University of Richmond

Master of Arts in English

Students enrolling at the University of Richmond's Graduate Program in English may choose between two M.A. tracks with different curricular requirements.

Track 1: Masters Degree in English Literature

The program of study for the Masters Degree in English Literature can be completed in one year. Students are required to take 7 courses and a comprehensive examination administered in August. Since the exam will be administered through the University's web page, it will not be necessary for students to reside in Richmond upon completion of their coursework. The one-year track, while open to domestic students, has been designed especially to make it more possible for international students to earn a Masters degree in the United States.

Track 2: Masters Degree in English Literature with an Interdisciplinary Concentration

Students enrolled in this program of study choose an area of concentration to be investigated within an interdisciplinary framework. Examples of Interdisciplinary Concentrations include American Studies, Women's Studies, Renaissance Studies, Medieval Studies, and Comparative Literature. Students may create their own concentrations depending on the availability of relevant courses. Completion of the degree requires 10 courses and a thesis. Three of these courses must be taken outside of the English Department and must be relevant to the student's chosen area of concentration. Completion of this degree requires 1 1/2 to two years. This option should be particularly attractive to students intending to continue their studies at the Ph.D. level, since it will allow them to acquire a significant degree of expertise in a particular field in preparation for more specialized research. The interdisciplinary component of this track should also appeal to students for whom the M.A. will be a terminal degree, since it encourages the investigation of literary texts in the larger context of cultural production, and it offers a capstone experience through the process of thesis-writing.

Track 1 & Track 2 Requirements

In both tracks, students will have to meet the following curricular requirements:

  • One pre-1660 British Literature course
  • One 1660-1900 British Literature course
  • One American Literature course
    • Some of these course requirements may be waived depending on previous coursework fulfilled by the student (especially by international students). In all cases, students must select their courses in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator. Students wishing to transfer graduate course credit from other institutions must apply to do so at the beginning of the program. Students may transfer no more than two courses.
  • Students must show competency in one foreign language. This requirement may be satisfied by:
    • Satisfactory completion of at least 6 semester hours of the language above the elementary level at the student's undergraduate institution.
    • Placement at the student's undergraduate institution at a level equivalent to the end of the second years (intermediate level).
    • The completion of 6 semester hours in the language above the elementary level in the course of graduate study at the University of Richmond.
    • Satisfactory performance on an examination administered by the appropriate language department at the University of Richmond.
    • Satisfactory performance on a standardized test approved by the English department. Courses taken at the University of Richmond to satisfy the language requirement will not count toward the Masters degree.
  • No more than three of the English Literature courses in each track may be taken at the undergraduate level. For Track 2, courses outside the English Department must be taken at the advanced level, and special work arrangements must be made with instructors to receive graduate credit for these courses.
  • Students in both tracks are required to participate in a series of orientation sessions offered by MarciaWhitehead, one of the reference librarians at Boatwright Library, at the beginning of the academic year. These sessions will introduce them to research methods and skills.

Track 1 Comprehensive Examination for Masters Degree

  • Students will be required to choose three out of a possible four literary texts to prepare for this exam (for example, a long poem, or collection of poems; a play/film; a novel). They will be expected to be very knowledgeable of the spectrum of relevant critical approaches to these works. The four texts will be selected by members of the English Department and announced at the beginning of the second semester of study.
  • The exam will consist of three questions, one on each work prepared by the student. Student responses will be limited to ca. 6 typed pages per question, and they will have three days to complete the exam.
  • The exam will be administered on Blackboard in the first week of August. Since the exam will be administered through the University's web page, it will not be necessary for students to reside in Richmond upon completion of their coursework.
  • Possible exam grades will include: "Pass", "Fail", and "Honors"
  • If students fail one or two of the three questions, they will be allowed to retake the failed sections within two months.
  • Students are encouraged to contact relevant faculty for advice on developing a bibliography for each of the works they will be preparing.