Master of Science Degree Programs in Education
CONCENTRATION IN ENGLISH
The Master of Science Degree concentration in English is designed to improve the critical thinking, cultural literacy, and writing skills of secondary school English teachers. Applicants will normally have completed an undergraduate major or minor in English, but those without such preparation and with outstanding academic records in any academic discipline are encouraged to apply.
A minimum of 30 semester hours is required for the Master of Science degree, including the requirements for the non-thesis or thesis approach.
Degree Requirements for the Master of Science with a
Concentration in English
- Professional Education Requirements
ED 500 Contemporary Educational Issues 3 SH
ED 501 Introduction to Educational Research 3 SH
ED 530 Curriculum of the Secondary School
or ED 531 Teaching Secondary English - A six (6) credit thesis or two English electives (6 credits) and the Comprehensive Exam
- Completion of the following:
- either Shakespeare or Chaucer (3 cr) and
- one other course (3 cr) in Early British Literature and
- one course (3 cr) in Early American Literature, and
- one course (3 cr) in Modern British and American Lit. and
- ED 590 or one English elective (3 cr)
Students enrolling in the program must see the Graduate Coordinator in English for an entrance interview.
Theses and Comprehensives
Thesis: students who select the thesis option should register for ENG 591, Independent Thesis Research in English, a six-credit independent course of study. A student electing to write a thesis must do so under the guidance of an English Department faculty member who agrees to direct the student's work. All thesis topics must be approved by the English Department. Students choosing to write a thesis should therefore consult with the graduate advisor as well as the thesis director. A student writing a thesis in the English Department must obtain a copy of the "English Department Guidelines" and follow the procedures described therein.
Comprehensives: a student who elects to take the comprehensive exam will be tested on a reading list prepared by the English Department. The reading list will cover the three areas of literature described above and will be published during the first week of the fall semester. The comprehensive exam will be given from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the Friday of the first week in December and the first week in May. Students should indicate to the Graduate Student Coordinator their intention to take the test by November 1st for the December exam and by April 1st for the May exam. The Graduate Program Coordinator will announce the specific time and place for each exam. (Note: A student with an "Incomplete" grade in any graduate course at Western Connecticut State
University is ineligible to take the comprehensive examination until such time as the course has been completed and a grade assigned.
