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Admissions

All applicants to the M.A. program must have earned a bachelor's degree from a four year college. Applicants must also have completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) undergraduate hours in English. The hours must include at least three semester hours of Shakespeare, three of American literature, three of English literature, three of World literature or contemporary literature, three of advanced grammar, and three of advanced composition.

A student who fails to meet these qualifications will be expected to satisfy the requirements by enrolling in undergraduate courses before beginning graduate studies in English.

Scores for the verbal sections of the GRE general test and for the GRE Literature and English test must be submitted for consideration as a part of the admission process.

Application forms may be obtained from the office of the Graduate School and must be completed and returned to the Graduate Office before action can be taken on the application. An applicant may be admitted to the program unconditionally, provisionally, or as a special student.

Unconditional Admission: To qualify for unconditional admission to the programs, an applicant must have earned an overall average of 3.0 on a four point system (or 2.0 on a three-point system) in undergraduate studies.

Provisional Admission: An applicant may be admitted to graduate studies on a provisional basis if (1) the record of undergraduate preparation reveals deficiencies that can be removed near the beginning of graduate study, or if (2) the applicant lacks the required grade point average for unconditional admission. The applicant may then become eligible for unconditional admission by successfully completing the first nine hours of course work with a 3.0 or better average. Students admitted provisionally may also be required to pass examinations to demonstrate their knowledge in certain areas or to take special undergraduate courses to improve their background. A minimum grade point average of 2.6 in undergraduate work is required for provisional admission.

Special Students: Students not seeking the M.A. or M.S. degree may be admitted in order to take courses for self improvement or for renewal of teaching certificates. If the student subsequently wishes to pursue the M.A. or M.S. program, he or she must request an evaluation of the work. Under no circumstances may the student apply toward a degree program more than twelve(12) hours earned as a special student.