Graduate Program
Masters Programs
Composition and Rhetoric
The Master of Arts (M.A.) with a concentration in Composition and Rhetoric combines intensive study of current theory and practice within the discipline with carefully supervised training in the teaching of writing. Small classes with some of the most distinguished teacher-scholars in the field enable students to build individual research agendas shaped in relation to faculty expertise.
To earn the degree, students must complete at least 12 hours of coursework in Composition and Rhetoric, including a three-week summer seminar in the theory and practice of teaching composition. Over the course of four semesters, students choose their Composition and Rhetoric electives from offerings that represent a range of emphases within our program.
All students admitted to the M.A. program in Composition and Rhetoric hold Graduate Assistantships that permit them to teach two sections of first-year composition in the College Composition program during their first year in the program, and three during the second. During their first year, students also enroll in a full-year workshop that supports their classroom teaching and a two-credit introduction to issues of the profession required of new M.A. and Ph.D. students in all degree programs.
More information about the College Composition program is at the College Composition website.
Students who choose to write a thesis must also take either a course in linguistics or one in literary theory, while those who choose the final written and oral examination option take both of those courses. Three seminars in literature are also required for the degree.