ENG-CW - English, Creative Writing Concentration, M.A.

Departmental Overview

The Master of Arts degree program in the Department of English prepares graduates for success in any further graduate and professional education which might require superior analytical and communication skills. It prepares them for Ph.D. programs in English by increasing their knowledge of literary history and improving their skills in writing, literary analysis, and research. Graduates can become effective high-school or college-level teachers by improving their knowledge of writing pedagogy and theory. They will also be prepared for careers outside the academic world wherever superior analytical and communication skills and knowledge of literary and cultural traditions are essential.

Concentrations

Literature: This concentration is designed for graduate students wishing to further develop their abilities as literary scholars and critics, in preparation for graduate school and/or careers requiring high-level interpretive and written communication skills.

Creative Writing: This concentration is a great option for graduate students wishing to develop their abilities as creative writers in poetry, fiction, and/or essay/memoir. Graduates in this degree concentration will develop exceptional creative and communication skills, applicable to a variety of career uses, as well as for artistic development.

Professional and Technical Communication: This concentration was created for graduate students who are preparing for careers within the field of Professional and Technical Communication. Students will have opportunities to work with other disciplines (such as Engineering, Business, Nursing, and Law), both on campus and off campus, that require facility with technical writing and effective communication skills in business environments. Additionally, this concentration provides opportunities for students with various backgrounds who are seeking advanced skills in grant writing, technical writing, or other advanced Professional and Technical Communication proficiencys.

BA/MA Fast Track - English

The Fast Track program is designed to enable undergraduates to accumulate up to six (6) credit hours of graduate coursework, to satisfy both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, while still pursuing their undergraduate degree. The coursework would enable an efficient graduate program transition with the potential for accelerated completion. The courses must be taken at Tennessee Tech University. (Students who reach the number of credits required for their undergraduate degrees can also take additional courses for graduate credit before graduation, thus potentially accelerating their M.A. program even more.)

The minimum admission requirements for participating in the English Fast Track Program are:

• Enrollment as a TTU undergraduate English major with at least 90 hours of completed courses within their program of study;
• Completion of ENGL 3000;
• Overall GPA of 3.25 or better; GPA in 3000-level and above English coursework of 3.5 or better;
• Recommendation from the students undergraduate advisor;
• Course approval from course professor and graduate faculty advisor;
• In addition to the requirements for admission to the Fast Track BA/MA program, all requirements for admission to the graduate program must also be met upon graduation. Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the graduate program.

Departmental Admission Requirements

• All applicants submit a statement of purpose. The statement of purpose should be no longer than two pages and include the following information:
  • Description of the skills and qualities the candidate brings to the program
  • Candidates motivation for obtaining an MA in English
  • Candidates long-term goals in seeking an MA in English and how the MA in English contributes to the achievement of those goals
• If the applicant is applying for a Teaching Assistantship, the candidate should us this statement to address the candidates teaching interests and how the teaching assistantship contributes to the applicants overall goals.

Evaluation Criteria

The Graduate Committee will evaluate each application using the following criteria:

The Graduate Committee shall admit to the program those students whose applications (based on the Evaluation Criteria above) either:

• earn a minimum of 10 points each in the Transcript,Writing Sample, and statement of purpose
• OR have a total score of 35 points or higher regardless of their distribution.

For full consideration, applicants for fall admission must submit all application materials by May 1 and applicants for spring admission must submit all materials by November 1. We encourage early application: graduate teaching assistantships are limited in number and will be awarded on a competitive basis.

Departmental Degree Requirements by Concentration

The Master of Arts degree program in English has both thesis (30 credit hours) and non-thesis (33 credit hours) options. Details about the non-thesis requirements are listed with each concentration below.

All thesis-option students, regardless of concentration, are required to take 6 credit hours of ENGL 6990 and complete all thesis requirements, in addition to the specific course requirements for their respective concentrations. An oral defense is required for all concentrations, and thesis students in the Creative Writing or Professional and Technical Communication concentrations must also complete a written comprehensive exam.