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Department of English
Graduate Studies
Graduate education in the Department of English at SIUC provides a course of study leading to the MA, MFA, and PhD degrees in literature, rhetoric and composition, and creative writing. Students benefit from a wide range of specializations, including Medieval and Renaissance literature, British literature (18th, 19th and 20th centuries), American literature (19th century and modern), literary theory, cultural studies, gender studies, writing studies, popular culture, and creative writing in fiction and poetry. The Department of English also maintains a highly regarded Irish and Irish Immigration Studies program that is complemented by Morris Library's Special Collections of internationally recognized manuscript and archival holdings, and which affords graduate students the opportunity for study abroad at the University College, Galway.
Master of Arts
The Master of Arts degree provides opportunities for creative expression and professional development, preparing graduates for teaching and scholarly research, as well as continued graduate study at the doctoral level. Students customarily choose one of two concentrations: literary studies or rhetoric and composition. The Master of Arts requires completion of 30 credit hours of course work, reading knowledge of one foreign language, and the successful defense of a master's thesis. Students in literary studies have the option of taking a pass/fail comprehensive examination as an alternative to the thesis.
Applicants to the MA program in English must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, and are strongly advised to take the General and Subject tests of the Graduate Record Examination. International students must also submit TOEFL scores.
M.A. in Literature Checklist
M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition
Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a studio-academic program designed to assist talented students in developing their skills as poets or fiction writers. While the MFA is the accepted credential for teachers of creative writing, our program gives primary emphasis to the development of students as writers. The fundamental elements of the program are writing workshops, in which students read and critique the writing of their peers under the guidance of a faculty writer; intensive tutorial work with the thesis director on the student's writing; and the study of the traditions, forms, and theories of literature from a writer's stance. The faculty (three poets and three fiction writers) work closely with the students and insure that each student will have exposure to a variety of styles and personalities, from traditional to experimental. Our small program size provides an excellent student-teacher ratio, and encourages both formal and informal apprenticeship and tutorial relationships. While no academic program can promise to create writers, our MFA program strives to provide committed, talented writers the guidance, instruction, support, and community that will help them produce their best work.
The MFA in Creative Writing requires satisfactory completion of 48 semester hours. MFA students may elect to focus their studies either in fiction or poetry, or in a combination of the two genres.
M.F.A. in Creative Writing Checklist
Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy degree in English prepares graduate students for careers in the field of higher education as scholars and educators, with course work, qualifying examinations, and dissertation directed in the full range of literary areas, critical theory, cultural studies, and rhetoric & composition.
The PhD program is designed as a five-year program for full-time students. Its residency requirement is satisfied by completion of twenty-four semester hours of graduate credit before the qualifying examinations, followed by twenty-four semester hours of dissertation credit. The doctoral program maintains a research-tool requirement consisting of two foreign languages or one foreign language and course work in a field of study directly related to the dissertation. The doctoral student's course work is developed in consultation with an advisory committee to suit his or her particular needs. By the fourth semester in the program, each student will complete a Program of Study, signed by the student's committee, that outlines the student's area of focus and research plans.
Sample of Program of Study
Qualifying examinations cover one major and two minor areas of study as chosen by the student in consultation with his or her committee. Upon successful completion of the examinations, the student is advanced to candidacy, and proceeds directly to the dissertation prospectus and the dissertation. Once the dissertation is completed, the student will present an oral defense of the dissertation before the committee, including any designated outside readers. A successful defense means that the student has completed all requirements for the PhD degree.
Libraries and Research Sources
SIUC's Morris Library contains more than 2.5 million volumes, 3 million microfilms, and over 12,000 current serial subscriptions. Library users have electronic access to a statewide automated catalog system and to nearly 600 electronic data files and CD-ROM products via workstations located throughout the building. The library's special collections are extensive in areas pertinent to graduate students and research and include papers, manuscripts, letters, and research materials in American and British expatriate literature; twentieth-century philosophy, especially John Dewey and the Open Court press; the Irish literary renaissance; and proletariat theater. The Humanities Library is particularly rich in both traditional and contemporary monographs and periodicals that support the graduate program in English.
Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships
SIUC offers a number of competitive fellowships to full-time graduate students. Awards are made by the Graduate School on the recommendation of the Department's Graduate Studies Committee. For further information, contact the Graduate School. Please note that the deadline for applicants for fellowships is usually one month earlier than the deadline for graduate assistantships.
Graduate Fellowships
Minority FellowshipsAlmost all MA, MFA, and PhD students hold graduate assistantships, which provide stipends for the academic year and full remission of tuition. The application deadline for admission with assistantship support is early February, with notification before April 1. Approximately 55 MA/MFA and 35 PhD students hold teaching assistantships in any given year. The annual stipend, which comes with tuition remission, ranges from $10,000 to $11,200, depending on the degree. Assistantships are renewable to students in good standing: up to 24 months for MA students, up to 32 months for MFA, and 48 for PhD.
Graduate students in good standing who have been trained in and taught Freshman English (ENGL 101 and 102) are also eligible to teach a variety of courses to broaden their teaching expertise:
ENGL 120, Advanced Freshman Composition
ENGL 121, The Western Literary Tradition
ENGL 204, Literary Perspectives of the Modern World
ENGL 205, The American Mosiac in Literature
ENGL 290, Intermediate Analytical Writing
ENGL 291, Intermediate Technical Writing
Most graduate assistants are assigned to the University's first year writing program, in which they have full responsibility for two sections of composition each semester. An extensive series of pre-semester workshops, a semester-long seminar in the teaching of college composition, and a mentor system complement graduate work and assure professional development. In addition, some graduate assistants serve as tutors in the Department's Writing Center, while others are eligible to teach Core Curriculum literature courses. Summer teaching is also available to a limited number of graduate students.
Application Procedures
Applicants to the MA, PhD, and MFA programs in English must complete the following steps:
- Complete all forms in the Department's Application Packet, including an application for admission to the Graduate School.
- Submit a nonrefundable processing fee of $40.
- Submit three letters of recommendation.
- Submit a statement of purpose and a writing sample.
Application Checklist
Many of the above forms are available online and may be submitted to the graduate school electronically:
Online Application Forms
To help you get started, you can download and print the Graduate School's application for admission. Domestic students can find the form here. International students can find the proper form here. In order to view either of these application forms, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free from the Adobe website:
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.
Completed application forms for admission to the Graduate School will need to be included with the English Department's application packet.
In addition, applicants to the MA program are strongly advised to submit scores for the general test of the Graduate Record Examination. These scores are mandatory for students wishing to compete for fellowships. Applicants to the PhD program must present scores for both the general and the subject tests of the GRE. International students must submit TOEFL scores and a letter of sufficient financial support at the time of application. The minimum GPA for admission to SIUC's Graduate School is 2.7 (of 4.0).
The 30-hour MA requires satisfactory completion of at least 15 semester hours earned in 500-level courses at SIUC. The MFA is a 48-hour degree; at least 15 semester hours must be earned in 500-level courses at SIUC. The PhD residency requirement is 24 semester hours of course work before qualifying examinations, i.e. the "prelims."
Application materials for admission, including graduate assistantship support, are available from the Department of English. Separate application forms for fellowships are available from the Graduate School and the Department of English.
For further information or an application packet, please contact:
Professor Michael Molino
Graduate Studies in English
Department of English
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4503
(618) 453-6894
e-mail: gradengl@siu.edu
