English
M.A. Program
FAQs
Welcome to the English M.A. Program FAQ page.
If your question isn't answered here, please ask.
This page is maintained by: William.Smith@wwu.edu
INDEX
Questions
about applying to the MA in English program
What
is the application deadline for the program?
Applications
for fall quarter admission must be complete by February 15. Applications
completed after that date may be considered on a space-available
basis. Unfortunately, applications completed after June 1 cannot
be considered.
Can
I submit my application to the program online?
At this
time, the Graduate School does not accept applications online, though
they may in the near future.
How
do I request application materials?
You may request application materials
from the Graduate School by calling 360/650-3170; by e-mailing your
request to gradschl@wwu.edu;
or by visiting the Graduate
School website.
When
do new students begin the program? Can a new student join the program
at any time?
Those
who have been admitted to the MA in English program begin the program
in the fall of each year. Western Washington University is on the
quarter system, so our fall quarter classes typically start in late
September. Orientation for teaching assistants is usually held the
week before fall quarter classes begin. Students who have been accepted
to the program receive seminar registration materials (course offerings,
instructions for registering online, by telephone, or in person)
in the mail in late August/early September. Because we value a strong
community and shared experiences among our students, we do not normally
offer admission beginning in other quarters.
Is
it possible to transfer from another Master's program into Western's
Master's degree in English program? Is it possible to transfer graduate
seminar credit from another institution?
All students
must first apply for admission to the program and be offered admission
before transfer credit for courses taken elsewhere is considered.
We accept a limit of nine quarter credits or six semester credits
(usually two courses), graded with a B or better, taken no more
than three years prior to a student's quarter of admission. We typically
require syllabi, sample papers, and catalogue course descriptions
as part of the transfer credit consideration process.
I
don't have an undergraduate degree in English, but am interested
in earning my Master's degree in English. Do I have any chance of
being admitted to the program?
Our Department
faculty and our Graduate Admissions Committee have welcomed applications
from prospective students with conventional and less conventional
academic backgrounds. We have had very successful MA students who
have come to the program without the undergraduate major in English.
Normally, we require applicants to the program who do not have the
undergraduate degree in English to have about 30 upper-division
credits in English. Occasionally, past coursework not in English
but in a related field will help fulfill these requirements. We
advise some applicants to take upper-division English courses on
a post-baccalaureate basis: this way, prospective applicants can
get an idea of what formal academic study of English is (and whether
they enjoy it) and the Graduate Admissions Committee will get an
idea of how well non-English major applicants perform in formal
academic study of English.
I
received my undergraduate degree from Western Washington University
and am interested in getting an MA degree in English. Should I apply
to Western's program?
Although
the department is proud of its graduate program, we do recommend
that you apply to other graduate programs, so that you can expand
your experience and have the opportunity to take classes from a
new set of professors. However, if there are reasons why continuing
your studies at Western is right for you--if you are unable to leave
the Bellingham area, for example--we encourage you to apply to our
graduate program.
I'm
Canadian and given that Bellingham and British Columbia are so close,
I'm thinking of applying to your program. Are there any special
difficulties for Canadian students in the program? Have Canadian
students attended the program in the past?
Yes, Canadian students have successfully
attended and completed the program in the past, sometimes choosing
to focus on Canadian or Canadian-American writers. (Western Washington
University has an active
Canadian-American Studies undergraduate program, though this
program is not directly affiliated with the English Department.)
If commuting from Canada were involved, the time involved getting
over the border could be an issue. Additionally, there may be financial
aid or other University policies regarding Canadian students that
might apply. For further information, you may contact the
Graduate School at
360/650-3170 or gradschl@wwu.edu.
I am
an international student considering applying to your Master's program
in English. Are there specific rules that govern international student
applications? Are international students eligible for teaching assistantships?
Yes, specific
rules govern international student applications to the graduate
program. Please refer to the Graduate School web page for details
concerning TOEFL requirements and scores, financial responsibility
funds, and so on. Teaching assistantships usually are not granted
for the first year of graduate study to international students whose
first language is not English. The possibility exists for some assistance
in the form of an internship during the second year, but this is
by no means guaranteed. Again, the Graduate School web page provides
detailed information on these topics.
Questions
about the application materials and requirements
I
really want to apply to the program, but am nervous about taking
the GREs (Graduate Record Exam). Do I have to? Will you accept another
exam as a substitute? Will you waive the requirement if I already
have an advanced degree? What if I get a terrible score? What if
I get a decent score on the verbal section but a low score on the
math section?
We do require all applicants,
without exception, to have taken the
Graduate Record Exam (GRE), General Test. We do not accept substitutions
of other exams, an advanced degree, and so on. We ask for a minimum
score of 500 on the verbal section of the exam and a strong score
on the analytic section. However, we realize how arbitrary standardized
exams can be and how differently people can respond to the standardized
exam-testing environment. We also realize that applicants for an
MA program in English may not have taken a math course in quite
awhile. So while we require GRE scores, we look at them as part
of the entire application package and we do not weigh them as heavily
as we do other parts of the application.
I'm
starting to put my application materials together, but I'm not sure
about the 750-word statement. What kinds of information should I
include? Is it all right if it's longer than 750 words?
The statement
of background and intention is an important part of the application
package, one examined closely by our Graduate Admissions Committee.
Various issues/questions that the statement may appropriately address
are: Why is the applicant considering graduate school at this point?
What will attending graduate school do for the applicant? What contributions
will the applicant make to the program? The statement is also a
good location in which to explain transcripts, if some context is
needed; to discuss areas that the applicant is/has been interested
in; to consider future areas of interest and study. For applicants
in the Creative Writing concentration, the statement would be an
appropriate place to discuss awareness of the applicant's craft,
of her or his development as a writer. The statement is deliberately
limited to 750-words and applicants are strongly urged to respect
this limit.
What
should I use for my writing sample? How long should my writing sample
be?
The writing sample should be
the best paper you ever wrote. If you are applying with a concentration
in English Studies, you should
submit a critical research paper that reflects your ability to interpret
texts based upon your critical insights and your understanding and
synthesis of the ideas of others. The paper should use research
and should include endnotes and bibliography, following Modern Language
Association (MLA) style. If you are applying in the
Creative Writing concentration, submit the best work you have
written in the genre in which you wish to concentrate. You may wish
to consult with your creative writing teachers for help in making
this selection. The length of writing samples is as follows: for
admission to the program with a concentration in creative writing,
20 to 30 pages of prose or 10 to 15 pages of poetry; for admission
to the program with a concentration in English Studies, 7 to 12
pages of written work in literary study. We ask that you do not
exceed these page limits.
May
I combine poetry and prose for my writing sample?
Yes, you
may, if you wish combine poetry and prose for your writing sample,
as long as you stay within total page limits. So, for instance,
a combined sample of 30 pages of prose and 15 pages of poetry would
go well beyond stated limits, while 20 pages of prose and 5 pages
of poetry would be in line with these limits. In any case, you should
be sure to submit your best work.
Your
program requires at least three letters of recommendation as part
of the application. I received my college degree quite a while ago
and I don't think any of my professors would remember me well enough
to be able to write an effective letter of recommendation for me.
What should I do?
Applicants
who have been in this fairly common situation in the past have negotiated
it in various ways. Some applicants who have recently participated
in a writing course or workshop or summer program have solicited
letters from those who taught them. Applicants who graduated from
college in the past five years or so, have contacted a professor
who did indeed remember them and was happy to write on their behalf.
Others have asked for their employer to write a letter that addresses
qualities valuable in both the workplace and the academy--responsibility,
dedication, hard work, communication skills. The least effective
letters of recommendation are typically those from friends or family
who, appropriately, are too fond of us to be able to evaluate effectively.
Questions
about degree options and program requirements
I'm
thinking about applying to your Master's in English program with
a concentration in Creative Writing, but am also considering applying
to MFA in Creative Writing programs. What is the difference between
these degrees?
In general,
the differences between the Master's in English (MA) and the Master's
of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing are that the MFA is the terminal
degree; MFA programs may require fewer courses in literature and
critical theory; and the MA in English tends to be a broader degree.
Of course, requirements for degrees vary significantly from one
program to the next and so perhaps the best way to explore differences
between these degrees and among institutions is to visit the web
sites for the programs to which you are considering applying.
Does
the English Department offer a Master's in Teaching (MAT) degree?
Unfortunately,
no, we do not offer the Master's in Teaching (MAT) degree at this
time.
I'm
interested in the Master's degree in English with a concentration
in Creative Writing. Will I have to take courses in subjects other
than Creative Writing in order to complete requirements for the
degree?
Yes. It's important to realize
that students admitted to the program--no matter what the concentration--will
all earn the same degree, the Master's degree in English. Students
in the program all have to take courses in their designated concentration
and in the other concentration as well. That means students with
a concentration in Creative Writing
must take a certain number of literature, theory, pedagogy, rhetoric,
or linguistics courses, while students with a concentration in
English Studies must take a certain number of creative writing,
pedagogy, rhetoric, or linguistics courses. If you only want to
take creative writing courses, this is probably not the program
for you and you may wish to research other options.
I
have been working on a book-length project. If I'm accepted to your
program, will I able to concentrate solely on completing my project
and work only with faculty involved in the genre in which I'm writing?
We have
had students in the past who have entered the MA program with writing
projects that were complete, nearly complete, half-finished, partially
imagined, and all stages in between. Many of these students completed
their projects while in the program or began related projects as
a result of their studies here. It is, however, important to keep
in mind that this is a program that awards the credential of the
MA in English. That means that there are various requirements involved
in this degree that Department faculty feel strongly about. Given
the deliberate design of the program, students are required to work
in various genres, take a variety of seminars, and work with a range
of faculty members.
I
see that your program requires completion of a second language requirement
as part of earning the Master's degree. What are the various ways
that the requirement for a second language can be fulfilled? At
what point in the program do students fulfill this requirement?
There
are a variety of ways graduate students can fulfill the second language
requirement. If the student has recently (within two or three years)
completed the final course in a second-year language sequence with
a grade of B or better, we consider the requirement to be met. Additionally,
one-hour translation exams (typically, in French, German, and Spanish,
though exams in other languages can be arranged) are offered to
graduate students fall, winter, and spring quarters. The exams are
graded Pass/Fail and a grade of Pass fulfills the second language
requirement. Also, we are sometimes able to offer a graduate seminar
in Medieval Literature that includes an Old English translation
exam. Successful passing of that exam meets the second language
requirement. Some graduate students also enroll in undergraduate
classes in second languages, though of course this can be very time-consuming.
Finally, graduate students with a concentration in Creative Writing
may elect to take an additional graduate seminar in literature in
order to substitute for the second language requirement. Under all
circumstances, we strongly encourage students to complete the second
language requirement during their first year in the program, so
that they may concentrate on other parts of the program during their
second year.
Questions
about completing the program--full-time, part-time, evenings, summer,
on-line
How
long does it typically take to complete the degree?
The great
majority of students in the Master's in English program finish their
degrees in two years (six quarters). Each year, a few second-year
students finish their degrees in 5 quarters and occasionally a student
will take more than two years to finish, but the program is designed
to be completed in six quarters.
Is
it possible to attend the program on a part-time basis?
The best
case scenario for someone wishing to attend part-time would be an
applicant who did not need or want financial aid or a Teaching Assistantship
and whose schedule allowed enrollment in seminars offered during
the day.
Since
the normal seminar load per quarter is two seminars (10 credits),
part-time would be one seminar per term (5 credits). However, because
our program is primarily designed for full-time attendance, part-time
enrollment would have its challenges. For instance, most graduate
seminars are offered during the day, with only the occasional seminar
offered in the evening, so a student hoping to attend part-time
by taking evening seminars would have significant scheduling difficulties.
Additionally, in order to be eligible for financial aid, a student
must carry a minimum of 10 credits, while a student awarded a Teaching
Assistantship (TA) must carry a minimum of 8 credits, both well
over part-time status. Thus, the part-time student would be ineligible
for both financial aid and a Teaching Assistantship.
Is
it possible to earn my degree by taking summer courses and evening
classes?
No, the
MA requires courses that are not typically offered during the summer
or as evening classes.
Do
you offer graduate seminars online?
No, we
do not offer graduate seminars online (nor through distance learning
of any kind).
Other
QuestionsAbout Western, Bellingham, Housing
I
would like to know more about Western Washington University and
about Bellingham, too, especially housing information. Does the
University have graduate student housing?
For more information on Western
Washington University in general, you may want to go to the
University web page (which you may have used to get to this
site). It provides much information and many links about the University.
Though the English Department is unable to help you locate off-campus
housing and Western does not have student housing specifically for
graduate students, you may wish to consult the University
Residences web site which gives details about living expenses
in Bellingham and offers information about campus apartment rentals
for married students and families. For information about the wonderful
town of Bellingham, a place many people come to and almost no one
wants to leave, you may want to check out the website for the local
newspaper, the Bellingham
Herald, which gives a variety of details about Bellingham activities,
entertainment, music, schools, neighborhoods, and housing.
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