This section provides information on admission requirements, degree requirements, and the
portfolio requirement.

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To become a candidate for the MAECC, a student must have an undergraduate degree with a grade
point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale and a cumulative grade point average of at least
2.7 or demonstrate equivalent academic or professional experience.

All candidates for admission to this program must submit a portfolio of representative writing
(see below). For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL score of 550 and a TWE of
at least 5, or a MELAB of 85, are required for admission.

Portfolio Requirement

The theory, practice, and pedagogy of nonfiction writing are at the core of the MAECC program. 
With this in mind, the program requires the submission of a writing portfolio as part of the admission
process.  There are two ways to fulfill this requirement.  Full acceptance into the program requires
that applicants submit a complete Admissions Writing Portfolio.

Alternatively, candidates may request “provisional acceptance” into the program and submit a
Provisional Writing Portfolio as part of their application process.  A description of each of
these portfolios follows.

Admissions Writing Portfolio
[submitted by students seeking full acceptance into the MAECC]

1. Combined with other application material, the Admissions Writing Portfolio leads to final
   acceptance into the MAECC program; the material in this Admissions Writing Portfolio will
   allow the program’s faculty to assess candidates’ current and potential literacy skills.
   
2. The material constituting the Admissions Writing Portfolio should be a representative
   sampling of past and current writing experience which cumulatively offers an understanding of the student's background and abilities in writing.
   
3. The emphasis in the portfolio must be on nonfiction writing and one submission must be a conventional academic paper based in scholarly research and using current
   bibliographical citation formats. The remaining contents of the portfolio may include:
   
   -- technical and professional documents produced for job-related publication or circulation;
   
   -- original or revised unpublished or ungraded nonfiction compositions indicative of
   the kinds of writing the student is interested in pursuing as part of the MAECC program;
   
   -- excerpts of nonfiction work in progress; and/or
   
   -- a “literacy narrative” describing and reflecting upon the evolution over time of the
   student’s literacy skills and attitudes, especially with regard to written literacy. 
   
4. The total number of pages submitted should be no less than 20 and no more than 35.  One paper must be at least 8-10 pages long.  No more than 5 pages should be imaginative prose (fiction, drama, screenplay).  No poetry should be submitted.
   
5. A one-page single-spaced rationale for the material submitted must accompany the portfolio. 
   It should introduce the material included and explain the relationship between this writing and
   the student's past experience in composition and communication.

[submitted by students seeking conditional acceptance into the MAECC]

1. Combined with other application material, the Provisional Writing  Portfolio leads to conditional
   acceptance into the MAECC program.  [ Note:  To officially continue in the MAECC program
   beyond their first semester, applicants who select the Provisional Portfolio option for acceptance
   into the MAECC must submit a complete Admissions Writing Portfolioby the end of their first
   semester of classes in the program.  See above for description.]

2. In combination with the application letter required of all candidates, the material in this Provisional
   Writing Portfolio will allow the program’s faculty to assess candidates’ current and potential literacy skills.

3. The Provisional Writing Portfolio must contain one or two pieces of nonfiction writing totaling
   8-12 pages and be indicative of the applicant’s general writing skills and ability to reflect seriously
   and articulately on a subject.  The writing submitted may be from the applicant’s past work, newly-generated work, work in progress, or a combination thereof, and may include a “literacy narrative.”
   [For further guidance, see item 4 above, for a list of forms of writing appropriate to full Admissions
   Portfolio.  Such pieces are also appropriate for the Provisional Writing Portfolio.]

A one-page single-spaced rationale for the material submitted must accompany the portfolio. 
It must introduce the material included and explain the relationship between this writing and the
student's past experience in composition and communication. 

**********

Candidates who are not accepted into the program may submit a revised portfolio no sooner
than one semester after the original submission and may only resubmit once.

REMINDER: Submit two (2) copies of the entire portfolio. Photocopies are acceptable.

Mail the portfolios to

Students must complete at least 15 of their 30 total semester hours at or above the 600 level.

To view descriptions of the courses listed below, visit the Graduate Bulletin. Search by course designator (i.e., ENG)

Required Courses (9 hours)

• Graduate Writing (3) : ENG 601 (3): Graduate Composition
• Rhetorical Analysis (3) : ENG 637 (3): Seminar in Rhetoric & Composition
• Editing (3): ENG 638 (3): Seminar in Textual Analysis & Editing

Elective Courses (15 hours)