The M.A. Program
Prerequisites:
B.A. degree or equivalent, with credit in English equivalent to the TCU 27 semester-hour major and with sophomore-level credit in a foreign language. Applicants with less preparation may be admitted conditionally, but must take such additional courses as are prescribed by AddRan College and the Departmental Director of Graduate Studies. Applicants must present recent Graduate Record Examination scores with their application for admission. Applicants must also submit a writing sample (5-15 pages, exclusive of notes and works cited) that demonstrates appropriate academic and writing skills needed for success in a graduate program in English
Course Requirements for the M. A. Degree:
At least 30 semester hours of credit approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in addition to any course work required because of inadequate prerequisites. The 30 hours will include 6 hours for a thesis and may include up to 9 hours for an approved minor or approved courses in a related field or fields.
Time Limits:
The M.A. must be completed within five years from initial matriculation.
The Ph.D Program
Prerequisites:
Admission to Ph. D from Master's Program
Students admitted only to the M.A. program at TCU must reapply for admission to the Ph.D. program; their record is subject to review by the department's graduate admissions committee: admission is not automatic.
Completion of prior Master's Degree
In special cases, students may be given provisional admittance to the Ph.D. program if they have not yet completed their Master's program. They will, however, lose any Fellowship, DA, GI, or GA appointment if they have not completed their Master's degree before the beginning of their second year in the TCU doctoral program.
"Transferable" Credit
Doctoral program students who have completed a Master's degree in English studies at another appropriately accredited university may receive credit for as much as 6 courses (18 credit hours). The DGS will assess a student's official transcripts, and make an appropriate judgment concerning such courses. When a student's earlier course work is incomplete, or in a disciplinary field other than English studies, or completed more than 6 years previously, such credits are not transferable. Transfer credit is not available for students in the M.A. program.
(Technically, the department does not "transfer" credit, but instead certifies to the university that appropriate graduate coursework has been completed elsewhere; TCU requires that all doctoral students complete at least 30 hours of course work at TCU, not including dissertation guidance.)
The Language Requirement
Completion of 6 undergraduate hours at the sophomore level with grade B. For students who have not completed the foreign language requirement prior to entering the doctoral program, several options are available:
- At their own expense, students may enroll in foreign language courses while pursuing doctoral studies. Since these courses are not offered by TCU at the Graduate level, in most cases no TCU tuition hours may be used for this coursework. Students may "transfer" in coursework from other institutions, or enroll in undergraduate courses at TCU.
- Students can meet their language requirement by taking a written translation exam in the English department. The test can be given in French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Hebrew, Greek, or German. The test concerns reading comprehension and fluency of translation, based specifically on humanities reading materials. No listening or oral skills are needed for this exam.
- Following the procedures outlined in the Graduate Studies Bulletin, faculty in the department may administer a translation exam.
- When English is a student's second language, the department would normally consider the foreign language requirement to have been met.
Course Requirements for the Ph.D Program:
Completion for credit of a minimum of 54 semester hours of graduate courses, exclusive of credit hours for the dissertation. Of the 54 hours, at least 30 must be taken at TCU, and 27 must be in courses that satisfy the graduate core, which is described in subdivisions A, B, and C below:
A. Resources for English Study (3 semester hours)
* 3 sem. hrs. - Introduction to Modern Critical Theory or Feminist Theory
B. Rhetoric and Composition (6 semester hours)
* 3 sem. hrs. - Theories of Composition
* 3 sem. hrs. - History of Rhetoric or Modern Rhetoric
C. Literature (12 semester hours)
* 6 sem. hrs. in Literature before 1800
* 6 sem. hrs. in Literature after 1800
D. Focus (12 semester hours)
A minimum of 12 semester hours is required in the student's area of concentration, which is to be chosen from the following:
* American Literature
* British Literature
* Rhetoric and Composition
Time Limits:
The Ph.D. dissertation must be completed within six years after admission to candidacy.
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