Recent students in the program reflect a broad regional and institutional diversity, coming from the Midwest, the South, both coasts, and foreign countries. Past and current students have earned undergraduate degrees from schools ranging from large land-grant and urban institutions such as Indiana, Michigan State, and the University of Miami to small liberal arts colleges such as Augustana, Oberlin, and Wabash.
Recent alumni of the program have pursued the Ph.D. and M.F.A. in top caliber programs; others are teaching at community colleges and high schools or working at such positions as technical writer, newspaper editor, and university administrator.
Degrees Offered
Master's Programs The department offers two master's programs, each requiring 33 semester hours. Both master's programs require courses in research, theory, and literature as well as courses outside the area of specialization. Moreover, both programs require a culminating experience of a thesis, master's paper or creative project, and both require a foreign language.
Master of Arts in English with Specialization in Literature. This program prepares students for further graduate work in English and American literature or related areas, and also serves those preparing to teach at the high school or college level.
Master of Arts in English with Specialization in Writing. This emphasis is designed for students planning further graduate work in creative writing, rhetoric/composition or related areas, for those preparing to teach at the high school or college level, and for those planning to practice writing or editing in other professions. For the culminating experience, creative writing students produce a thesis-length project--for instance, a novel or a collection of stories or poems.
Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction with Specialization in English. In cooperation with the School of Education, the department offers a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in English. This English education program is designed for advanced students in, or expecting to enter, such fields as teaching, administration, and curriculum supervision. It requires a minimum of 72 hours of graduate work beyond the bachelor's degree, proficiency in two research tools, and the defense of a doctoral dissertation related to English studies. In addition to work in professional education, the program offers a balance of course work in the three main subdivisions of English studies (literature, language, rhetoric/composition) as well as the opportunity to specialize in an area of literature or in composition.
Program Resources
Professional Organizations and Publications. The department is home to the business and editorial offices of notable professional organizations. The editorial and business offices of the Indiana Council of Teachers of English, and the Hoosier Folklore Society are housed here. Journals edited in the department are The Folklore Historian, Indiana English, Midwestern Folklore, The Grasslands Review, and Snowy Egret.
Conference. The department annually hosts the Hoosier Folklore Conference.
Joseph Schick Lecture Series. This endowed series brings several scholars of international reputation to campus each semester to speak to faculty and graduate students. Lecturers have included M.H. Abrams, Houston Baker, Nina Baym, Cleanth Brooks, Terry Eagleton, Susan Gubar, and J. Hillis Miller.
Visiting Writers. Sponsored by the department or the campus speakers series, recent poets and fiction writers include Jane Hamilton, Michael Martone, Robert Pinsky, Donald Hall, Charles Johnson, Helena Maria Viramontes, W.D. Snodgrass, Dana Gioia, Michael Harper, and Mary Kinzie.
Creative Writing Readings. Both the Creative Writing Program and Arion, the student writing club, host multiple open readings each term, both on and off campus. Arion publishes a magazine, Tonic, which features work by ISU students.
Writing Center. Among the department's resources is the Writing Center where prospective teachers can gain experience in tutoring writing one-to-one through a process-centered approach. Tutors work with students from a variety of courses and with many ESL students. Tutors in the center complete a one-semester training program.
Cunningham Memorial Library's holdings: Cunningham Memorial Library provides access to over one million volumes and includes excellent holdings in English studies. Among the special collections, the internationally known Cordell Collection of Rare Books and Early Dictionaries contains more than 5,000 titles representing the evolution of Western dictionaries from 1400 to 1900. Recently the Cunningham Library has been the recipient of the Floyd Collection of over 2,500 English composition textbooks covering more than 100 years and providing an exceptional resource for anyone interested in the history of instruction in rhetoric/composition.
Social Activities. While dedicated to providing a rigorous program of study, the department also recognizes the need to promote a spirit of camaraderie. Thus the department invites graduate students to the annual department party and includes graduate students in lunches, dinners, and receptions to honor Schick Lecturers.
Thursday Colloquium. The department sponsors a forum in which faculty and graduate students share their work in a collegial atmosphere. The forum sometimes includes visiting scholars, critics, and writers.
Assistantships and Scholarships
Graduate Assistantships. Three-fourths of current graduate students in English are supported by assistantships that provide a stipend and tuition waiver. Each assistant is assigned an office in the department. Graduate assistants fulfill their duties through a variety of activities that provide excellent opportunities for professional development. In addition to the most common assignment, teaching freshmen composition courses, with the opportunity for computer-assisted instruction, graduate assistants may tutor native and ESL students in the department's Writing Center, may provide editorial assistance to one of the professional journals housed in the department, or may help manage the Schick Lecture series.
Scholarships. Graduate scholarships with waivers of most fees are available. Other financial aid is available through the Office of Student Financial Aid.
Admission Requirements In addition to meeting the general requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, applicants for regular admission to all master's programs must have an undergraduate major or minor in English or a strong background in undergraduate studies in English. Those lacking an appropriate major or minor should consult the director of graduate studies in English concerning departmental admission criteria. Conditional admission to all master's programs may be granted to other applicants on the basis of grades in language and literature courses, undergraduate grade point averages, GRE verbal and advanced literature scores, faculty letters of recommendation, and writing samples.
In addition to meeting the general admission requirements to Ph.D. programs of the School of Graduate Studies and the School of Education, applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in English should have a master's degree or equivalent in English or English education. Students not meeting all requirements for admission may be admitted conditionally and allowed to make up deficiencies in English or in professional education.