MA in Writing Studies

Requirements
  • Eight semester-long courses—a total of 32 hours of graduate credit—that aim to provide students with a general introduction to a variety of fields. (equivalent of 8 graduate seminars at 4 credits each). At least 24 of the 32 credit hours must be taken in the Department of English; at least 16 of the 32 must be in 500-level courses and 12 of these in the Department of English.
  • Of those eight courses, students in the Writing Studies specialization take:
    • English 505
    • A choice of English 582/583/584
    • 2 courses in Literature or Theory
    • Professional Seminar in the Teaching of Rhetoric (593)
    • Electives approved by the Writing Studies advisor
  • The language requirement by demonstrating reading knowledge of another language. This requirement may be satisfied in one of the following five ways:
    • Completing the equivalent of three full years of undergraduate work;
    • Passing a proficiency exam administered by a UIUC foreign language department;
    • Passing a non-credit 501 language course with a grade of B or higher;
    • Fulfilling the Old English course sequence of ENGL 407 and ENGL 514 (on an Old English topic) with a B or higher; or
    • In consultation with the DGS, pursuing a plan of study to fulfill an alternative competency in a language such as Tagalog, Hmong, ASL, or computer programming (this list is not meant to be exhaustive).
  • Application to Stage II: Application to Stage II: The Stage II application has two goals: first, to demonstrate a student’s readiness to pursue doctoral work (in Stage II of the program); and second) to acquaint students with the faculty in their fields of study, the intellectual questions animating those fields, and the career trajectories of current graduates in the field. Students begin the process of the application in the Fall of their second years, during which they will: