M. A. Program in Composition/Rhetoric/Literacy (CRL)

Course Distribution for All Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy Students (3 credit hour courses)

Required Courses
Issues in C/R/L: 3 hrs
Teaching College Composition and Literature: 3 hrs
One course in History of Rhetoric/Composition Theory or History of Modern Composition Studies: 3 hrs
One course in Literary Criticism and Theory: 3 hrs

Elective Courses
(a) Two courses in Literary and Cultural Studies, in two different Areas among the following:
American Studies
Early English Studies
Modernity and Theory
Native American Studies
Women's Writing

(b) Three courses different from the required courses and the first two electives. (Students may select courses in C/R/L, Literary and Cultural Studies, or appropriate courses offered by other departments. Selections must be approved by the student's thesis committee.)

Thesis Option: The Thesis Committee, Thesis Proposal, and Thesis Defense will be as described for the Critical Thesis Option for Literacy and Cultural Studies. (6 hrs)

Total credit for M.A. - Thesis Option in Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy: 33

Non-thesis Option in Literary and Cultural Studies

In addition to the Required Courses and the first seven Elective Courses, a student in the Non-thesis Option must take (a) one additional course in the Area of Concentration and (b) the M.A. Examination.

(a) One Additional Course in Area of Concentration
This must be in addition to, and other than, the Required and Elective Courses done in the first 27 credit hours. The Additional Course in the Area of Concentration must be at the 5000 or 6000 level and cannot be a directed reading.

(b) M. A. Examination
The M. A. Examination is the culmination of the student's course work in the Masters Degree Program. It should therefore test: (a) the overall knowledge of his or her chosen Areas (fields) which the student has acquired cumulatively up to that point through course work and independent preparation; and (b) his or her skills as a researcher, scholar, and critic.

The M. A. Examination will be written, and it should preferably be taken in the semester immediately after the one in which course work is completed, and no later than the second semester after completion of course work.

As early as possible in their career, but not later thant the semester prior to that in which the examination is taken students in the Non-Thesis Option should develop with their advisor:

(a) two focus areas in C/R/L;

(b) a three-member Comprehensive Examination Committee. It should be noted that this committee functions very much like the Thesis Committee for students pursuing the Thesis Option; and

(c) a reading list of 30 items from the Area of Concentration/focus area and 10 items from the other Area, with a balanced selection of book-length primary texts and scholarly books and articles.

The Examination Committee will compose and evaluate a written examination based upon the approved reading list. The Examination will require three essay-type answers, two of which will be on two different topics in the Area of Concentration, and one of which will be in the other Area. No answer should exceed 10 double-spaced typed pages (approximately 2500 words). The exam questions should offer choices to the student: i.e., it should present three primary questions of which the student will answer two; and two secondary questions, of which the student will answer one. The exam shall be presented to the student at 8am on a workday morning and the written answers to their quesitons shall be returned to the Graduate Office at or before 5pm on a workday two consecutive days following the day the exam was received (for a total of 3 consecutive days). Students who prefer a weekend exam may obtain the exam at 5pm on Friday and must return the exam by 1pm on Monday.

The Examination will be graded Fail, Pass, and Pass with Distinction. Students are allowed only two attempts at the Examination, in successive semesters. During the semester in which the student schedules the Comprehensive Examination, he or she will register for a directed reading (3 credit-hours) in the Area of Concentration with the faculty member serving as the chair of the Examination Committee.

Credit for Required and Elective Courses: 27 hours
Credit for Additional Course in Area of Concentration: 3 hrs
Credit for Directed Reading in Area of Concentration: 3 hrs
Total credit for Non-thesis Option in C/R/L: 33 hrs

Literary and Cultural Studies
Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy

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