four credit hours
  • Professional writing core courses: 18 credit hours
  • Electives in composition, linguistics, TESOL and professional writing: six or 12 credit hours

TESOL:

  • Thesis: six credit hours
  • Non-thesis: one credit hour
  • TESOL and linguistics core courses: 18 credit hours
  • Electives in language, linguistics, teaching methodology and cultural studies: 6 or 15 credit hours

Learn more about our program requirements

 
 

ACCESSTO INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTERS AND INSTITUTES

is available to students, including: American Indian Studies, American Studies, Africana Studies, Oklahoma Studies, Poets & Writers at OSU-Tulsa, Humanities, and Gender and Women's Studies.

Research and Faculty

The English department is formed by nationally and internationally recognized faculty and our graduate students regularly publish and present scholarly and creative works in journals and at conferences across the country and around the world. The program is further distinguished by the fact that our faculty edit field-leading journals with the assistance of advanced graduate students. These journals include: Milton Quarterly, American Indian Quarterly, Journal of Linguistic Geography and The Cimarron Review amongst others.

 

Admissions Requirements

  • Transcripts
  • B.A. or B.S. appropriate to intended graduate specialization from accredited institution of higher learning (minimum 3.0 GPA)
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Written statement outlining proposed area of study, reasons for undertaking graduate study in this area, relevant work experience and future career plans (approximately 250 words)
  • Writing sample (7- to 15-page paper recently written for upper-level seminar or English course in appropriate area of study)
  • Professional writing applicants may submit portfolio of work-related documents instead
Professional writing applicants must also:
      • Have an undergraduate degree in English or related field, with at least 24 credit hours in English beyond first-year composition
      • Demonstrate a background in some technical area through work experience and/or coursework

TESOL applicants must also: 

  • Have six credit hours of coursework in a language other than English with grades of “B” or better
  • Applicants who do not meet this requirement must complete two semesters of language work, receiving grades of “B” or better, prior to taking the qualifying exams. Non-native speakers of English are exempt from this requirement.
  • Teacher Certification Disclaimer: The certificate in TESOL does not carry with it certification for public school employment. Students seeking such certification must meet special state and university requirements.

Test Scores:

  • GRE not required
  • International applicants who aren't native English speakers must submit one of the following: 
    • TOEFL iBT minimum scores of 26 for reading, 26 for writing, and 100 for total
    • IELTS minimum scores of 7.0 on reading, writing, and total

* Please note that the Department of English's requirements for demonstration of English language proficiency are more stringent than those of the Graduate College.

* The Department of English requires standardized Academic English proficiency test scores for all graduate program applicants who are non-native speakers of English, regardless of whether they have received previous degrees from U.S. institutions or any other English-speaking country’s institutions.

 

Application Deadlines:

  • January 1 (Priority for fall admission)
  • March 1 (fall admission)
  • October 15 (spring admission)

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Cost & Assistance

The Department of English employs a large number of graduate teaching assistants each year. They instruct their own courses, work in the OSU Writing Center, and receive mentoring and pedagogical training. Click here for more information. Assistantships and tuition waivers are available to the majority of our graduate students. Travel funding opportunities are available on a competitive basis to support conference presentations and archival research. Scholarships are also available to recognize outstanding work.

 

Applications received prior to the fall admission priority placement deadline of Jan. 1 are given first consideration for assistantships and financial incentives. Students admitted in spring are typically not eligible for departmental funding, including assistantships, until the following fall semester.

 

Assistantships and Scholarships 

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