English, Master of Arts

Administrative Officers
Jackson Ayres, Graduate Coordinator (English), Central Academic Building 348A

The English M.A. Program fosters intellectual community and provides students with opportunities to hone their reading, writing, and analytical skills. We offer graduate seminars in:

• American Literature,
• British literature,
• multi-ethnic literatures,
• composition and rhetoric,
• critical theory,
• gender studies, and
• visual studies.

Our seminars are small and discussion-oriented, and students work closely with professors. Students also have opportunities to participate in professional conferences, student performances, and writing workshops.

The English M.A. faculty are dedicated teachers who have won multiple awards for their classroom instruction. They are also scholars who have authored and edited books, written articles, critical reviews, presented at national and international conferences, and won competitive research fellowships. Their work has been published in prestigious academic journals—such as Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, College English, ESQ: A Journal of Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture, Journal of Modern Literature, Kairos, and Studies in English Literature—and in critical anthologies. Because faculty are active in their fields, they are prepared to offer an assortment of innovative seminars (examples include Literature and Photography, The Cosmopolitan Novel, and Violence in the Teaching of Writing) and to introduce students to current developments in the fields of literary studies, critical theory, critical race studies, and composition and rhetoric.

Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared to continue their graduate studies in English or related disciplines, such as education and law. They will have acquired intellectual and professional skills that will be applicable in a variety of careers including, teaching, public relations, technical writing, editing, and nonprofit work.

Our graduates have been admitted to selective M.F.A and Ph.D. programs at institutions such The New School in New York City, the University of Arkansas, the University of New Hampshire, Texas Tech, and University of Texas at San Antonio. Others have gone on to careers in writing, marketing, student services, and teaching at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

Admission Process

Prerequisites

Students must have 18 semester hours of undergraduate courses in English or a related discipline, including a minimum of 12 advanced (junior-senior level) semester hours. The Department has the right to examine students’ prerequisites and to accept equivalent hours or to require additional work if necessary.

Cover Letter

Applicants must submit a cover letter of 1-2 pages. This document should serve as a statement of purpose, articulating connections from their prior educational and professional experiences to their future goals and reasons for applying to the English MA at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Writing Sample

Applicants must submit a sample of their analytical writing of 6-10 pages. The sample should demonstrate your ability to think analytically, write clearly, and sustain an argument.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. At least one of these letters should come from one of your former professors.

Curriculum Vitae

Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae that indicates their educational background, professional experiences, awards and honors, and other relevant information. The CV format is preferred to résumé format.

Application

Each applicant must submit their application and required documents by the appropriate semester deadline to GradCAS.  The application is available online at https://gradcas.liaisoncas.org/apply/. For questions regarding the application process, contact the Office of Graduate Studies, graduate.studies@tamusa.edu. 

Program Details

The English M.A. is a 36 hour Program. Students are required to take:

• Introduction to Graduate Studies,
• Theory and Practice of Teaching Writing,
• Theory and Methods, and,
• at the midpoint of their progress to degree, Professional Archives and the Public Humanities.

Students must also choose between a Graduate Research Project (3 hours) or a Thesis (6 hours) for their capstone project. To be eligible to begin Thesis or GRP work, students must have competed 24 hours of graduate coursework. Students may choose the remainder of their coursework based on their interests. Since the topics courses frequently rotate, students can repeat these topics courses up to three times each.

Curricula

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
ENGL 5300	Intro Grad Studies in English	3
ENGL 5302	Thry & Pract of Teach Writing	3
ENGL 5304	GR Portfolio-Prof Archv/Huma	3
ENGL 5315	Theory and Methods	3
Select one of the following: 1		3-6
ENGL 5305	Graduate Research Project
ENGL 5306	Thesis
Select the remainder of the coursework of the following:		18-21
ENGL 5301	Topics in Rhetoric and Comp
ENGL 5310	Topics in Linguistics
ENGL 5320	Topics in British Literature
ENGL 5330	Gender Studies
ENGL 5340	Major Authors
ENGL 5350	Studies in Multi-Ethnic Lit
ENGL 5360	Topics in American Literature
ENGL 5365	Teaching Literature
ENGL 5370	Spec Topic in Literature
ENGL 5375	Cultural Studies
ENGL 5380	Visual Studies
Total Credits		33-39

1	To be eligible to begin Thesis or GRP work, students must have competed 24 hours of graduate coursework.