College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
English

M.A. in English at Butler University

Graduate Studies

General Information

The Master of Arts program in English at Butler University consists of course work and individual studies in English and American as well as European and World Literatures. Additional topics for study include Minority Literatures, Gender Studies, Colonial and Post-colonial literatures as well as Literary Theory and Post-Modernism. In some cases courses may also be taken for graduate credit in Composition, Rhetoric and Creative Writing. The program is flexible enough to accommodate a wide array of academic interests and career goals. The learning environment is highly interactive due to small class sizes and close relationship among faculty and students. A variety of special events and programs further enrich literary studies at Butler, including the University's Visiting Writers Series, The Writers Studio, workshops, lectures and presentations.

The Department offers two programs leading to the M.A. degree:

  1. a 30-hour degree which consists of 24 semester hours of course work, plus EN710 (Research Problems: 3 hours) and EN711 (Thesis: 3 hours);
  2. a 36-hour degree which consists of 36 semester hours of course work.

Both programs require the following:

EN385 Studies in Literary Criticism- (students should plan to take EN 385 as early as possible in their program);

Course-work in the seminar format - for the "thesis" program, a minimum of six hours (two courses); for the "non thesis" program, a minimum of nine hours (3 courses);

An overall average of at least "B" for all courses attempted for graduate credit;

A comprehensive exam - a minimum grade of "B" on the exam is required to complete the program; this is ordinarily taken during the last 6 hours of the students' program. It is given twice a year in mid-November and mid-April.

Graduate students take classes along with undergraduates, but instructors demand greater scope and sophistication from them as well as additional work, both written and oral. In some cases graduate students may be called upon to assist the instructor in various capacities.

Admission Requirements

Candidates for the degree of Master of Arts in English are expected:

  1. to have completed 30 hours of undergraduate credit in English (beyond the Freshman level);
  2. to have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.00 and
  3. an academic record that demonstrates the ability to pursue graduate studies. As a condition of admission, some students may be required to take various courses in consideration of gaps or weaknesses in their background.

In addition to the application requirements of the Graduate Studies Office, the Department requires the following:

A 350-word Statement of Purpose containing the candidate's assessment of his/her scholastic background, current and future educational/career objectives;

A sample critical essay (7-12 pages) and/or two letters of recommendation.

All application materials should be sent to:
Graduate Admissions Office
Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46208

Deadlines for application: Feb. 15 (Fall admission) and Sept. 15 (Spring admission). Late applications will be considered, depending on the availability of space in our program.

Transfer Credit

Students must file "A Request for the Transfer of Graduate Credit" form to have graduate course work taken elsewhere accepted at Butler for our degree. The form may be obtained from the Office of Records & Registration. Only courses with grades of "A" or "B" taken at regionally accredited colleges will be considered for transfer and only the hours will be transferred to the Butler transcript; grades do not transfer. Students pursuing the 24 hour thesis track may transfer 9 hours; 36 hour, non-thesis students may transfer 12 hours. The Exam will not include material covered in courses transferred from another university for graduate credit nor courses to be counted toward a minor.

Courses Offered for the M.A. in English

EN300: Advanced Grammar
EN301: Topics in Advanced Composition
EN319: History of the English Language
EN321/421; 322/422: World Literature 1 and 2
EN341/441: Lit. of the Am. Renaissance
EN342/442: Modern American Literature
EN361/461: Medieval Literature
EN362/462: Renaissance Literature
EN363/463: Shakespeare
EN364/464: Seventeenth-Century Literature
EN365/465: Eighteenth-Century Lit.
EN366/466: Romanticism
EN367/467: Victorian Literature
EN381/481: Studies in Major Authors
EN382/482: Studies in Poetry
EN383/483: Studies in Fiction
EN384/484: Studies in Drama
EN385/485: Literary Criticism
EN386/486 Studies in Rhetoric
EN493: Special Topics
EN495/96: Independent Studies
EN710/711: Research/Thesis

 

 

 

 

  

Teaching Faculty and Field Specializations

Daniel Barden, Assistant Professor (M.F.A., Columbia University) Creative Writing, Poetry, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Fiction and Personal Essay Joseph Rocky Colavito, Professor (Ph.D., University of Arizona) Composition Theory, Writing Pedagogy, the History and Theory of Rhetoric, Popular Culture Hilene Flanzbaum, Allegra Stewart Professor (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania), 20th-Century American, especially Poetry, Creative Writing, Holocaust and Ethnic Studies Chris Forhan, Assistant Professor (M.F.A., University of Virginia) Creative Writing and Modern and Contemporary Poetry Lee Garver, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Chicago) 20th Century British Literature, Modernism and the Historical Avant-Garde, Film Jason Goldsmith, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Virginia) Romanticism, 19th-Century British Literature and Culture, Literary Theory Marshall W. Gregory, Harry Ice Professor (Ph.D., University of Chicago) Victorian Literature, Literary Theory, Pedagogy Theory and Practice, Liberal Education Theory and Practice, Andrew Levy, Edna Cooper Professor (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) American Literature, American Studies, non-Fiction Writing Susan Neville, Demia Butler Professor (M.F.A., Bowling Green University) Fiction and Creative non-Fiction Writing Carol Reeves, Professor (Ph.D., Texas Christian University) Rhetoric and Writing Theory, Satire and Humor Ania Spyra,Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Iowa) Transnational and Postcolonial Literatures and Theory, World Literature, Comparative Literature William P. Walsh , Professor (Ph.D., University of California, Riverside) Shakespeare, Renaissance Literature, Restoration Drama William Watts, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Boston University) Chaucer, Medieval Literature and History of the English Language

For more information, please contact:
Lee Garver, Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English Language and Literature
Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46208
(317) 940-9859
lgarver@butler.edu