Auburn Bulletin 2024-2025

English — Graduate Certificate, MA, MTPC, PhD

Degree Programs

Graduate Certificates

The Department of English offers programs leading to the Master of Arts (MA), the Master of Technical and Professional Communication (MTPC), and the PhD. These graduate programs prepare students for careers in teaching and research, writing, editing, business, and other professions seeking broadly educated individuals skilled in analysis and communication. In addition, individuals holding a teaching certificate may, with an additional graduate course in Communication, earn Alabama Class A or AA certification under a state-approved Strengthened Subject Matter Option program in English/Language Arts. The Department of English also offers the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication (GCTC).

Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

For admission to the MA program, the student must normally have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with the equivalent of 24 semester hours of credit in upper-division English courses and satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE. Applicants lacking the required undergraduate courses must typically make up these deficiencies before they can be admitted to the degree program.

Applicants should ensure that the following materials are submitted to the Graduate School web application:
  • Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended
  • Official scores from the General Test of the GRE
They should submit the following to the Department of English:
  • Writing sample
  • Statement of purpose
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation that speak to the applicant’s potential for successful graduate study

Application materials are due by January 15.


Options and Course Requirements

For the MA, students may select one of the following three tracks: literature, composition and rhetoric, or creative writing. Each track requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework.

The literature track requires the following:
  • Three major area courses (one pre-1800 literature, one post-1800 literature, one literary theory)
  • One comparative literature, genre, or author-based course
  • One technology and culture, globalism, sustainability, or diversity course
  • One course in technical and professional communication, rhetoric and composition, linguistics, or creative writing
  • Two elective courses in English
  •  ENGL 7940 Teaching College English 
  • Two courses in a coordinated minor, chosen from courses in English or another discipline relevant to the student’s professional and academic goals
The creative writing track requires the following:
  • Three major area courses (ENGL 7130 Fiction Writing and ENGL 7140 Poetry Writing, with one repeated for a total of three creative writing courses)
  • One pre-1800 literature course
  • One technical and professional communication, rhetoric and composition, or linguistics course
  • One technology and culture, globalism, sustainability, or diversity course
  • Two courses in a coordinated minor, chosen from courses in English or another discipline relevant to the student’s professional and academic goals
  • Two elective courses in English
  •  ENGL 7940 Teaching College English
The composition and rhetoric track requires the following: 
  • Three major area courses (ENGL 7040 Engl Compn issues And App , ENGL 7050 Studies In Composition, and ENGL 7300 Rhetoric: Theory And Practice)
  • One course in technical and professional communication or linguistics
  • One literature or creative writing course
  • One technology and culture, globalism, sustainability, or diversity course
  • Two courses in a coordinated minor, chosen from courses in English or another discipline relevant to the student’s professional and academic goals
  • Two elective courses in English
  • ENGL 7940 Teaching College English

Other Graduation Requirements

In addition to completing the required course work, students must successfully complete a portfolio and pass an oral examination based on the portfolio. They also must demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language.

Master of Technical and Professional Communication

Admission Requirements

For admission to the MTPC program, students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE, and excellent writing skills. Undergraduate course work in English is not required.

Applicants should ensure that the following materials are submitted to the Graduate School web application:
  • Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended, including high school transcripts in the case of AP classes
  • Official scores from the General Test of the GRE
They should submit the following to the Department of English:
  • A sample of professional or scholarly writing (e.g., a technical manual, a business report, a research essay)
  • A statement of purpose explaining their interest in the program
  • Three letters of recommendation. At least two of the letters should come from professors or instructors; the other letter may come from an academic adviser, an employer, or some other person who can speak to their potential for success in the MTPC program.

Application materials should be received by January 15.

Course Requirements

  • Four required courses (ENGL 7000 Tech and Professional Editing, ENGL 7010 T Pc Issues And Approaches, ENGL 7060 Web Development, ENGL 7080 Document Design
  • Three elective courses in English approved by the student's advisory committee
  • Three courses in a coordinated minor or three additional courses in English approved by the student's advisory committee
  • ENGL 7940 Teaching College English

Other Graduation Requirements

Students must compile a portfolio of work accepted by the student’s advisory committee, make a formal presentation about the portfolio, and pass an oral examination.

Doctor of Philosophy

Admission Requirements

For admission to the PhD program, the student must normally have a master’s degree in English and satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE.

Applicants should ensure that the following materials are submitted to the Graduate School web application:
  • Official transcripts from every undergraduate and graduate institution attended
  • Official scores from the General Test of the GRE
They should submit the following to the Department of English:
  • Writing sample
  • Statement of purpose
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation that speak to the applicant’s potential for successful graduate study

Concentrations and Course Requirements

The PhD requires a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the BA, including 10 hours of dissertation credit. Students entering our program with an MA in English from Auburn or from another institution transfer in their course work; in consultation with their graduate advisory committee, students then select additional courses. Students may choose to pursue either a concentration in literature or a concentration in composition and rhetoric.

Other Graduation Requirements

After completing course work, students must take general doctoral examinations, both written and oral, over three related areas. These areas might include a literary period, a genre, an issue in composition or rhetorical studies, language and linguistics, or literary and cultural theory. After passing these examinations, students advance to doctoral candidacy. Within three months after advancing to doctoral candidacy, students must submit an approved dissertation prospectus to the director of graduate studies. Students must write and defend a dissertation.

Doctoral students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages or advanced proficiency in one foreign language.

Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication

Admission Requirements

For admission to the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication, students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and excellent writing skills.

Applicants should ensure that the following materials are submitted to the Graduate School web application:
  • Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended
They should submit the following to the Department of English:
  • A sample of professional or scholarly writing (e.g., a technical manual, a business report, a research essay)
  • A statement of purpose explaining their interest in the program
  • Three letters of recommendation from professors, academic advisers, employers, or others who can speak to their potential for success in the GCTC program

Financial Aid

The department offers financial aid in two forms: fellowships and assistantships. Graduate teaching assistantships or graduate assistantships are often available for the most qualified students, except those enrolled in the GCTC. Assistantships are renewable, provided that students perform satisfactorily and make adequate progress toward the degree. A few outstanding applicants also receive first-year or second-year fellowships. Review of applications for financial aid will begin on January 15 for the MA, PhD, and MTPC.