English Department | Sam Houston State University

The English Master's Program

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The English MA Program at Sam Houston State University offers unique opportunities for graduate study in traditional literary areas, creative and professional writing, critical theory, and composition and rhetoric. With some seventy students in various stages of their degrees, the program is just large enough for intellectual and creative diversity, just small enough for an intimacy between faculty and students that one does not often find at larger research institutions.

The Department of English features an accomplished faculty with expertise and professional recognition in areas ranging from literary fields and creative writing to linguistics, women’s literature, critical theory, and cultural studies. They are scholars, rhetoricians, poets, novelists, and short fictionists—all of them active members of the larger academic community and seasoned teachers devoted to the success of their graduate students.

In training its students both academically and professionally, the English MA Program offers opportunities for them to participate in scholarly and creative writing colloquia; to gain experience working with a university press that publishes books of poetry and fiction, as well as two journals; and to teach college writing courses. Students who earn Master’s degrees at the University find themselves admirably well-prepared for further graduate study, junior college teaching, and enriched secondary teaching.

The Department provides assistantships and scholarships for outstanding graduate applicants. And in order to provide greater access for commuting students, we offer courses on the main campus in Huntsville and at The University Center in The Woodlands. To accommodate students who teach full time or are otherwise employed during the day, most English graduate classes meet from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. during the fall and spring terms; classes meet in the mornings and early afternoons during the two summer terms.

For further information, contact Dr. Paul Child, Director of Graduate Studies in English, by telephone (936-294-1412) or e-mail (GraduateEnglish@shsu.edu or eng_pwc@shsu.edu).

To download the complete Graduate Handbook for 2007-2008 as a .pdf file, click the link.

MA Plans and Options

MA Degree Plans

The Creative Writing Emphasis

From Matriculation to Graduation

Admissions

Steps in the English Graduate Program

Declaration of Major

Writing the English Master’s Thesis

The Written Comprehensive Examination

The Oral Examination

Graduation

Requirements and Standards