English (MA)
The MA in English offers broad training in a variety of historical eras and cultural traditions, from the Medieval period to the contemporary moment. There are also opportunities for students interested in the digital humanities, critical theory, and writing pedagogy.
The English (MA) also offers an Accelerated Master's Pathway for Undergraduate students to complete their Graduate studies in a fifth year. Further details of the AMP, including the suggested sequence of courses, can be found under the Curriculum tab.
Related Programs
Curriculum
Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in English requires 30 semester hours of coursework. The program is designed so that a full-time student can complete these requirements in a year and a half of study.
Besides the traditional Master's program, the English (MA) is also offered as an Accelerated Master's Pathway where exceptional students can complete the program in a fifth year. A suggested sequence for the AMP can be found below.
Required Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 400 | Intro to Graduate Study | 3 |
| Select Three (3) Courses in Literary Studies Courses | 9 | |
At least one course must be in literature before 1800, and one in literature after 1800. | ||
| Select One Course in Critical Theory | 3 | |
| History of the English Language | ||
| Contemporary Literary Criticism | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Literature and Culture | ||
| Topics in Critical Theory | ||
| Postcolonial Theory | ||
| Marxist Literary Theory | ||
| Feminist Theory and Criticism | ||
| Dramatic Theory | ||
| Select One Course in Textual Studies or Digital Humanities | 3 | |
| History of the Book to 1800 | ||
| Textual Criticism | ||
| Media and Culture | ||
| Select Three 400-Level ENGL Elective Courses 1 | 9 | |
| ENGL 500 | Capstone Seminar | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- 1
Course descriptions for 400 level English courses can be found here. For students interested in taking an elective outside of the English Department, please contact the Graduate Program Director.
Literary Studies Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 428 | Postmodernism | 3 |
| ENGL 430 | Topics in Literature Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 433 | Seminar in Individual Authors | 3 |
| ENGL 436 | Women Writers in English | 3 |
| ENGL 437 | Topics in Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 440 | Topics in Medieval Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 441 | Old English Language & Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 443 | Middle English Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 444 | Medieval Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 447 | Chaucer | 3 |
| ENGL 450 | Topics in Early Modern Literature & Culture | 3 |
| ENGL 455 | Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 456 | Early Modern Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 457 | Seventeenth-Century Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 458 | Milton | 3 |
| ENGL 460 | Topics in Restoration & 18th Century Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 470 | Topics in Romanticism | 3 |
| ENGL 471 | Poetry of Romantic Period | 3 |
| ENGL 475 | Topics in Victorian Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 476 | Victorian Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 477 | Victorian Prose | 3 |
| ENGL 478 | Victorian Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 480 | Topics in Modernism | 3 |
| ENGL 481 | Modern Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 482 | Modern Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 483 | Modern Novel | 3 |
| ENGL 484 | Literature and Culture of the Jazz Age | 3 |
| ENGL 485 | Contemporary Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 487 | Postcolonial Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 488 | 20th Century Literature in English | 3 |
| ENGL 489 | Magic Realism | 3 |
| ENGL 490 | Topics in American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 491 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 492 | American Romanticism | 3 |
| ENGL 493 | American Realism | 3 |
| ENGL 494 | American Literature Since 1914 | 3 |
| ENGL 495 | Latino/a Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 496 | African American Literature | 3 |
Part-time students must complete all requirements for the degree within four years.
If you are required to take certain undergraduate courses as a condition of admission, they have priority over all other program requirements. Undergraduate courses cannot be applied to the MA.
Suggested Sequence of Courses
Traditional Master's Program
Students are required to take ENGL 400 Intro to Graduate Study in their first semester. The MA is designed to be flexible, engaging students with literature from diverse historical, national, and global traditions, but with no set sequence of courses. Students choose courses after consulting with the Graduate Program Director for further guidance on how best to progress with their studies.
Accelerated Master's Pathway
Students can take up to 12 credit hours in the senior year with admission to the AMP. These credits are shared between the Bachelor's and Master's programs.
Students admitted to the AMP are required to take ENGL 400 in their first semester. They may then take up to three (3) 400-Level English courses in the senior year. The remainder of credits will be taken in the Master's year. Students choose courses after consulting with the Graduate Program Director for further guidance on how best to progress with their studies.
Guidelines for Accelerated Master's Pathways
In Accelerated Master’s Pathways, students share limited, authorized credits between their Undergraduate and Graduate degrees to facilitate completion of both degrees in a shorter amount of time. Shared credits are Graduate level credit hours (400-level or higher) taken during the Undergraduate career and then applied both to the Undergraduate degree and towards Graduate program requirements.
Admission and Matriculation
Accelerated Master's Pathways are designed to enhance opportunities for advanced training for Loyola’s Undergraduates. Admission to these programs is competitive and will depend upon a positive review of credentials by the Graduate program. Accordingly, the admission requirements for these programs may be higher than those required if the Master’s degree were pursued entirely after the receipt of a Bachelor’s degree.
Students enrolled in an Accelerated Master's Pathway who choose not to continue to the Master’s degree program upon completion of the Bachelor’s degree will face no consequences.
Ideally, a student will apply for admission to an AMP program as they approach 90 credit hours in their Undergraduate career.
Students will not officially matriculate into the Master’s degree program and be labeled as a Graduate student by the university, with accompanying changes to tuition and Financial Aid (see below), until the Undergraduate degree has been awarded. Once admitted to the Graduate program, students must meet the academic standing requirements of their Graduate program as they complete the program curriculum.
Advising and Registration
Students in their final Undergraduate year will work with Advising in the home School of their Bachelor's program(s), as well as the Graduate Program Director of the Master’s program. Any 400-level or higher courses that the student plans to enroll in should be reviewed by both advisors to ensure that these courses will complete requirements for both degrees.
Registration in Graduate level courses during the Undergraduate year may require assistance from the Graduate Program Director and/or the student’s current academic advisor to enroll.
Shared Credits
Only courses taken at the 400-level or higher will count toward the Graduate program. At the Undergraduate level, students are restricted to enrolling in and sharing up to the number of Graduate level credits explicitly indicated in the catalog for their selected AMP program.
In general, Graduate level coursework should not be taken prior to admission into the Accelerated Master's Pathway. Exceptions may be granted for professional programs where curriculum for the Accelerated Master's Pathway is designed to begin earlier. On the recommendation of the program’s Graduate Program Director, students may take one of their Graduate level courses before they are admitted to the Accelerated Master’s Pathway if they have advanced abilities in their discipline and course offerings warrant such an exception.
Degree Requirements and Conferral
Undergraduate degree requirements are in no way impacted by admission to an Accelerated Master’s Pathway. Students should not, for example, attempt to negotiate themselves out of a writing intensive requirement on the basis of admission to a Graduate program.
The program’s Graduate Program Director will designate credit hours to be shared through the advising form and Master’s degree conferral review process. Graduate credit hours taken during the Undergraduate career will not be included in the Graduate GPA calculation.
If students wish to transfer credits from another university to Loyola University Chicago, the program’s Graduate Program Director will review the relevant syllabus or syllabi to determine whether it meets the criteria for a 400-level course or higher.
Programs with specialized accreditation requirements that allow programs to offer Graduate curriculum to Undergraduate students will conform to those specialized accreditation requirements.
Degrees are awarded sequentially. All details of Undergraduate commencement are handled in the ordinary way as for all students in the School/College/Institute. Once matriculated in the Graduate program, students abide by the graduation deadlines set forth by the Graduate program. Students in these programs must be continuously enrolled from Undergraduate to Graduate degree program unless given explicit permission by their program for a gap year or approved leave of absence. In offering the option of an Accelerated Master’s Pathway, the university is making possible the acceleration of a student’s Graduate degree completion. It should be understood that students may not request deferral of their matriculation into the Master’s degree program. If students would like to delay their Graduate studies after earning the Undergraduate degree, they may apply for admission to the traditional Master’s degree program. Any application of Graduate credit earned while in the Undergraduate program is subject to the policies of the Graduate degree granting school.
Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations
Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MA program students will be able to:
- Write effectively about a broad range of texts in English using effective compositional and rhetorical techniques.
- Assess and intervene in existing scholarly discourses in the field as a literary critic.
- Distinguish and interpret diverse experiences across various social formations (race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, etc.) as registered in literary works.
- Evaluate and apply the principles of a range of critical and textual theories, including those emerging from communities that have been historically underrepresented, in order to produce a sustained analysis of literary works.