Master of Arts in English

English (Online) – MA5237

Department of English
Ellis 201
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
740.593.2939
ricel2@ohio.edu

Delivery Mode: Online

Terms of Entry: Summer 1

Program Overview

The Department of English offers an online M.A. in English. The online format is especially useful for working professionals, including secondary (grades 9-12) English teachers who want to teach college-level courses via the state of Ohio’s College Credit Plus/dual enrollment initiative. The program is focused on specific content aimed to deepen high school teachers’ depth of understanding of English studies, literature and writing, and thus equip them to have the knowledge and skill base needed to teach entry-level college English courses. Non-teachers may also apply.

A primary aim of this program is for students to have a thorough grounding in the basic elements of literary study; therefore all students must satisfy a common set of core requirements. To provide students with additional exposure to graduate level English studies, students will also take at least one non-literature course in the program (e.g., creative writing, composition and rhetoric, advanced pedagogy). The main concentration of the program is Literary History, and the online M.A. meets the same requirements as the on-ground M.A. program offered in the English Department at Ohio University. The concentration in literary history covers a diverse array of literary periods, national literatures, and genres. All courses involve students in writing and research.

Completion of the online program requires eight courses with Introduction to English Studies (ENG 5950) as the required first course and the Master’s Essay (ENG 6930) as the last course. All coursework is completed online in an environment that involves regular interaction between graduate students and faculty.

This is a part-time program, with a maximum of two courses available each semester. Each course is seven to eight (based on university calendar) weeks long. Students can take two courses per semester by taking one course during weeks 1-7 and a second course during weeks 8-15. Students take one course at a time in order to focus in-depth on a particular area. A full-time student can complete the entire program in four semesters (16 months), starting at the beginning of one summer and finishing at the end of the following summer. Or if a student’s personal schedule dictates, he or she may choose to take only one course each semester, finishing the program in three years.

There are no teaching assistantships in the online program.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students will understand the primary text’s historical/cultural context, form, and use of stylistic conventions.
• Students will produce original, sustained analysis of primary texts employing conceptually sophisticated thesis arguments supported by ample, accurate use of evidence and quotations.
• Students will adeptly employ theoretical approaches/vocabulary as an interpretive framework for primary texts, as appropriate.
• Students will successfully locate, evaluate, and utilize existing scholarly sources to enrich their own textual analysis.
• Students will set their analytical work and thesis arguments within or in response to scholarly conversations within their field.
• Students will produce an essay that is strong enough, with or without revision, for submission to an academic journal or CFP collection.

Opportunities for Graduates

Students in the online M.A. program in English improve their content and skill mastery in ways that will make them stronger high school English teachers well suited for teaching college preparatory, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate English classes. They also prepare themselves to teach entry-level college English courses through dual-enrollment programs such as Ohio’s College Credit Plus initiative.

Further Information

Link to Program: https://www.ohio.edu/cas/english/graduate/online-masters

Admission Requirements

Applications for the online M.A. program for high school teachers must be submitted electronically to the Graduate College, and include the following materials:

1. Two letters of recommendation from professional colleagues or former professors.
2. A writing sample (4-12 pages that reflects the applicant’s best academic or scholarly work; this should be a critical or scholarly work, not creative writing).
3. A resume detailing the applicant’s professional experience.
4. A one-page statement of purpose, outlining the applicant’s educational background, interests, and goals and the ways Ohio University’s program will help the applicant foster and implement the plan.
5. The application should also include undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate transcripts, showing a record of substantial coursework in English language and literature.

Transfer credit from previous graduate coursework will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Up to eight semester hours (12 quarter hours) of previously earned credit may be accepted into the program upon review and approval by the program director. Applicants must be formally admitted into the program in order for previously earned credit to be reviewed. In order to be considered, each course must have been taken within the past five years and have an earned grade of “B” or better.

International Students

This program (MA5237) does not permit full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 cannot be issued based on admission to this program. Enrollment in the residential program (MA5231) permits an I-20 to be issued.

Graduation Requirements

The online M.A. in English requires a minimum of 32 credit hours, as follows: