GUIDE TO GRADUATE STUDY IN ENGLISH
MA DEGREE
Prepared by
Graduate Faculty in English
Updated Spring 2013
FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY
English Department
600 Park Street
Hays, Kansas 67601-4099
785-628-4285
785-628-4087 (FAX)
www.fhsu.edu/english
CONTENTS
MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH ................................................................................................. 1
PROGRAM IN ENGLISH ................................................................................................................ 1
ADMISSION TO GRADUATE STUDY ........................................................................................ 2
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STUDENT............................................................................................. 2
GRADUATE ENGLISH COURSE PAPER REQUIREMENT .................................................. 3
SUMMER MA IN ENGLISH PROGRAM .................................................................................... 4
GUIDELINES FOR THE CURRENT GRADUATE EXAMINATION (2013) ........................ 5
SAMPLE GRADUATE EXAMINATION ..................................................................................... 7
GUIDELINES FOR THE NEW GRADUATE EXAMINATION (2014) ................................. 11
FORMAT FOR TITLE PAGE OF GRADUATE ENGLISH COURSE PAPER ................... 14
1
MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH
The Department of English offers two programs of study for the MA in English, a traditional MA
program (wherein students take classes during the fall, spring, and/or summer) and also a summer
MA program (wherein students take classes only during the summer), which allows teachers to earn
a degree in two or three years while remaining on the job during the fall and spring months. Students in
both programs meet the same requirements as described in the Program of English section below.
Students in the traditional MA program take classes throughout the academic year, following the
traditional academic calendar, while students in the summer MA program follow a calendar suited to a
summer-only residence requirement, described in detail in the section on the Summer MA Program
below. For the summer MA program, the basic assumption is that only certain activities need to be
performed on campus during two or three summer sessions; attending classes, participating in
discussions, and working in the library. Other activities—reading assignments and writing papers—can
be done off campus. The department sends all course syllabi and reading assignments to participants
early in the spring. Those who plan to finish the program in two years enroll each summer in five
courses (15 hours, meeting the requirements of all five courses with the exception of out-of-class papers
and projects; in the fall semester, while off campus, students write the papers and projects for all five
courses, removing incompletes as each course requirement is finished. Students who prefer to finish the
program in three years will follow these same procedures but will enroll in fewer hours each summer
(normally 12 hours each of the first two summers and six hours the last summer). For more information,
contact the Department of English Chair.
PROGRAM IN ENGLISH
The graduate program in English at Fort Hays State University leads to the Master of Arts degree.
Designed to enable students to improve their professional preparation for teaching English, the program is
also sufficiently flexible to permit those not interested in teaching as a career to obtain a Master of Arts
degree in the liberal arts tradition. Those pursuing doctoral studies in English find that this program is
excellent preparation. The objectives of the program are defined as follows:
1. to enable the beginning or established teacher to develop further professional competencies in
the teaching of English;
2. to develop the student's knowledge of literature, composition, and the English language;
3. to develop the student's skills in research and critical analysis.
Each student will be assigned an advisor who, in consultation with the student, will devise a
program of study that accounts for previous undergraduate preparation and current needs or interests.
Before being admitted to the Master of Arts degree in English, an applicant must have satisfactorily
completed 18 hours of undergraduate coursework in English with the following stipulations: at least one
course must be in American literature, at least one course must be in English literature, and Freshman
composition courses do not count toward the 18 hours.
2
Master of Arts in English (30 hours)
Requirements:
ENG 826: Approaches to Literature or Equivalent (to be taken in a student's first year) ........ 3 hours
ENG 898: Graduate English Course Paper (see #1 immediately below) .................................. 0 hours
Electives, 9 hours of which may be approved courses transferred to the program
from another school within 6 years prior to completing the program...................................... 27 hours
30 hours
NOTE: Because this is an on-campus program, no online courses count toward the FHSU MA in
English.
1. A copy of the degree candidate's best graduate course paper must be filed in the English Office.
(See page 3 for graduate course paper requirements and page 14 for a sample cover sheet.)
2. No more than 6 hours of independent projects may be counted toward the student's program.
Moreover, such courses are offered only under greatly extenuating circumstances.
Students must successfully complete the Graduate Examination.
ADMISSION TO GRADUATE STUDY
The procedures for seeking admission to the graduate program are set forth at the Graduate School
website <www.fhsu.edu/gradschl>. This Guide to Graduate Study in English provides important
supplementary information to help graduate students in English plan their programs.
Students will be admitted to graduate study in English according to the following criteria:
1. A bachelor's degree with a 3.0 GPA in a minimum of 18 hours of English courses beyond the
general studies composition courses or a 2.75 overall GPA.
2. Students who do not meet the basic requirements may enroll in the graduate program, but they must
remove their deficiencies by taking approved undergraduate courses or have graduate courses added
to the program of study.
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STUDENT
After admission, students will keep the graduate school and their graduate advisor informed of their
progress toward the degree. In addition, it will be the responsibility of the students to carry out the
following:
1. Satisfy the necessary prerequisites if deficiencies were specified on the application for admission to
graduate study (see Admission to Graduate Study above).
2. Sign up for the Graduate Examination with the Graduate School at the proper time. Prior to taking
3
the Graduate Examination, the student must have completed, and received a grade for, at least 7
graduate courses (21 credit hours) in English.
3. Pass the written Graduate Examination at the proper time.
4. File your "Intent to Graduate" with the Graduate School and complete a file review at the beginning
of the semester or summer session of intended graduation.
5. Complete 30 hours of course work with an average grade of "B" or higher.
6. Candidates for the MA degree must enroll in ENG 898 Graduate English Course Paper and, as the
sole requirement of this "course," file one approved copy of their best graduate course paper with
the English Office.
GRADUATE ENGLISH COURSE PAPER REQUIREMENT
Students must enroll in ENG 898 Graduate English Course Paper and submit one approved copy of
their strongest graduate course paper to the English Department. The graduate course paper is a record of a
research project or critical paper by the student under the supervision of a graduate faculty member in
whose course the paper was written. It should demonstrate the student's understanding of, and skills in,
research and critical writing. The paper must conform to the documentary style set forth in the most recent
edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The recommended range for the Graduate
English Course Paper is 15 to 25 pages, or 5250 to 8250 words in Times New Roman 12-point font, not
including the works cited or title page. Papers that do not meet the minimum requirements of 15 pages or
5250 words, without the works cited or title page, and at least 4 quality secondary sources will not be
accepted.
The student's advisor must certify that the student has completed this requirement by filing the
graduate course paper in the English Office. The title page (see format on page 14) must be signed by the
student's advisor or by the professor for whom the paper was written. The paper may be appraised by other
members of the graduate faculty if they are called upon to recommend the student for future employment or
further graduate study.
4
SUMMER MA IN ENGLISH PROGRAM
The Department of English offers a Summer MA program designed to make it possible for the inservice teacher to earn a master's degree in two years while remaining on the job.* The basic assumption is
that only certain activities—attending classes, listening to lectures, participating in discussions, working in
the library—need to be performed on campus and completed in two consecutive summer sessions, while
other activities—reading the assignments, writing papers, developing projects—can be performed off
campus.
Participants receive course syllabi and reading assignments early in the spring; each summer they
enroll for credit in 5 courses (15 hours), meeting the requirements of all 5 courses, with the exception of
out-of-class papers and projects, and taking automatic incompletes. While off-campus in the fall semester,
students should write the papers and projects for all 5 courses, and remove their incompletes by December.
Steps to Follow
1. January-March. Contact the Department of English or consult the web site
<www.fhsu.edu/english> for a reading list for the first summer's courses.
2. Apply for admission to the graduate school <www.fhsu.edu/gradschl>.
3. February-May. Read the assigned works on the list.
4. June-July. Enroll and take the first summer's courses (fifteen hours).
5. August-December. Write the assigned papers based on the first summer's courses.
6. January-April. Obtain syllabi and a reading list for the second summer's courses.
7. February-May. Read the assigned works on the list.
8. June-July. Enroll and take the second summer's courses (fifteen hours).
9. August-December. Write the assigned papers based on the second summer's courses.
10. Register for and take the comprehensive examination. (Students must have completed at least 7
English courses [21 hours] at the graduate level prior to taking the examination.)
*NOTE:
The program also allows students to complete the course requirements in three or four years
if this better suits their needs. Students choosing the longer plan will follow the same
procedure but will enroll in fewer hours each summer. (Students need to be aware, however,
that if they choose to complete the degree in three years, they might need to attend both the
June and July sessions for one of the summers.)
5
GUIDELINES FOR THE CURRENT GRADUATE EXAMINATION (THROUGH 2014)
PLEASE NOTE: THE GRADUATE FACULTY HAS APPROVED CHANGES TO THE
GRADUATE EXAMINATION THAT WILL TAKE EFFECT IN 2014. STUDENTS
MATRICULATING IN 2013 WILL TAKE THE NEW GRADUATE EXAMINATION. A
DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW EXAMINATION FOLLOWS THE SAMPLE EXAM FOR THE
CURRENT EXAMINATION (FOR STUDENTS WHO WERE ADMITTED TO THE
GRADUATE PROGRAM BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2013).
1. The graduate examination is a four-hour written exam consisting of four equally weighted questions
based on a limited reading list of works representing various genres.
2. The annual reading list is composed of the sections "Poetry," "Short Story or Novella," "Novel," and
"Drama" in the current reading list. In compiling the list, the graduate committee will engage a variety of
genres, periods, and writers. Poetry will be included on the reading list, although copies of poems are not
necessarily provided on the exam.
3. The Chair of the graduate committee will involve the graduate faculty in compiling the annual reading
list and questions. The reading list should be posted in the English office at the beginning of the spring
term. This will allow students sufficient time to study the designated works and to read critical studies of
the works or other appropriate background sources. The list will also be posted on the English Department
website <www.fhsu.edu/english>.
4. The graduate faculty will develop the questions for each examination. Questions will be designed to
reveal the student's ability to make sense of literary works. Questions on prose may include the following
considerations: genre, action and plot, characterization, setting and atmosphere, point of view, style,
symbolism, theme, and meaning. It would be appropriate, for example, to formulate questions on modes of
satire in Swift's Gulliver's Travels; the portrayal of the hero in a Hemingway novel; the function of irony
(or symbolism) in Crane's The Red Badge of Courage; the theme of justice (or the technique of caricature)
in Dickens' Bleak House; the probing of the American Dream in Fitzgerald's "Diamond as Big as the Ritz"
or The Great Gatsby; the use of gothic devices in Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"; the convention of
the grotesque in Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. Further, questions may present a short critical comment
(fabricated or drawn from established critical works) to which the student must respond with reference to a
specific work on the list.
Questions on poetry should take into account the following: genre, paraphrase, explication (analysis of
structure, texture, and meaning), prosody (rhythm and meter, rhyme, stanzaic forms, etc.), use of figurative
and symbolic language, tone, imagery, theme, and meaning.
Questions on drama should consider aspects of form (many of which are similar or identical to those of
fiction), genres (e.g., tragedy, comedy, poetic dramas, etc.), theme, and meaning.
5. Any question on the written examination might assume that the candidate is knowledgeable about
matters external to the literary work itself (e.g., historical and cultural contexts) and commonly discussed in
critical studies of that work.
6. The graduate examination must require students to demonstrate 1) analytical skill and 2) rhetorically
effective writing. Essays should focus on the question asked. Essays that show an understanding of the
6
work but fail to address the question will not be considered as passing.
7. Prior to taking the Graduate Examination, the student must have completed, and received a grade for, at
least 7 graduate courses (21 credit hours) in English.
8. Students may take the graduate exam more than once; however, if they fail the exam twice, they will be
advised to address any deficiencies or to withdraw from the program. The graduate committee may
recommend additional course work. Moreover, students will repeat the exam only on the question(s)
failed.
9. No particular time interval is required between taking the graduate exams, but students should consult
their advisors before signing up to retake the exam. The exams are given three times a year (March, June,
and October); a student must sign up for one of the scheduled exams because no special exams will be
composed.
10. Students will adhere to the policies of the English graduate examination in place when they matriculate;
if the policy changes while they are in the graduate program, they may but are not required to agree in
writing to abide by the revised one.
11. The three exams given in a calendar year (March, June, and October) will be based on the reading list
available in January of that year. Someone failing any section or all sections of an exam in October would,
therefore, need to prepare works from the new reading list for the next available exam, which would be in
March of the following year.
7
SAMPLE GRADUATE EXAMINATION
I.
Reading List
Novels
The Crying Lot of 49 (Pynchon)
The Stranger (Camus)
Poetry
Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare)
“A Psalm of Life” (Longfellow)
“Helen” (H. D.)
“Mr. Flood’s Party” (Robinson)
“Miners” (Owen)
Drama
I Am My Own Wife (Wright)
The School for Scandal (Sheridan)
Short Stories
“The Lesson” (Bambara)
“Dayspring Mishandled” (Kipling)
II.
Directions
The following questions have been designed to reveal your ability to make sense of literary
works. The exam is in four equally weighted parts; you will have a choice of questions in each
part. Take care to write with precision and clarity, since style will be taken into consideration by
the evaluators. Be sure to anchor generalizations to specific details.
1. Do not put your name on the exam or answer sheet. You will find a code number beneath
your name on the manila envelope containing your exam. Place this code number on both the
exam and your essay answer sheet, upper right-hand corner.
2. You may not use dictionaries; you may use a thesaurus.
3. Write on one side of the lined paper only.
4. Use a pen, not a pencil.
5. Choose only one question for each part of the exam.
6. At the beginning of each essay, identify the correct part of the exam (A, B, C, or D) and
number of the question you have selected. Place your answers in the appropriate order before
turning in your exam.
8
PART A
(One Hour)
1. Postmodernism is described usually as a progression or continuation of modernism, a rejection or
subversion of modernism, or a simultaneous continuation and subversion of modernism. Discuss
the relationship between modernism and postmodernism using The Crying of Lot 49 as an
example.
2. Explain fully what is meant by existential choice and existential dilemma and relate your
explanations to three to five events in Camus’ The Stranger.
3. Pynchon presents readers of The Crying of Lot 49 with a multitude of binary oppositions.
Explain how the novel’s conclusion relates to the preponderance of binary oppositions apparent
in the text.
PART B
(One Hour)
1. Kipling was notorious for using an ink brush to black out significant information in early drafts
of his stories. What has apparently been blacked out in “Dayspring Mishandled”? How does the
reader negotiate the various gaps, omissions, and silences in this story?
2. Explore how literary elements of Bambara's 1972 short story "The Lesson," such as
characterization and conflict, function to express the author's critique of American society.
3. What are the thematic similarities between the main plot of Kipling’s story “Dayspring
Mishandled” and the story contained in Manallace’s fraudulent Chaucerian fragment?
PART C
(One Hour)
1. Not a playwright of character but rather of situation and manipulation, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
uses brilliantly three stock plot components to comprise the structure of The School for Scandal.
Write an essay that identifies the three plot devices and show how he uses them to extraordinary
effect.
2. Reacting against the immoral Restoration comedies of manners, dramatists in the eighteenth
century wrote comedies that exalted sentiment and emphasized the goodness in human beings.
Write an essay that discusses Uncle Oliver, Maria, Charles, Sir Peter, and Lady Teazle in Richard
Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal as they illustrate tender, kindly, and generous
impulses.
3. Discuss the moment in I Am My Own Wife when Charlotte states, “I am my own wife.” When
does it happen? Discuss what compels Charlotte to make this statement. Then discuss and
explain how this statement is appropriate for the title of the play and as a theme for the play.
What are the interpretive implications of this cross-gendering pronouncement? How does this
statement serve as a climactic moment for the play?
9
PART D
(One Hour)
1. In one of the most cited scholarly essays on Venus and Adonis—“Self and Eros in Venus and
Adonis,” Coppélia Kahn argues the following:
I see it as a dramatization of narcissism—self-love in the form of withdrawal from others
into the self. This theme was richly explored in Shakespeare’s source, Ovid’s
Metamorphoses. Brilliantly improvising in several Ovidian tales, Shakespeare portrays
the paradox of the narcissist, whose attempt to protect himself against the threat of love
actually results in his self-destruction.
Argue either for or against Kahn’s interpretation of this poem. Use specific evidence to support
your perspective.
2. Ezra Pound’s famous dictum—“make it new”—refers to a reformulation of the past in modern
poetry, and, in some cases, a return to classical tradition. For example, modern poets such as
Eliot reach back to the myths and traditions of the past in order to yoke old cultural legacies to
the present, hoping to renew and restore old cultural values. How does H.D. differ in her return
to classical tradition? How and why does H.D. invoke the classical figure of Helen in her poem?
Provide an analysis of “Helen” that evaluates the purpose behind H.D.’s use of a famous Greek
figure. Does H.D. criticize a certain set of traditional values?
3.
“Mr. Flood’s Party”
The last stanza of “Mr. Flood’s Party” is always printed as
“For auld lang syne.” –The weary throat gave out,
The last word wavered; and the song being done,
He raised again the jug regretfully
And shook his head, and was again alone.
There was not much that was ahead of him,
And there was nothing in the town below—
Where strangers would have shut the many doors
That many friends had opened long ago.
However, the unpublished, original version reads as
“For auld lang syne.” The weary throat gave out,
The last word perished, and the song was done.
He raised again the jug regretfully,
And without malice would have ambled on;
But hearing in the bushes a new sound,
He smote with new profanity the cause,-And shook an aged unavailing fist
At an inhuman barrage of applause.
Write an essay in which you delineate the differences between the two versions. In so doing,
make a value judgment on which is better in terms of the meaning of the work itself. Your
discussion should refer to previous stanzas.
10
4. Though never addressed explicitly, the theme of victimization based on social class runs
throughout Wilfred Owen’s “Miners.” Provide an analysis of the poem that focuses on this
theme.
5. Compare the style and argument of Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life" (1838) with a
representative poem by another nineteenth-century American poet, such as Walt Whitman or
Frances Osgood, in order to demonstrate the distinctiveness of each poet and to point out
similarities or differences between the two poets' poetic or aesthetic aims.
11
GUIDELINES FOR THE NEW GRADUATE EXAMINATION (BEGINNING 2015)
The new graduate examination is substantially the same as the previous examination in that it
measures a student’s ability to analyze works of literature by discussing literary elements,
connecting historical and cultural contexts, and applying critical theories in a rhetorically
effective manner. The number of essays and length of the examination remain the same; students
will write four essays in four hours. The primary changes are in the type of reading lists for the
examination and in the inclusion of topics related to rhetoric, composition, and language in
addition to literature.
Prior to taking the examination, students will now choose three subject areas from the list below
to “specialize” in. Each subject area will have a fixed reading list determined by the faculty who
specialize in that subject area. On the exam, students will be required to answer four one-hour
questions, two in their primary field of specialization and one in each of the other two.
Subject Areas
Composition, Rhetoric, and Language
British Literature, Old English to 1660
British Literature, 1660 to 1900
American Literature, Colonial period to 1900
British and American Literature, post 1900
1. The reading lists for each area are composed of works in a variety of genres (poetry, long and
short fiction, non-fiction, and drama) by major writers in the specified period or of key works in the
theoretical area and are compiled by faculty with specializations in each area. Students will choose
three lists to study in preparation for the exam and as a complement to their coursework in the
program. Students should review lists and consider areas of interest on entering the program, read
these works in conjunction with course readings, and choose courses that will enhance study of
works on these basic lists with supplementary works and cultural, historical, and theoretical issues
associated with the concentration.
2. Reading lists comprise significant aspects of each area of study and represent what might be
considered essential or foundational works in each category. Therefore, these lists may be altered
slightly from time to time but can be considered relatively stable. This will allow students sufficient
time to study the designated works and to read critical studies of the works or other appropriate
background sources as they pursue their course of study through the program and prepare for the
comprehensive exam. The lists will be posted on the English Department website
<www.fhsu.edu/english> in December 2013.
3. The graduate faculty specializing in each area will develop the questions for the examination.
Questions will be designed to reveal the student's ability to make sense of literary works or to apply
and discuss theories. For literature categories, questions may require students to discuss literary
elements appropriate to the genre of the work.
12
Questions on prose may ask students to analyze genre, action and plot, characterization, setting and
atmosphere, point of view, style, symbolism, theme, and meaning. It would be appropriate, for
example, to have a question on modes of satire in Swift's Gulliver's Travels; the portrayal of the
hero in a Hemingway novel; the function of irony (or symbolism) in Crane's The Red Badge of
Courage; the theme of justice (or the technique of caricature) in Dickens' Bleak House; the probing
of the American Dream in Fitzgerald's "Diamond as Big as the Ritz" or The Great Gatsby; the use
of gothic devices in Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"; the convention of the grotesque in
Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. Further, questions may present a short critical comment (fabricated
or drawn from established critical works). This critical comment may be in reference to a particular
work or to an idea in critical theory, to which the student must respond.
Questions on poetry may take into account the following: genre, paraphrase, explication (analysis
of structure, texture, and meaning), prosody (rhythm and meter, rhyme, stanzaic forms, etc.), use of
figurative and symbolic language, tone, imagery, theme, and meaning.
Questions on drama may consider aspects of form (many of which are similar or identical to those
of fiction), genres (e.g., tragedy, comedy, poetic dramas, etc.), theme, and meaning.
4. Any question on the written examination may assume that the candidate is knowledgeable about
matters external to the literary work itself (e.g., historical and cultural contexts) and commonly
discussed in critical studies of that work. Questions may ask students to compare texts on the list
or illustrate the development of a theme or topic among the works on a list. In addition, any
question may require the application of critical approaches to the work, such as feminist or
postcolonial theories.
5. The graduate examination requires students to demonstrate 1) analytical skill and 2) rhetorically
effective writing. Essays should focus on the question asked. Essays that show an understanding of
the work but fail to address the question will not be considered as passing.
6. Each question will be graded by all committee members, but the deciding vote for each
question will be cast by a committee member who specializes in the given area. In the case of a
disagreement within the committee, other specialists in that area will be consulted for a final
decision.
7. Prior to taking the Graduate Examination, the student must have completed, and received a grade
for, at least 7 graduate courses (21 credit hours) in English.
8. Students may take the graduate exam more than once; however, if they fail the exam twice, they
will be advised to address any deficiencies or to withdraw from the program. The graduate
committee may recommend additional course work. Moreover, students will repeat the exam only
in the area(s) failed.
9. No particular time interval is required between taking the graduate exams, but students should
consult their advisors before signing up to retake the exam. The exams are given three times a year
13
(March, June, and October); a student must sign up for one of the scheduled exams. Exams will not
be given at other times of the year.
10. Students will adhere to the policies of the English graduate examination in place when they
matriculate; if the policy changes while they are in the graduate program, they may (but are not
required to) agree in writing to abide by the revised one.
14
TITLE
by
Student's Name
Graduate English Course Paper
ENG 898
APPROVED:
DATE:
(Advisor or Course Professor)