Dec 30, 2025

2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

HELP

2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

English, M.A.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

College: Arts and Sciences
Department: English

Major Contacts, Deadlines, and Delivery Information

Concentrations

Literature
Rhetoric and Composition

Also offered as Bachelor’s/Master’s Pathways

The M.A. in English with a concentration in Literature is a continuation of the B.A. with greater depth in literary knowledge and an introduction and implementation of methods, standards, and conventions of scholarship on literature. It is a generalist degree with broad-based distribution requirements, but it has the flexibility to study cutting-edge theories and newly emerging fields of interests (including cultural and comparative studies, ethnic literatures, and genre studies such as film). The department also offers a M.A. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition. It is designed to produce teacher-scholars who have solid, foundational knowledge of critical theory, PTC theory and practice, and composition pedagogy, as well as a specialized knowledge in their field of concentration.

Admission Information

Must meet University Admission and English Proficiency requirements as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

B.A. in English
Undergraduate GPA 3.50
Three (3) letters of recommendation
Scholarly writing sample of approximately 2500 words (ten double-spaced pages) excluding bibliography or works cited; applicants may excerpt from a longer essay. Generally, the committee seeks to review academic writing from an English course.
A two-to-three page personal statement describing the student’s background, purpose for attending graduate studies, and career goals

All materials, including transcripts, must be received by the application deadline in order for students to be considered for admission. Graduates of USF do not need to order official transcripts. Applications are reviewed by an admissions committee. Students will be notified of the admissions decision within four to six weeks after the deadline.

Curriculum Requirements

Total Minimum Hours -33 Credit Hours

Core Requirements – 6 Credit Hours
Concentration – 9 Credit Hours (Literature) / 12 Credit Hours (Rhetoric)
Electives - 15 Credit Hours (Literature) / 9 Credit Hours (Rhetoric)
Portfolio or Thesis Option:
- Literature Portfolio - 3 Credit Hours
- Rhetoric Portfolio/Thesis - 6 Credit Hours

Core Requirements (6 Credit Hours)

ENG 6009 Introduction to Graduate Study Credit Hours: 3 (this should be taken in the first semester of coursework)
ENG 6837 Academic Writing Credit Hours: 3

Concentration Requirements:

Students must select from the following concentrations:

Literature Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Required Courses (9 Credit Hours) - Select one of the following (3 Credit Hours) and then select two courses (6 Credit Hours) from the Historical Distribution.

ENG 6018 Studies in Criticism and Theory I Credit Hours: 3
ENG 6019 Studies in Criticism and Theory II Credit Hours: 3
Historical Distribution (6 Credit Hours):

Select One Pre-1900 Course:
ENL 6206 Studies in Old English Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6216 Studies in Middle English Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6226 Studies in Sixteenth-Century British Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6228 Studies in Seventeenth-Century British Literature Credit Hours: 3
AML 6017 Studies in American Literature to 1860 Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6246 Studies of the English Romantic Period Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6256 Studies in Victorian Literature Credit Hours: 3
And Select One Post-1900 Course:
AML 6018 Studies in American Literature 1860 to 1920 Credit Hours: 3
AML 6027 Studies in Modern American Literature Credit Hours: 3
ENL 6276 Studies in Modern British Literature Credit Hours: 3
LIT 6096 Studies in Contemporary Literature Credit Hours: 3

Rhetoric and Composition Concentration (12 Credit Hours)

ENC 6336 Studies in the History of Rhetoric Credit Hours: 3
ENC 6421 Studies in Rhetoric and Technology Credit Hours: 3
ENC 6700 Studies in Composition Theory Credit Hours: 3
ENC 6720 Studies in Composition Research Credit Hours: 3

Electives (9 Credit Hours Minimum)

One Directed Study may be used to substitute for degree requirement with the approval of the Graduate Director.

Students in the Literature Concentration select at least two designated Critical Cultural courses out of five electives in any LAE, LIT, ENG, ENL, ENC, AML courses.

Critical –- Cultural Studies Requirement (2 courses / 6 credits). Courses under the category of “Critical Cultural” can be any courses within the graduate curriculum that seek to foreground either:

literature, theory, and critique by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) with critical emphasis on intersectionality (such as race, empire, class, gender, and sexuality), or
works on race, settler colonialism, empire, class, gender, sexuality with emphasis on literature, theory, and critique by BIPOC.

•   Students taking ENC 6745 Practice in Teaching Composition must use this as an elective if they count it toward the 33 credits in the degree.
•   Students taking ENG 6946 Internship must use this as an elective if they count it toward the 33 credits in the degree.
•   No CRW courses will be allowed in the Literature track

Students in the Rhetoric and Composition Concentration select three courses within Literature or Rhetoric and Composition from the following (9 Credit Hours):

ENC 6261 Professional and Technical Communication Credit Hours: 3
LAE 5932 Selected Topics in the Teaching of English Credit Hours: 3
Other course approved by the Graduate Director

Portfolio or Thesis Options

Students in the Rhetoric and Composition Concentration complete a Thesis and oral or electronic defense or they complete a Portfolio and an oral or electronic defense. Students in the Literature Concentration complete a portfolio and oral defense.

Literature Portfolio (3 Credit Hours Minimum)

Students in the Literature Concentration complete a portfolio and an oral defense. Students completing the portfolio must enroll in a minimum of three (3) directed study hours to prepare the portfolio. In their fourth and final semester (excluding summer terms), students will submit a portfolio for review to a two-member faculty committee at least six-weeks prior to the end of the semester. Upon submission, the student and chair of the committee will establish a portfolio oral defense date with the Graduate Program Specialist.

The portfolio will contain the following:

An introductory first-person essay.
Two revised seminar papers 5000-6000 words in length.

Papers should be developed under the direction of two different faculty members from the English Department, who then will form the committee for the defense. The portfolio will be reviewed and evaluated by this two-member faculty committee using the published assessment rubric. There will be a required Oral Defense.

ENG 6916 Directed Research Credit Hours: 1-19 (3 Credit Hours minimum)

Rhetoric and Composition Thesis or Portfolio Option (6 Credit Hours Minimum)

Students in the Rhetoric and Composition Concentration complete a Thesis or Portfolio on a Rhetoric and Composition subject plus an oral or electronic defense.

ENG 6971 Thesis: Master’s Credit Hours: 2-19 (6 Credit Hours)

Thesis Option (6 Credit Hours)

Rhetoric and Composition Concentration students completing the thesis option must enroll in a minimum of six thesis hours. The thesis – 40-50 pages– should be based on student’s specialization in Rhetoric and Composition. This manuscript can be a revision and extension of a course paper or conference paper. It must contribute to the discipline by advancing scholarly discussions in Rhetoric and Composition studies and offering new knowledge.

ENG 6971 Thesis: Master’s Credit Hours: 2-19 (6 Credit hours for this program)

Portfolio Option (6 Credit Hours)

In their fourth and final semester (excluding summer terms), students will submit a portfolio for review to a three-member faculty committee at least six-weeks prior to the end of the semester. Upon submission, the student and chair of the committee will establish a portfolio defense date with the Graduate Program Specialist.

The portfolio will:

include artifacts that are the intellectual equivalent of 40-50 pages of a traditional thesis (excluding works cited).
be accompanied by a critical reflection of 2,000-4,000 words that includes sections on
- Theory. How did knowledge of the discipline’s scholarship shape the portfolio’s artifacts?
- Methods. How did the methods used to conduct research shape its contents?
- Synthesis. How does the portfolio cohere into a document that furthers the student’s professional goals? How does it synthesize knowledge and expertise gained over the course of the MA?

Portfolio items should be developed under the direction of three different faculty members from the English Department, who then will form the committee for the defense. The portfolio will be reviewed and evaluated by this three-member faculty committee using the published assessment rubric. There will be a required oral or electronic defense.

ENG 6916 Directed Research Credit Hours: 1-19 (6 Credit Hours required for this program)

Comprehensive Exam

The portfolio defense or thesis defense serves in lieu of the comprehensive exam.

University of South Florida

Main Navigation