Requirements for the Master’s degrees are relatively flexible; those for the PhD degree, less so. Students currently in a Master’s program and considering pursuing a PhD may wish to choose Master’s program courses with the PhD program requirements in mind. To earn a Master of Arts degree, students must accomplish the following:

1. Maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or better while accumulating 33 credit hours (45 for the MFA) in courses approved for an emphasis (literature, creative writing, or rhetoric: see below).

2. Demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language (MA only; there is no language requirement for MFA students). This requirement does not have to be fulfilled prior to application but must be met before registering for the PhD preliminary examination. Students can meet the language requirement by doing any of the following:

a. Complete four years of a single language in high school.

b. Complete 12 undergraduate semester hours in a foreign language with an average grade of at least 3.0.

c. Receive a B-minus or higher in a fourth-semester undergraduate literature course in a foreign language.

d. Perform satisfactorily on the Graduate Reading Knowledge Examination administered by FSU’s Classics Department or Department of Modern Languages. These exams require the translation of approximately 500 words from another language into English, with the help of a dictionary. Students can prepare for this test in a single semester, even without previous knowledge of a foreign language, by taking a graduate course (look for 5000-level courses labeled “Graduate Reading Knowledge” under each language in the Directory of Classes) focused on teaching reading knowledge rather than skill in speaking or writing. Students who fail the examination on the first attempt must wait a semester to retake.

e. Pass an oral examination administered by a member of the Department of Modern Languages or the Classics Department or some other person deemed competent by the ACGS.

f. Achieve a grade of B-minus or better in a graduate-level literature course in the foreign language.

In the case of options (a.), (b.), and (c.), students must supply the ACGS with the relevant high school or undergraduate transcripts. International students may use their native language if so approved by the ACGS. Please note that courses taken to fulfill the foreign language requirement do not count as hours toward a degree.

3. Produce an acceptable culminating performance. MA students in Literature, Media, and Culture must revise and defend a satisfactory MA capstone essay; MA students in Rhetoric and Composition must pass the MA portfolio or defend a satisfactory MA thesis; MFA students write and defend a satisfactory creative thesis.

4. Meet all the above requirements within 7 years from the time the student first registers for graduate credit. When choosing courses and planning a program path, bear in mind the following:

a. For the MA in Literature, Media, and Culture, at least 30 of the 33 hours in coursework must be taken on a letter-grade basis.

b. For the MA in Rhetoric and Composition, at least 24 hours of the 33 hours in coursework must be taken on a letter-grade basis.

c. For the MFA, at least 33 of the required 45 hours in coursework must be taken on a letter-grade basis.

With the permission of the ACGS, MA/MFA candidates may take up to 6 hours in coursework outside the Department of English and, depending on the program (and again with permission of the ACGS), they may take up to 6 hours in Directed Individual Study (ENG 5906r). Three hours from the TA-training program (LAE 5370, Teaching English in College) may count toward the 33 or 45 hours. Under normal circumstances an MA student may hold a Teaching Assistantship for no more than two years, three for MFA, so plan to complete coursework within this time. Students entering the Master’s program without adequate preparation in English at the undergraduate level may be required to take additional courses beyond the ordinary requirements.

5. Defense

Students will defend the thesis, portfolio, or capstone in a 1-2 hour oral examination conducted by the members of the supervisory committee, who will ask questions and, if needed, specify additions or revisions.

Attendance policy: all committee members and the student must attend the entire defense in real time, either by being physically present or participating via distance technology.

As noted in the Graduate Bulletin, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Dean of the College, the Department Chair, or the ACGS may attend any session of the supervisory or examining committee as nonvoting members. A faculty member may be appointed to the examining committee at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School, the Dean of the College, or the Department Chair or on recommendation of the major professor.