M.A. Program

Graduate students in English at SMU have the opportunity to learn from a distinguished faculty of scholars and dedicated teachers. Faculty members have published books and articles in major national venues ranging from scholarly journals and university presses to trade publishing houses and newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal.

Interaction is fostered by a low faculty-to-graduate student ratio, and a long-standing SMU tradition that all faculty members - including senior professors and researchers - teach regularly.

SMU also offers a remarkably robust literary scene. The SMU Literary Festival, in conjuction with the Department of English's Gilbert Lectures, annually brings many of the nation's prominent writers to campus. Southwest Review, the fourth oldest continuously published literary quarterly in the nation, has been headquartered at SMU since 1924. SMU Press, founded in 1937, is "rapidly earning a name for 'cutting edge' publishing," according to the Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook.

In addition to traditional courses in British and American literature, SMU's program offers courses in literary theory, literature written in English by non-Western writers, critical and rhetorical theory, cultural studies, and women's studies. Students also may pursue independent studies and, with departmental approval, course work in related departments.

Application and ADMISSION

Students applying to the M.A. English Graduate Program should have an undergraduate major in English, or demonstrate intensive study in the liberal arts that includes a solid background in English language literatures. Typically, applicants should have a minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 and a GRE of 600 on the verbal section. Proficiency in one relevant foreign language is strongly recommended prior to matriculation.

Applicants should submit:

A GRE verbal score and Analytical Writing Scores.
Three letters of recommendation.
A writing sample of 5-10 pages on a literary topic.
A statement of purpose.

In addition to the materials listed above, a completed application file shall include: (1) an application form; (2) official transcripts for all post-high school academic work; and (3) the $75 application fee (payable to SMU). Writing samples should be sent directly to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX, 75275-0240.

Application Deadline: February 1.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The Masters Degree in English is for students pursuing the M.A. as a terminal degree. Subsequent admission to the Ph.D. program requires a separate application.

Students admitted to the M.A. Program are required to take English 6310 (Advanced Literary Studies) and 27 additional hours, at least 12 of which must be at the 6000 level or above. With departmental approval, six graduate hours in a related field may be substituted for courses in the English Department.

Before graduation, each candidate must pass an oral examination on a list of about 40 works related to a critical or thematic focus determined by the candidate in consultation with a faculty adviser.

Students have two program options. The first is the thesis option, which requires 24 hours of course work and six hours (English 6398 and 6399) devoted to writing a scholarly thesis. Students who write a thesis must take three seminars, one of which may be at the 5000-level. The thesis, typically about 50 to 70 pages long, is written under the close supervision of a faculty adviser. The non-thesis option requires 30 hours of course work., including four seminars, at least three of them at the 6000- or 7000-level.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

Office of Research and Graduate Studies
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750240
Dallas TX 75275-0240
smugrad@smu.edu

Dennis Foster
D. D. Frensley Professor of English and
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750435
Dallas TX 75275-0435
dfoster@smu.edu

SMU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, or disability.

Return to the Top

Right to Know, Nondiscrimination, and other legal statements.