English, M.A.

Faculty

Faculty

• Hugh Grady, Professor Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
• Richard A. Wertime, Professor Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Pradyumna S. Chauhan, Professor, Ph.D., Duke University
• Jo Ann Weiner, Associate Professor and Chair of the English Department, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Thomas H. Hemmeter, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University
• Elizabeth Vogel, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• James E. Casey, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Alabama
• Matthew Heitzman, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Boston College
• Jennifer G. Matisoff, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Lehigh University
• Joshua D. Isard, Assistant Professor and Program Director of the M.F.A. in Creative Writing, M.S., University of Edinburgh, M.A., University College London
• Tracey Levine, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Undergraduate Creative Writing Concentration, M.F.A., Syracuse University
• Daniel Schall, Instructor and Director of the University Writing Center, M.A., Arcadia University

About the Program

The Master of Arts in English affords students the flexibility to tailor their course of study to meet their individual wishes and professional goals. This highly versatile program offers courses in three areas of emphasis—Literary Studies, Cultural Studies, and Professional and Academic Writing.

The program enables students to pursue a variety of goals: prepare for or advance in a career in teaching; pursue an advanced degree in literary study; or work in the fields of publishing, editing, and technical or professional writing. There are no “tracks” in the program to which students are limited; the areas of emphasis are open to all students at all times throughout their studies. Each student meets with the Director of the Graduate Program to tailor an individualized program of coursework.

To enhance professional readiness, the student may undertake a Career Internship in English in any one of several fields related to the study of writing and literary study. Available any time from the student’s second semester on, the internship is a 3-credit experience conducted under the supervision of the program Director, the field supervisor, and an appropriate member of the English Department, where relevant.

Students are further encouraged to consider study abroad as a component of their program. They may take up to 9 credits of work in English and related fields at foreign institutions through Arcadia’s College of Global Studies or other venues for study abroad that the university offers. Short-term summer study led by current faculty is also available to graduate students in several foreign countries.  These options can be especially valuable for graduate students whose personal or professional circumstances prevent them from pursuing long-term study-abroad options.

Literary and Cultural Studies

This is the principal “area of emphasis” in Arcadia’s English M.A.program. The richness and variety of its offerings attest to the breadth of the faculty’s varied interests in literature and Cultural Studies, and can truly be said to be unusual in its scope. Students who aspire to go on for doctoral studies; current high-school and community college teachers; professionals from different backgrounds who hunger for the stimulation of literary study and serious critical thinking—these are among the individuals who come together in Arcadia’s graduate English classes.

The range of offerings encompass courses that cover sweeping historical epochs; courses that focus on a single author or on a cluster of such authors; courses that revolve around a literary theme, genre, or movement; courses that look at the literature of a given region, ethnic group, or cultural background.

In all of the courses in this area of emphasis, effective writing is central. Proud of its pioneering role in the nation’s Writing Across the Curriculum movement, Arcadia—and specifically the Master of Arts in English program—stresses the centrality of rigorous critical thinking, argumentation, and refined interpretive skills to the serious study of literature.

Professional Writing, Composition, & Rhetoric

This area of emphasis is valuable for those who are interested in the power of critical writing, communication, and new media. While this area has the least number of courses in this Master’s program, and does not feature studio courses in media training, the university offers a number of courses pertinent to the student’s interest: journalism; technical writing; writing and editing for magazines; language study, rhetorical writing, writing for radio and television; writing for the health industry, for the web and the new media, and grant writing for non-profits. Such courses as these enhance the student’s preparation for professional work. Students pursuing this area of emphasis are especially encouraged to undertake a Career Internship in English to fortify their credentials for when they enter the marketplace.

Visiting Writers

Beyond the classroom, students in the program have exciting opportunities to meet professional writers and connect with them personally by participating in workshops open only to Arcadia students. Writers appear here in programs such as, the “Writers Return to Campus” Series, the “Visiting Writers Series” and Department faculty host scholars and speakers throughout the academic year.

The “Writers Return to Campus” series invites back to campus former students of Arcadia who have achieved, or are achieving, notable literary success. Novelists, short-story writers, Children’s Fiction and Young Adult Literature writers, poets, playwrights, memoirists, creative-nonfiction writers, even former students who have become noted publishers or literary impresarios—all have been invited to conduct workshops for our students and to give readings of their works that are open to the public. Refreshments and books sales—and signings by the authors—regularly accompany these events. The motto of this program is “You can get there from here,” inasmuch as Arcadia has proved a fruitful training ground for literary ambition.

The “Visiting Writers” Series attracts both up-and-coming writers and well-established professionals whose works have already gained wide recognition. A host of the best-known writers in our culture have been our guests in this program, which seeks to celebrate breadth and diversity. Over the years, the series has hosted Pulitzer-Prizewinning poet Gwendolyn Brooks and novelist Richard Russo; American Poet Laureate Ted Kooser; National Book Award-winning poets Gerald Stern and Jean Valentine; Marilynn Robinson, National Book Award for fiction; renowned novelists, memoirists, and short-story writers John Edgar Wideman and Tobias Wolff; Rome Prize winner Karl Kirchwey; lauded fiction writer Robin Black; blind poet and essayist Steven Kuusisto; novelists Brad Watson and Tom Franklin, and most recently, Guggenheim Fellow and poet Jericho Brown … the list of distinguished guests goes on.

The workshops that students get to attend with all of these writers enable the participants (limited to ten in each of the workshops) to submit, in advance, a sample of their work in the appropriate genre for the visiting writer to read and respond to. The workshops are “closed door” experiences for our students, who may be undergraduates or graduate students; no one—no “guests,” no professors—are permitted in the room with the writer and ten students. What results is a remarkable experience for our students: the chance to have meaningful exchanges with professionals.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general University admission requirements, the following additional requirements must be met:

1. A graduate application, including personal statement, to be completed online at www.arcadia.edu/gradapp.
2. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (with a recommended GPA of 3.0 or better). If the undergraduate degree is not from a Department of English, the undergraduate major can be in another traditional Humanities/Social Science discipline, or in a professional or pre-professional field if accompanied by strong undergraduate training in English Studies.
3. One official transcript from each college, university, or professional school attended. Transfer credits included on a transcript must include grades earned; if not, an official transcript from the original school must be submitted. Transcripts must be sent from the issuing school in a sealed envelope and contain the appropriate signatures and seals to be considered official.
4. Two letters of recommendation. The letters must be of a professional not personal nature. If the student has been out of school five years or less, at least one letter must come from a professor.
5. A writing sample.
6. International applicants should visit www.arcadia.edu/international for detailed information on admission requirements and application procedures. Official results from the TOEFL or IELTS are required for all students for whom English is a second language or who have not earned degrees or diplomas from post-secondary institutions in English-speaking countries (e.g. the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand). A course-by-course evaluation of all transcripts by an independent evaluation service based in the United States also is required.

All application materials must be sent to the Office of Enrollment Management.

Rolling Admission: Completed applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year. Students may start in the fall, spring or summer semester.

Expenses

2019-20 Tuition: $765 per credit

Fees:

• Registration: $50 per semester
• Technology: $100per semester
• Parking: $55 per semester or $100 per year (Fall and Spring) before 4 p.m. No charge after 4 p.m.

Financial Aid

Graduate students who have been accepted into a degree program and are enrolled for at least 6 credits per semester are eligible to apply for financial aid. Please visit www.arcadia.edu/finaid for information regarding available aid options and visit www.aracdia.edu/gradfinaidapply to complete required forms online.

Graduate Assistantships/Graduate Student Employment

Graduate Assistantships/Graduate Student Employment may be  available to graduate students registered for at least 9 credits per semester. Students may apply for assistantships upon acceptance and registration. Questions regarding graduate assistantships should be directed to the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies at 215-572-2925.

Federal Loans

Graduate students are eligible to borrow through the Federal Direct Stafford Loan and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan programs provided they are taking at least 6 credits per semester (in the summer, 6 credits over all summer sessions combined satisfies this requirement).  For more information, visit www.arcadia.edu/finaid.

Study Abroad

Arcadia University offers graduate students in English a variety of short-term study-abroad opportunities. The programs in question vary in length and in the number of credits allotted for the course. Up to 9 of a graduate student’s 36 total required graduate credits may be applied to study-abroad courses. Students may pursue these short-term study-abroad endeavors in countries.

While most of the study-abroad courses for graduate students are short-term, there is a 9-credit career internship in London option that lasts for one full semester and which may be pursued during either the fall or the spring semester.

Specific information on study-abroad opportunities for graduate students is available on The College of Global Studies’ website, http://www.arcadia.edu/abroad/. It is also recommended that graduate students interested in study-abroad opportunities speak with a mentor within The Office of International Affairs and with the English Graduate Program Director.

Study Abroad Transfer Credit: In addition to policies regarding transfer credit, students may request transfer of a maximum of 9 credits of graduate study earned through The College of Global Studies (TCGS), with prior written approval of their faculty adviser. Students who transferred credits taken prior to admission may transfer a total of 9 credits, including those taken through TCGS.

For example:

0 entry-level transfer credits: Arcadia accepts 9 TCGS credits.
3 entry-level transfer credits: Arcadia accepts 6 TCGS credits.
6 entry-level transfer credits: Arcadia accepts 3 TCGS credits.

Degree Requirements

36 credits of graduate-level coursework are required for completion of the degree program.

Sample Course Offerings

• Technical Writing
• Writing for the Health Industry
• Journalism II
• The Discovery of Adulthood in British and American Fiction
• William Faulkner
• Narrative Form in Fiction and Film
• African and Black Diaspora  Cinema
• Literature of London
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Introduction to Linguistics and History
• Special Topics in American Literature
• Disaster, Death, and Madness
• The Slave Narrative
• Ireland in 20th Century Film and Literature
• Writing for Children
• Literature and the Law
• Russian Fiction
• Language and Violence
• International Film
• Major Authors Seminar
• Jane Austen
• Alfred Hitchcock¹s American Films
• Mark Twain
• Literature After War
• Contemporary American Autobiography
• Modern Drama
• A Few Great Novels
• Modernism and Postmodernism
• The Lyric
• The Contemporary Moment
• Kerouac and His Sources
• Tell it Slant: Memoir Writing Workshop
• Young Adult and Children’s Writing Workshop (Intermediate Level)
• Writing for Law
• Grant Writing for Non-Profits
• Fiction Writing Workshop
• Writing for the Web and New Media
• Advanced Editing Workshop
• Poetry Writing Workshop
• Corporate Writing
• Critical Writing for Success
• Theories of Writing
• Special Studies in Discourse
• Teaching the Writing of Fiction
• The History and Teaching of Rhetoric
• Teaching Writing
• American Humor
• From Romanticism to Modernism
• Shakespeare’s Jacobean Dramas
• Crime and Deviance in Renaissance England
• The American Short Story
• British and American Poetry
• The Search for Self and Identity in the West Indian Novel
• Lawrence, Joyce, and Woolf
• Willa Cather
• Shakespeare and the Self
• World Literature in English
• The Harlem Renaissance
• Southern Fiction
• Tragedy: Forms and Philosophy
• Myth and Literature: Verbal Forms of the Unconscious

Graduate-Only English Courses

• EN 659 Myth and Literature: Verbal Forms of the Unconscious
• EN 670 Career Internship in English
• EN 689 Independent Research
• EN 697 Thesis Research and Writing Variable credits
• EN 698 Culminating Project
• EN 699 Master’s Thesis in English
• EN 640 Special Studies in Literature
• EN 641 British and American Poetry
• EN 642 The Search for Self and Identity in the West Indian Novel
• EN 643 Lawrence, Joyce and Virginia Woolf
• EN 644 Willa Cather
• EN 645 Shakespeare and the Self
• EN 649 World Literature in English
• EN 651 The Harlem Renaissance
• EN 655 Southern Fiction
• EN 658 Tragedy: Forms and Philosophy
• EN 625 American Humor
• EN 626 From Romanticism to Modernism
• EN 633 Shakespeare’s Jacobean Dramas
• EN 634 Crime and Deviance in Renaissance England
• EN 638 The American Short Story
• EN 540 Special Studies in Discourse
• EN 542 Teaching the Writing of Fiction
• EN 543 The History and Teaching of Rhetoric
• EN 546 Teaching Writing

• Graduate and Undergraduate Courses

• EN 474 Grant Writing for Non-Profits
• EN 475 Fiction Writing Workshop
• EN 476 Writing for the Web and New Media
• EN 477 Advanced Editing Workshop
• EN 478 Poetry Writing Workshop
• EN 479 Corporate Writing
• EN 486 Creative Writing Workshop
• EN 490 The Text, the Critic and the World
• EN 500 Critical Writing for Success
• EN 510 Theories of Writing
• EN 461 Seminar: Modern Drama
• EN 462 A Few Great Novels
• EN 463 Seminar: Modernism and Postmodernism
• EN 464 Seminar: The Lyric
• EN 465 The Contemporary Moment
• EN 466 Kerouac and His Sources
• EN 468 Tell It Slant: Memoir Writing Workshop
• EN 469 Young Adult and Children’s Writing Workshop (Intermediate Level)
• EN 472 Special Studies in Writing
• EN 473 Writing for the Law
• EN 444 Special Studies Seminar
• EN 445 International Literature
• EN 446 Russian Fiction
• EN 447 Language and Violence
• EN 451 Jane Austen
• EN 452 Alfred Hitchcock’s American Films
• EN 453 Mark Twain
• EN 459 Literature After War
• EN 460 Contemporary American Autobiography
• EN 429 Narrative Form in Fiction and Film
• EN 430 Black Cinema
• EN 433 Teaching English as a Second Language
• EN 434 Introduction to Linguistics and History
• EN 435 Special Topics in American Literature
• EN 437 Disaster, Death and Madness
• EN 441 The Slave Narrative
• EN 442 Ireland in 20th Century Film and Literature
• EN 443 Writing for Children
• EN 414 Writing and Editing for Magazines
• EN 415 Technical Writing
• EN 416 Writing for the Health Industry
• EN 420 Studies in Classical and Medieval Europe
• EN 421 Renaissance and Enlightenment Literature
• EN 422 Modern British Literature
• EN 423 Modern American Literature
• EN 427 Discovery of Adulthood in British and American Fiction
• EN 428 William Faulkner

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