English Department - Graduate Brochure
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a senior member of the ten state universities that comprise the State University System of Florida. It has a total enrollment of about 37,000 students and of these, 18% are graduate students. In 1994, Florida State was accorded the status of Research University I by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, an elite distinction that recognizes the university's strengths in doctoral programs.
Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida's capital, is an expanding metropolitan center with a population of about 200, 000, yet it still holds many of the charms of a smaller university town. With its weekly poetry and fiction readings in local venues and its many cinemas, small theatres, museums, and musical events, it offers a particularly rich environment for those who care about literature and the arts.
The Graduate Program in English
The Graduate Program in English offers a comprehensive and intellectually stimulating program for those who wish to be literary scholars, creative writers or scholars/teachers of rhetoric and composition. Its diverse and accomplished faculty are actively involved in every phase of the graduate student's life, including mentoring and assisting students during the job placement process. There are presently 83 M.A. students and 92 Ph.D. students enrolled in the program. Graduate classes, however, are small, with averages of about 12 students.
Areas of Study
The Graduate Program offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. Students in the M.A. program emphasize one of two tracks: (1) Literature, Folklore and Cultural Studies; (2) Rhetoric and Composition. M.F.A. students emphasize Creative Writing. Students in literature, folklore and cultural studies may elect either to write a thesis or take a comprehensive examination; students in rhetoric and composition may write a thesis or take a portfolio examination. Creative writing students present a body of creative work for the thesis.
All Ph.D. students satisfy core requirements in literature, language study, and literary theory. Students then take comprehensive examinations and present dissertations in fields such as American Literature, African-American Literature, British and Irish Literature, Creative Writing, Film Studies, Folklore, Gender Studies, Literary Theory and Criticism, Multi-Ethnic Literature, Popular Culture, Postcolonial Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Women's Studies.
The London Program and Other Study Opportunities
Florida State University has several overseas programs, including one in London. Every year, a small number of graduate teaching assistants are selected, on a competitive basis, to teach in the London program for a semester. These students continue their own studies while they are teaching and living in England.
Certificate Programs and Other Interdisciplinary Programs
The English Department offers a Graduate Certificate in Editing and Publishing. This 12-hour certificate involves both theoretical and practical course work. It is designed for students in our graduate-degree programs interested in exploring a career path other than teaching and also for students not in our degree programs who are interested in developing skills in editing and publishing. The English Department is also the administrative home of a Certificate Program in Critical Theory that draws faculty from a variety of disciplines, including English, History, Philosophy, Modern Languages, Theater, and Dance. The program is designed as an 18?hour supplement to either the M.A. or Ph.D. program. Graduate students additionally have the opportunity to participate in a variety of other interdisciplinary programs on campus such as African-American Studies, Humanities, Women's Studies, and English Education.
Teaching College English: Graduate Teacher Training Program
As well as offering a comprehensive range of academic courses, the Graduate Program in English also provides an excellent teaching apprenticeship program for those who want to teach writing and literature at the college level. Teaching assistants without previous teaching experience participate in a six-week training program during the summer term preceding their appointment, and this program prepares them to teach in the rhetoric and composition classroom, the literature classroom, and the Department's Reading-Writing Center. Graduate students also have the opportunity to be trained in computer-assisted writing instruction.
Departmental Publications and Activities
The English Department is home to the nationally-known Fiction Collective Two Press and several important scholarly journals, including The Journal of Early Modern Cultural Studies, Frank Norris Studies, and The Journal of Beckett Studies edited by FSU English faculty. Two literary magazines, The Kudzu Review and The Southeast Review, are also published in the Department.
Each fall, the English Colloquium Series gives graduate students the opportunity to interact with visiting scholars who are at the cutting edge of literary and cultural studies. The Writing Program sponsors readings one evening a week in the community, and every year it hosts writers, agents, and editors from all over the country.
Placement
The Graduate Program has maintained a solid placement record for its Ph.D. graduates, despite the difficult job market. In 2002, for example, it graduated eleven students with doctorates, and of these, seven were placed in tenure-track academic positions and four in non-tenure track positions (two of which later became tenure-track). The Graduate Placement committee assists graduates in preparing for the job search by setting up practice interviews and by reviewing vitae.
M.A. and M.F.A. Degree Programs
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission to the Master's degree programs in English, the following requirements must be met:
- An undergraduate degree in English, or its equivalent, from an accredited college, with a 3.0 average, or its equivalent.
- A score of 1000 on the Graduate Record Examination, with at least 500 on the verbal section. Applicants in literature should also submit a score for the Graduate Record Subject Test in English literature. International applicants must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and must score at least 550.
- A completed online application which includes:
- Three letters of recommendation assessing the student's potential to do master's level work
- A writing sample: applicants to the literature or rhetoric program should submit a critical essay; applicants to the creative writing program should submit 10 poems, a story, or a chapter from a novel.
- A personal statement of 250-500 words describing the applicant's academic and professional experience and goals.
- A current resume or curriculum vitae
- A completed Teaching Assistant application
Degree Requirements
To complete the M.A. or M.F.A. in English, students must satisfy the following requirements:
- Earn 33 credit hours (45 for M.F.A.) with an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better in approved courses as described below for each emphasis.
- Satisfy a foreign language requirement (there are a variety of ways to satisfy this requirement).
- Satisfactorily complete a final requirement as described below for each emphasis.
The M. A. Program in English with an Emphasis in Literature, Folklore, or Cultural Studies
Master's students who choose to emphasize Literature, Folklore, or Cultural Studies will complete thirty-three semester hours of course work, to include:
- Two courses in the literature of Great Britain and Ireland before 1800.
- One course in the literature of Great Britain and Ireland after 1800.
- One course in United States literature.
- One literature course whose chief organizing principle is race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
- ENG 5xxx (Issues in Literary and Cultural Studies): fifteen additional hours of coursework. Students electing to write a thesis count six hours of thesis work toward their degree
As a final requirement, students emphasizing literature must either complete and defend a thesis or perform adequately on the Master's Comprehensive Examination.
The M. A. Program in English with an Emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition
Master's students who choose to emphasize rhetoric will complete thirty-three semester hours of course work, to include:
- At least twelve hours of course work in rhetoric, from the following: ENC 5700, ENG 5028, ENC 5720, LAE 5370, LAE 5946; and ENG 6939 when the topic is rhetoric.
- Six hours of thesis credit or other course credit.
- ENG 5xxx (Issues in Literary and Cultural Studies).
- 12 additional hours of course work.
As a final requirement, students emphasizing rhetoric and composition must complete and defend a thesis or take a portfolio examination.
The M. F. A. Program in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing
Students who wish to obtain the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing must complete forty-five semester hours of coursework, to include:
- 21-24 hours of work in writing, of which:
12-15 will be taken in any combination of the following courses, provided at least two of the courses are taken: Fiction Workshop, Poetry Workshop, Drama Workshop, Article and Essay Workshop (the four workshops in writing may be repeated for credit), or Writing Seminar;
9-12 hours will be devoted to writing a creative thesis.
- 21-24 hours in literature and related courses, including ENG 5XXX (Issues in Literary and Cultural Studies).
To apply for the M.A. or M.F.A. program or to receive more information on the program, contact the Director of Graduate Studies or visit the Graduate Program site at http://english.fsu.edu/graduate/gradmain.htm.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission to the Ph.D. program in English, the following requirements must be met:
- An overall 3.5 average on master's level work.
- A score of 1000 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), with at least 500 on the verbal section. Applicants in literature should also submit a score for the Graduate Record Subject Test in English literature. International applicants must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and must score at least 550.
- A completed online application which includes:
- Three letters of recommendation assessing the student's potential to do master's level work
- A writing sample: applicants to the literature or rhetoric program should submit a critical essay; applicants to the creative writing program should submit 10 poems, a story, or a chapter from a novel.
- A personal statement of 250-500 words describing the applicant's academic and professional experience and goals.
- A current resume or curriculum vitae
- A completed Teaching Assistant application
Course Requirements
Total number of hours required: 27 semester hours in course work beyond the M.A. and 24 dissertation hours.
Credits transferable from another program: with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, a student may transfer up to 6 hours earned in another doctoral program. With the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, up to 6 hours may be taken outside the English Department. Up to 6 elective hours may also be taken in Directed Individual Study.
Specific course requirements (Note: if these requirements have already been met at the M.A. level, they may be waived with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies).
- ENG 5xxx (Issues in Literary and Cultural Studies).
- One course in Language and Linguistics.
- For students writing dissertations in literature, one course in literary theory, from the following: ENG 5049 or ENG 6939/HUM 6939 when the topic is theory.
- One course in the literature of Great Britain and Ireland before 1800.
- One course in the literature of Great Britain and Ireland after 1800.
- One course in United States literature.
- One literature course whose chief organizing principle is race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
- Two seminars, taken at Florida State University at the Ph.D. level (students planning a creative dissertation take at least one writing seminar).
Ph.D. candidates who are not Teaching Assistants or do not have college teaching experience must take one rhetoric course.
Foreign Language Requirement
The Ph.D. candidate must have either a reading knowledge of two foreign languages or a high-level command of one foreign language. There are a variety of ways to satisfy this requirement. Transfer of a completed language requirement is permitted if competence has already been certified by examination.
Residency Requirement
In order to receive the degree, the Ph.D. student must be continuously enrolled in the Florida State University campus for 24 semester hours during 12 consecutive months.
Time Limitation
All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within five years from the time the student passes the preliminary examination.
Preliminary Examination
To be formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D., the student must pass the preliminary examination at least 6 months before the degree is to be granted. The examination consists of a 12-hour written test given over 3 days (8 hours on the major area, 4 hours on the minor area), and a 1- to 2 hour oral examination by the supervisory committee, normally held within three weeks after the written test.
Dissertation
After filing a prospectus, the candidate will write the dissertation in close consultation with the major professor and the committee. The dissertation may be an extended essay, three or more essays related by subject, or an extended original work in fiction, poetry, or drama. The candidate will defend a draft of the dissertation in a 1-to 2-hour oral examination by the supervisory committee.
To apply for the Ph.D. program or to receive more information on the program, contact the Director of Graduate Studies or visit the Graduate Program site at http://english.fsu.edu/graduate/gradmain.htm.
Financial Support: Teaching Assistantships and Fellowships
Assistantships
The majority of students in the Graduate English Program receive support in the form of a teaching assistantship. Teaching assistants are provided with a stipend and a waiver for most of their tuition. Experienced TAs are often invited to teach during the summer term for an additional stipend.
Fellowships
Each year the university offers a limited number of Presidential Fellowships, valued at $20,000, and University Fellowships, valued at $15,000 each plus a tuition waiver. There are two kinds of University Fellowships: (a) regular University Competitive Fellowships and (b) Native Racial and Ethnic Minority Fellowships. A small number of $6,300 College Fellowships are also available to first-time-at-FSU students. The latter fellowship may be supplemented by a part-time teaching assistantship. Ph.D. students at the dissertation stage are eligible to apply for a very limited number of University Dissertation Fellowships, currently funded at $10,000 plus tuition waivers for three terms. Finally, students may apply for the $10,000 Kingsbury Writing Award.
Minority Fellowships
Leslie N. Wilson Assistantships: Newly enrolling African-American graduate students may compete for this non-teaching assistantship, which carries a stipend of $5,000 plus tuition waivers for the academic year. This amount may be supplemented by teaching or other duties in the department. The University also offers Delores Auzenne Fellowships for African-American graduate students, and the University Fellowships mentioned above. A number of African-American students in the program have also held McKnight Doctoral Fellowships, which provide up to five years of support, with a stipend of $12,000 plus tuition waivers. These fellowships are administered by a state-wide foundation. For further information on the teaching assistantship or any of these fellowships, contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
The Graduate Faculty
Information regarding the graduate faculty is located at http://english.fsu.edu/faculty/facspecialties.htm.
Application Information
Procedures for applying to the M.A., M.F.A., or the Ph.D. Degree Program
Applicants should:
- Submit an electronic application at https://admissions.fsu.edu/gradapp/
- The following items should be uploaded in the supporting documents portion of the application
- Personal Statement
- Current Resume or C.V.
- Writing Sample
- Teaching Assistant Application
- GRE scores
- Unofficial Transcripts
- Submit letters of recommendation through the electronic application.
- Submit the $30 application fee upon completion of the electronic application.
- Submit official transcripts (from every university attended) and GRE scores to:
- Graduate Admissions Office
- Florida State University
- Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1009
- Telephone: (850) 644-3420
- Fax: (850) 644-0197
For more information about the application procedure please see the Graduate Studies homepage at: http://www.fsu.edu/~gradstds
If you have questions about any of the application materials or procedures please contact:
Tara Stamm
Program Assistant
Department of English
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1580
Telephone: (850) 644-2413
Fax: (850) 644-0811
E-mail: 
Deadlines: All new students, which include the PhD, MA, and MFA will be admitted in the fall semester each year.
Fall Admission - January 1, 2009
Teaching Assistant - January 1, 2009
University Fellowship - January 1, 2009