Master of Arts in English Language and Literature
      Admission Requirements
      Degree Requirements
      Area of Concentration: Creative Writing
Master of Arts in Composition and Communication
      Admission Requirements
      Degree Requirements
Master of Arts in TESOL
      Admission Requirements
      Degree Requirements
Unspecified Content or Variable Credit Courses
ENG Course Descriptions

Department of English Language and Literature website

Stephen C. Holder, Chairperson
215 Anspach Hall, (989) 774-3171

Sharon Stevenson, Coordinator of Graduate Studies

Anne Alton, Ph.D., Children's Literature, British
Literature
Ronnie Apter, Ph.D., Comparative Literature
Ari Berk, Ph.D., Myth, Folklore, Native American Literature
William Brevda, Ph.D., American Literature
Elizabeth Brockman, Ph.D., English Education, Composition
John Charles, Ph.D., African American Literature
Mary Ann Crawford, Ph.D., Director of Basic Writing, Linguistics
John Dinan, Ph.D., Composition/Rhetoric
Reade Dornan, Ph.D., English Education
Maureen Eke, Ph.D., Comparative Literature
Mark Freed, Ph.D., Literary Theory
Peter H. Fries, Ph.D., Linguistics
Pamela Gates, Ph.D., Children's Literature, English Education
Leslie Grant, Ph.D., Linguistics
Susan Griffith, Ph.D., English Education & Children's Literature
Desmond Harding, Ph.D., British Literature
Janice Hartwick-Dressel, Ph.D., Children's Literature, English Education
Laretta Henderson, Ph.D., Children's Literature
Heidi Holder, Ph.D., British Literature, British Drama
Stephen C. Holder, Ph.D., American Literature
Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Ph.D., Literary Theory
Peter T. Koper, Ph .D., Rhetoric
Melinda Kreth, Ph.D., Technical Writing
Kristen McDermott, Ph.D., British Literature
Mary DeJong Obuchowski, Ph.D., Rhetoric, American Literature
Daniel Patterson, Ph.D., American Literature
John R. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., Bibliography, English Literature
Ronald Primeau, Ph.D., Rhetoric, Romantic Literature
Matthew Roberson, Ph.D., Creative Writing/Fiction
Robert L. Root, Jr., Ph.D., Rhetoric, Creative Non-fiction
Susan Schiller, Ph.D., Composition, Rhetoric
Sandra Seaton, M.A., Creative Writing
Richard D. Seiter, Ph.D., Children’s Literature, 19th Century English Literature
William Spruiell, Ph.D., Linguistics
Susan Stan, Ph.D., Children's Literature
Susan Steffel, Ph.D., English Education, YA Literature
Sharon Stevenson, Ph.D., Medieval English Literature
Marcy Taylor, Ph.D., Composition, English Education
Stacy W. Thompson, Ph.D., Modern Literature
Eric Torgersen, M.F.A., Creative Writing
Jeffrey Weinstock, Ph.D., American Literature

The Department of English at Central Michigan University offers three graduate degrees: a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature, a Master of Arts in Language and Literature with an option in Creative Writing, a Master of Arts in Composition and Communication, and a Master of Arts in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). A description of each degree program follows.

Graduate classes are small and provide the student with ample opportunity for interaction with professors and other graduate students. Graduate-level classes are offered in the late afternoons and evenings.
(Top of page)

Master of Arts in English Language and Literature
This program is designed to meet the needs of students who wish to teach English at a community college, for students seeking preparation for advanced study at the doctoral level at another university, or for students teaching English at the secondary level who wish to pursue more study in the discipline.

Admission Requirements
To become a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language and Literature, a student must have an undergraduate major or minor in English 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. For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL score of 550 (213 CBT) and a TWE of at least 5, or a MELAB of 85, are required for admission.

Degree Requirements
Students must complete at least 15 of their total semester hours at or above the 600 level. At the advisor’s discretion up to six hours from other departments may be included.

Required courses (15 hours)
1. Literary criticism (3): ENG 535 or 636
2. Language or linguistics (3): ENG 545,570,576, or 579
3. Writing (3): ENG 602
4. Two 600-level seminars in literature (6)
*Students in the Creative Writing Concentration may choose either ENG 601 or ENG 602.

Plan A: 9 additional hours of course work authorized by the advisor and planned with the student, plus thesis (6 hours) and oral examination over thesis.

Plan B: 15 additional hours of course work, authorized by the advisor and planned with the student, plus a scholarly paper.

Area of Concentration: Creative Writing (9 hours)
The student must submit a portfolio of original poetry or fiction for approval before selecting this concentration. Students following this concentration must select Plan A, and must complete the required courses listed above for the Master of Arts in English Language and Literature, with the exception that they need only complete ENG 601 OR ENG 602 in the Writing sequence for three hours of credit. In addition to the required courses listed above, students must complete the following nine hours:

1. Creative writing: ENG 691 (6) or ENG 692 (6)
2. Elective (3) Authorized by the advisor and planned with the student.

Total: 30 hours
(Top of page)

Master of Arts in Composition and Communication
The Master of Arts degree in Composition and Communication is a program of courses centering on theory and practice in non-fiction forms of writing. It prepares graduate students to be career writers composing in disciplines other than English, professional writers composing within their own disciplines, creative writers composing in non-fiction forms, or teachers specializing in non-fiction forms. It allows for breadth of background and experience in composition as well as concentration in a selected area of interest. Required courses ground students in writing, editing, and rhetorical analysis, while elective courses give the opportunity to focus on creative, professional and pedagogical development. Students in this program will have priority access to designated English Department computer facilities throughout their course of study.

Admission Requirements
To become a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in Composition and Communication, a student must have an undergraduate major or minor in English 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. Students should contact the Coordinator of Graduate Studies for a description of what this portfolio should contain and how it should be put together. For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL score of 550 (213 CBT) and a TWE of at least 5, or a MELAB of 85, are required for admission.

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

Required Courses (12 hours)
1. Graduate Writing (3):
ENG 601 (3) Graduate Composition

2. Rhetorical Analysis (6):
ENG 637 (3-6) Seminar in Rhetoric and Composition
ENG 514 (3) Language and Media Discourse

3. Editing (3)
ENG 638 (3) Seminar in Textual Analysis and Editing

Elective Courses (18 hours)
Restricted Electives (12 hours) in one of three specialty areas:
Specialized Writing
BCA 505 (3) Advanced Electronic Media Writing
ENG 593 (3) Seminar in Writing Nonfiction
ENG 603 (3) Advanced Professional Communication
ENG 691 (3) Seminar: Writing Fiction
JRN 517 (3) Science and Environmental Reporting

Rhetorical Analysis and Communication Theory
ENG 573 (3) Linguistics and Reading
ENG 576 (3) Fundamental Issues in Language
ENG 675 (3) Seminar in English Linguistics
IPC 558 (3) Historical Backgrounds of Communication Theory
IPC 661 (3) Contemporary Communication Theory
IPC 662 (3) Advanced Persuasion
IPC 750 (3) Rhetorical Criticism

Teaching and Writing
ENG 510 (3) Writing Center Practicum
ENG 517 (3) Reading and the English Classroom
ENG 519 (3) Teaching of Composition
ENG 571 (3) Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages
ENG 615 (3) Problems in the Teaching of English
ENG 618 (3) Teacher Research Methods
ENG 672 (3) Applied Linguistics in Written Communication

Unrestricted Elective Courses (6 hours)
Advanced courses chosen in consultation with an advisor.

Thesis (6 hours) or Internship (6 hours)
ENG 718 (6) Internship: Teaching
ENG 719 (6) Internship: Professional Communication
ENG 799 (6) Thesis, plus oral examination over thesis

Total: 36 hours
(Top of page)

Master of Arts in TESOL
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Admission Requirements
To be admitted into the M.A. TESOL program, a student should have an undergraduate major or minor in English, linguistics, language arts, reading or a foreign language, with a grade point average of at least 3.0 in his or her major or minor and a cumulative average of 2.7. Applicants with majors in areas not related to language will be considered on an individual basis. In addition, two years of college foreign language study (or its equivalent) are required. For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL score of 550 (213 CBT) and a TWE of at least 5, or a MELAB of 85, are required for admission.

Degree Requirements
Students must complete 30 semester hours, 24 hours in core courses, and 6 hours in electives. Students must pass a comprehensive examination. A Plan B paper is required.

Required Courses (24 hours)
ENG 571 (3) TESOL
ENG 574 (3) TESOL Materials, Assessment, Curriculum
ENG 577 (3) Introduction to Second Language Acquisition
ENG 673 (3) English Phonology for Language Teachers
ENG 674 (3) English Grammar for Language Teachers
ENG 672 (3) Applied Linguistics in Written Communication
ENG 675 (3) Seminar in English Linguistics*
ENG 690 (3) Practicum in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language)

* The remaining 3-6 credits for ENG 675 may be taken as elective course credits.

Elective Courses (6 hours)
ENG 517 (3) Reading and the English Classroom
ENG 573 (3) Linguistics and Reading
ENG 576 (3) Fundamental Issues in Language
ENG 578 (3) Applied Sociolinguistics
ENG 579 (3-9) Topics in English Linguistics
ENG 615 (3) Problems in Teaching English
ENG 675(3-6) Seminar in English Linguistics
SED 513 (3) Foundations of Bilingual Bicultural Education
SED 514 (3) Methods and Materials for Bilingual Bicultural Education
SED 581 (3) Statistics in Education

Total: 30 hours
(Top of page)

Unspecified content or variable credit courses. Click here for additional information regarding these types of courses. The following courses offered through the department are of unspecified content or variable credit: ENG 513, 547, 559, 569.
(Top of page)

Disclaimer