M.A. Programs
Introduction
The Department of English offers two Master’s degree programs: a two-year 4+1 M.A. program for Tulane undergraduate English majors, and a three-semester external M.A. program for English or Literature majors with B.A. degrees from Tulane or from other institutions. Each has its own admission requirements and its own timetable to completion.
Students who have earned M.A. degrees in our programs have gone on to doctoral programs and law schools. They have embarked on careers as journalists as well as editors at magazines and publishing houses. Several of our graduates now teach in public and private secondary schools. We have graduates who work on staff as museum curators and in rare book libraries. But some of our graduates go on to careers not directly related to the degree. They chose to pursue the M.A. in order to challenge themselves, to continue the study of literature they enjoy, and to acquire a credential that adds value to their employment profile.
4+1 M.A. Program
The 4+1 M.A. program in English serves Tulane English majors who are interested in pursuing careers or further education in literary studies, museum studies, library science, secondary teaching, and publishing, to name a few of the areas to which our students gravitate. The program begins in the student's senior year and continues for one additional year (the "+1" year) towards completion of the M.A. degree.
During the "+1" year, tuition is approximately one-third the cost of regular undergraduate tuition, not including fees. Regular tuition applies to the senior year. More information on "+1" year tuition is available on the School of Liberal Arts' Applying to an SLA Graduate Program page.
Undergraduate scholarships do not transfer to the "+1" year.
How to Apply to the 4+1 Program
Applications are made online at https://applygrad.tulane.edu/apply. Consult the English Department website's graduate program pages for the application deadline.
Application check list:
- Completed online application form and a $50 application fee, payable online
- Application cover letter
- 10-20 page writing sample on a topic in literary or cultural studies
- Unofficial transcript from Tulane University
- Names and electronic contact information of two English Department faculty members (preferably not Creative Writing instructors) who will electronically submit letters of recommendation on your behalf
External M.A. Program
We accept highly qualified students with B.A. degrees in English or Literary Studies from excellent undergraduate institutions. The external M.A. Program has the same curricular requirements and opportunities as the 4+1 program.
We accept up to four courses of graduate work completed at other universities for transfer credit toward the M.A. degree. Although the program is designed to be completed in three semesters, students are permitted to complete it in four semesters.
The tuition for the program is approximately one-third of undergraduate tuition, not including fees. More information on tuition is available on the School of Liberal Arts' Applying to an SLA Graduate Program page.
How to Apply to the External M.A. Program
Applications are submitted online through Tulane's School of Liberal Arts at its Graduate Admissions Application Portal page. Consult the English Department website's graduate program pages for the application deadline.
Via the portal, please submit the following materials:
- Completed online application form and a $50 application fee, payable online
- Statement of purpose
- Names and electronic contact information of three persons (preferably academic instructors) who will electronically submit letters of recommendation on your behalf
- An unofficial transcript from each university attended
- A 10-20 writing sample on a topic in literary or cultural studies
Applicants will be notified of the department's decision on their application by the Office of Graduate Programs in Tulane's School of Liberal Arts.
Professor Melissa Bailes, Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English
Phone: (504) 865-5160
E-mail: mbailes@tulane.edu
The 4+1 M.A. Course of Study
The program is designed so that students can complete the program in two years by taking two required graduate courses in their senior year: ENLS 7890 Fundamentals: Literary Theory in the fall term, and ENLS 7050 Bibliography & Research Method in the spring term.
These two senior-year courses each count as an upper-level elective course in the student's undergraduate English major, and they count as well toward the student's credit hour total for undergraduate graduation. (Both courses concurrently count toward the student's M. A. degree.)
In the second, "+1" year, students are expected to take four courses in each semester.
A typical course of study for an entering student in the 4+1 program would be:
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| ENLS 7890 | Fundamentals: Literary Theory | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENLS 7050 | Bibliography & Research Method | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| Select four seminars/proseminars | 12 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Spring | ||
| Select four seminars/proseminars | 12 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
Students may take up to two graduate courses in other Tulane departments for transfer credit towards the English M.A. degree. Student must petition the English Department's Director of Graduate Studies to have an extra-departmental course approved for M.A. credit. No graduate courses are offered during the summer term.
The External M.A. Course of Study
The external M.A. program requires 10 courses. No M.A. thesis is required. Students typically take three or four courses per term. There are two required methodology courses, which students usually complete in their first year: ENLS 7890 Fundamentals: Literary Theory (usually offered in fall) and ENLS 7050 Bibliography & Research Method (usually offered in spring).
A typical course of study for an entering student in the external M.A. program would be:
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| ENLS 7890 | Fundamentals: Literary Theory | 3 |
| Select two graduate seminars/proseminars | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENLS 7050 | Bibliography & Research Method | 3 |
| Select two graduate seminars/proseminars | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| Select four graduate seminars/proseminars | 12 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |