West Texas A&M University: 2001-2002 Academic Year

    The Department of English and Modern Languages offers a master of arts degree in English as well as appropriate course work in English and Spanish to support graduate majors in other areas. The master of arts degree in English offers the student the option of pursuing either a thesis or non-thesis program.

Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree in English (Major Code: 5106)
Major Area Options

• Thesis option
• Non-thesis option
• Master of arts degree with professional teaching certificate
• Master of education degree (non-thesis)

• Prerequisite to admission to master's degree program: 30 semester hours of English.
• Prerequisite to enrollment in 5500-level English courses: 24 semester hours of English.

Choose one of the following:

• 30 hours English with a minimum of 21 semester hours of 5500-level courses, including ENG 5501, 5502 or
• 24 semester hours in English and six additional hours with a minimum of 21 semester hours of 5500-level courses, including ENG 5501 and 5502.

At least one course beyond the bachelor's degree in each of the following areas:

• British literature before 1800. Includes old and middle English, renaissance, Jacobean, puritan, restoration and Georgian literature.
• British literature before 1800. Includes Romantic, Victorian, Modern and Contemporary British literatures.
• American literature . Includes all literature of the United States from Colonial times to the present.
• Professional concern and theory. Includes composition , bibliography, linguistics, creative writing and literature theory.

The student is required to complete a thesis and a successful oral defense on that thesis.

• In consultation with the department head, the student must select a committee with one chair or one or two second readers. while taking research hours , the student is expected to consult with the committee and to make satisfactory progress on the thesis.
• The final thesis must be formatted according to the thesis handbook for West Texas A&M University, available in the university bookstore.
• The thesis director will notify the graduate office that the candidate has successfully defended the thesis.

Students must see the department head and file a plan of study before completion of 15 graduate hours.

Choose one of the following:

• 36 semester hours in English with 24 semester hours of 5500-level courses or
• 30 semester hours in English and six additional semester hours with a minimum of 24 semester hours of 5500-level courses.

At least two course beyond the bachelor's degree in each of the following areas:

• British literature before 1800. Includes Old and Middle English, Renaissance, Jacobean, Puritan, Restoration and Georgian literatures.
• British literature before 1800. Includes Romantic, Victorian, Modern and Contemporary British literatures.
• American literature . Includes all literature of the United States from Colonial times to the present.
• Professional Concern and Theory. includes composition , bibliography, linguistics, creative writing and literature theory.

The comprehensive examination is a presentation of a professional paper ( 20-25 minutes in length ) on any topic related to the study of English.

• The paper may be substantial revision work of a work submitted in a graduate class, or it may be an original paper.
• Sources must be documented MLA style.
• In the final semester of course work, the student select a mentor from the graduate faculty and submit drafts of the paper to the mentor. A final draft should be approved by the mentor and submitted to the graduate faculty at least one week prior to the presentation.
• No later than four weeks prior to graduation , the student will offer a reading of the paper for the department's graduate faculty and other interested persons. The student will stand for examination question over the content of the paper and general issues related to the field. Based on recommendation of graduate faculty in attendance, the department head will advise the Graduate School that the student has or has not successfully completed this requirement for the degree.

Students must see the department head and file a plan of study before completion of 15 graduate hours.

• Complete requirements for M.A. in English and
• EDS 5505 or EDX 5510 and 5565.

• 18 semester hours of English 5500-level courses, six semester hours advanced and
• 12 semester hours of EDX 5501, EDS 5505, EDX 5510 and 5565.

• English (ENG)
• Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS)
• Spanish (SPAN)

 5310. Literary Criticism. Theories of criticism with much practice in application. (3 3 0)

 5320. Literature for Children. Book selection, standards of evaluation, sources of children's literature. Designed primarily for elementary teachers and librarians. (3 3 0)

 5401. Shakespeare-Early Plays. Development of Shakespeare as a dramatist. (3 3 0)

 5402. Shakespeare-Later Plays. Analysis of Shakespeare's mature dramatic works. (3 3 0)

 5442. Advanced Grammar. Emphasis on recent developments in grammatical theory. (3 3 0)

 5451. Classical Backgrounds. Detailed study of selected Greek and Latin writers in translation. (3 3 0)

 5470. Language Acquisition. How users of English make meaning through language. Emphasizes phonology, morphology, semantics and syntax. (3 3 0)

 Prerequisite for 5500-level courses: 24 semester hours of English.

 5501. Thesis. (3 0 0)

 5502. Thesis. (3 0 0)

 5505. Independent Study. Intensive reading and research in language and literature. Must be approved by supervising professor before registration. May be repeated with approval of department head. (1-3 0-3 0)

 5506. Studies in Literary Genres. Selected studies in literary genres. Readings, research, lectures, conferences with staff. May be repeated twice. (3 0-3 0)

 5507. Studies in Language Structure and Development. Selected studies in principles of language, historical linguistics, grammatical and semantic systems. Readings, research, lectures, conferences with staff. May be repeated twice. (3 0-3 0)

 5511. Elizabethan Literature. Seminar in major Renaissance writers other than Shakespeare. (3 3 0)

 5521. Hemingway and Faulkner. Representative works covering the entire careers of two of the most influential forces in recent American fiction. (3 3 0)

 5522. Literary Theory. Review of traditional literary theory and close examination of modern literary theory. (3 3 0)

 5570. 17th-Century Literature. Seminar in 17th-century prose and poetry. (3 3 0)

 5571. Studies in American Literature. Selected topics for study and research. May be repeated when subjects vary. (3 3 0)

 5573. Hawthorne and Melville. Extensive reading in the works of Hawthorne and Melville. (3 3 0)

 5574. 18th-Century Literature. Seminar in selected writers of the 18th century. (3 3 0)

 5575. Studies in English Romantic Literature. Seminar in literature of the English Romantic Movement; lectures, papers, parallel reading. (3 3 0)

 5576. Studies in English Literature. Selected topics for study and research. May be repeated when topics vary. (3 3 0)

 5599. Special Topics in English. Prerequisite: 24 hours of English. Topics in area of special graduate interest. May be repeated for credit when topics change. (3 3 0)

Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS)
(Numbers in parentheses indicate semester, lecture and lab hours.)
    Students having taken undergraduate "stacked" courses at WTAMU that have a graduate component cannot take the graduate course if they have already received credit for the corresponding undergraduate course.

 5301. Women's Studies I: Introduction. Survey of women's issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. (3 3 0)

 5302. Women's Studies II: The World of Women. Role of women in history, society, the behavioral sciences, the health care field, literature and the arts. May be repeated once with permission of major adviser and dean. (3 3 0)

Spanish (SPAN)
(Numbers in parentheses indicate semester, lecture and lab hours.)
    Students having taken undergraduate "stacked" courses at WTAMU that have a graduate component cannot take the graduate course if they have already received credit for the corresponding undergraduate course.

 5510. Problems in Spanish Language/Linguistics. Examination of specific problems with supervised individual research. May be repeated when topic varies. (3 0-3 0)

 5540. Processes of Language Change. Historical and/or regional changes in Spanish. May be repeated when topics vary. (3 3 0)

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