Students admitted provisionally may be required to make up deficiencies in their undergraduate course work in addition to the normal degree requirements listed below.

*Students must specify their Concentration at the time of application and may not thereafter change concentrations without the specific approval of the English Department's Graduate Committee.

NON-DEGREE ADMISSION
Applicants for non-degree status in English will normally be admitted only if they meet regular admission standards for provisional admission. That is, they must have a 2.5 GPA overall and in junior- and senior-level courses presented to meet the 21 hour (15 hour for creative writing) course work in English requirement. Following admission, non-degree students must have the permission of the department chair and the director of graduate studies of the College for each course in which they wish to enroll. Enrollment will be on a space available basis with preference being given to degree students. Non-degree students must satisfy the same prerequisites as degree students to enroll in a course. Non-degree students may not enroll in directed studies courses.

GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
Graduate students holding assistantships in English are usually assigned tasks involving research, tutoring, or editing. Awards are normally made for the academic year; occasionally, assistantships become available for Spring Semester. Applications are taken continuously; competition for appointments begins in May for the following year. See Coordinator for information and application. (See also Bulletin section on Graduate School, "Assistantships and Fellowships.")

REQUIREMENTS FOR DEGREE
During the second semester in the program, each student must submit an individual plan of study with regard to adequate coverage of British and American literature, literary theory, language, development of writing skills, and the student's individual needs and objectives. The plan must be approved by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English.

1. Concentration in British and American Literature

1. A minimum of thirty-six semester hours' credit is required beyond the bachelor's degree with a grade of A or B. At least twenty-seven of these hours must be in literature, to include EH 501, Intro to Literary Theory, in the first year of course work. No more than twelve semester hours selected from the 400-level English courses may be used to meet the requirement of a minimum of thirty-six hours.

2. Students may take a non-thesis degree or, upon departmental approval, six semester hours' credit of the required thirty-six will be granted upon successful completion and defense of the thesis, thus leaving a minimum of thirty hours' credit to be accomplished in course work.

3. An oral defense of the thesis will be required at least four weeks prior to the anticipated graduation date. (For final submission of the thesis to the Graduate School, see the Bulletin section on General Information.)

4. At least one semester before graduation, both thesis and non-thesis students must pass a written comprehensive examination, normally offered between semesters, based on a uniform study guide suggesting representative works in the field of literature and literary criticism. The study guide should be obtained from the English Graduate Coordinator as soon as the student enrolls in the M.A. program. A student who fails the examination may retake the failed sections after six months have elapsed from the date of the first examination. The comprehensive examination may be taken only twice, and must be passed in its entirety.

5. Demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language is required (see 4 below).

2. Concentration in Creative Writing

1. A minimum of thirty-six hours credit in English is required beyond the bachelor's degree with a grade of A or B. This concentration requires eighteen hours of courses in literature to include EH 501, Intro to Literary Theory, in the first year of course work, twelve hours of courses in writing, and six hours of credit for thesis, which will be granted on the successful completion and defense of the thesis. No more than twelve semester hours selected from 400-level English courses may be used to meet the requirement of thirty-six hours minimum.

2. Students may concentrate on fiction, non-fiction, or poetry writing.

3. This concentration is offered only as a thesis degree. For the thesis, a book-length work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry is required.

4. An oral defense of the thesis will be required at least four weeks prior to the anticipated graduation date. (For final submission of the thesis to the Graduate School, see the Bulletin section on General Information.)

5. At least one semester before graduation, students must pass a written comprehensive examination, normally offered between semesters, based on a uniform study guide suggesting representative works in the field of literature and literary criticism. The study guide should be obtained from the English Graduate Coordinator as soon as the student enrolls in the M.A. program. A student who fails the examination may retake the failed sections after six months have elapsed from the date of the first examination. The comprehensive examination may be taken only twice, and must be passed in its entirety.

6. Demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language is required (see 4 below).

3. M.A. in English with Alabama Class-A Professional Teaching Certification

Students holding Class-B Professional Teaching Certification may, in many cases, complete the regular graduate program in English with the literature emphasis in order to qualify for Class-A certification. Most students with an undergraduate degree in education will already have taken those education courses required for certification.

Upon admission, however, all students planning to pursue this certification must have their transcripts reviewed by the records specialist in education in order to ascertain whether the education requirements have been met or will require further course work in education.

Up to nine semester hours in education at the graduate level may be incorporated into the literature emphasis as electives.