English
Department Head: Dr. Daniel Punday
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Lara Dodds
2000 Lee Hall
Box E
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: 662-325-3644
E-mail: ld214@msstate.edu
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate Program
Program Director: Dr. Wendy Herd
2313 Lee Hall
Box E
Mississippi State, MS 39762
E-mail: wjh159@msstate.edu
Graduate Study is offered in the Department of English leading to the Master of Arts degree. Teaching assistantships are available.
Admission Criteria
Prerequisites for admission into the graduate program include all the general requirements of the Office of the Graduate School and an undergraduate English degree (or 18 hours of undergraduate English courses beyond composition, with a B average or higher). Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit GRE scores. International students must obtain a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 625 PBT (263 CBT or 106 iBT) or an IELTS (International English Language Testing Systems) score of 8 or better. An applicant must submit all materials by March 15 to be considered for an assistantship.
Provisional Admission
A student who has not fully met the GPA or other requirements stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis. The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C). The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study. Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program. Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements. While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate Program
The Certificate in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is designed to provide students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to begin a career in English language teaching. Students who earn the certificate will be prepared to teach English as a foreign language in countries outside the United States and English as a second language in positions inside the United States that do not require a teacher’s license.
Admission to the Certificate Program
The graduate program of the Certificate in TESOL is open to graduate students in good standing who are currently enrolled at the University in any major. Degree-seeking students will be awarded their certificates at the time that they complete their degrees.
Additionally, the program is open to members of the following groups who hold a B.A./B.S. or higher degree.
- Current employees of Mississippi State University
- People currently employed as educators in Mississippi at any level
- People who have earned a degree at MSU within the previous five years
Unsatisfactory Performance
Unsatisfactory performance in the graduate program in English may be defined as any of the following: failure to maintain a B average in attempted graduate courses after admission to the program, a grade of U or F in any one course, failure of the comprehensive examination, unsatisfactory evaluation of a thesis, or failure of a required component of the program of study. Any one of these or a combination of these may constitute the basis for review for possible dismissal. The graduate coordinator will review the record along with the student’s graduate committee and take a final course of action which will be immediate dismissal or the establishment of a probationary period in which corrective action must take place. Appeal of dismissal can be made by submitting a written appeal statement to the department head. If the dismissal is upheld by the department head upon the student’s appeal, the student can then submit a written appeal to the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.
Programs of Study
Students may pursue an emphasis in Creative Writing or a minor in Teaching of English as a Second Language. External minors are also available.
Master of Arts in English - Thesis
| Graduate coursework | 21 | |
| EN 8103 | Graduate Research in English | 3 |
| EN 8000 | Thesis Research/ Thesis in English | 6 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- A thesis is required.
- All students must display a reading knowledge of a foreign language, usually by having completed four undergraduate semesters in that language with a B average or higher.
- All students, regardless of their fields of study, must take a comprehensive examination in British and American literature. The exam must be taken at the beginning of the student’s fourth full semester.
Master of Arts in English - Non-Thesis
| Graduate coursework | 30 | |
| EN 8103 | Graduate Research in English | 3 |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
- All students must display a reading knowledge of a foreign language, usually by having completed four undergraduate semesters in that language with a B average or higher.
- All students, regardless of their fields of study, must take a comprehensive examination in British and American literature. The exam must be taken at the beginning of the student’s fourth full semester.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate Program
| Theoretical Background | ||
| EN 6403 | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 |
| EN 6463 | Studies in Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
| EN 6443 | English Syntax | 3 |
| Language Teaching Methodology | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Approaches to TESOL | ||
| Methods in TESOL | ||
| TESOL Practicum | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
The program requires 15 credit hours (5 courses) in linguistics and English language teaching methods that introduce students to basic methods of linguistic analysis and principles of communicative language teaching.
Non-degree seeking students will be awarded their certificates immediately upon completing the certificate requirements.
EN 6013 Internship in Compositional Theory and the Teaching of College Writing: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Acceptance as a teaching assistant in the Department of English). Compositional theory in relation to teaching and evaluating traditional modes of writing, coordinated with at least twenty hours per week of supervised professional experience
EN 6223 Principles of Legal Writing: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:EN 1103 and EN 1113 or their equivalent and Junior standing or consent of instructor).Three hours lecture. Introduction to prose of the legal profession, emphasizing rhetorical strategy and style. Advanced composition, including work with contracts, letters, regulations, memoranda of law, and briefs
EN 6233 Composition Pedagogy: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:EN 1113 or Consent of Instructor).Three hours lecture. Introduction to practices and debates in college compositon pedogogies. Develops practical strategies for instruction in composition;introduces historical and theoretical scholarship in rhetoric and composition
EN 6243 Writing Center Tutor Training: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:Grade of B or better in EN 1113 and consent of instructor).Three hours lecture. Introduction to the practices and theories of college writing consultation in Writing Centers
EN 6303 Craft of Poetry: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EN 3303 or consent of instructor). (Graduate students may take EN 6303 for credit twice, even if they have already taken EN 4303 as undergraduates). Three hours lecture. The craft and practice of writing poetry
EN 6313 Craft of Fiction: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EN 3903 or consent of instructor). (Graduate students may take EN 6313 for credit twice, even if they have already taken EN 4313 as undergraduates). Three hours lecture. The craft and practice of writing fiction
EN 6323 Literary Criticism from Plato-Present: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. A survey of literary criticism from Plato to the present
EN 6333 Southern Literature: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). Three hours lecture. A survey of southern literature from the antebellum period to the “post southern” present. Features selected works representing the diverse literary heritage of the U.S. South
EN 6343 African American Literature: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). Three hours lecture. A study of selected authors and/or topics in African American literature. (Same as AAS 4343)
EN 6353 Critical Theory Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. A study of major strategies of interpretation since 1900, including psychoanalysis, Marxism, structuralism, feminism, deconstruction
EN 6393 Postcolonial Literature and Theory: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). Three hours lecture. A critical introduction to postcolonial studies, examining the literatures of colonized or previously colonized peoples and their diasporas. (Same as AAS 4393)
EN 6403 Introduction to Linguistics: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. The descriptive and historical study of language; linguistic analysis and comparisons; language classification; language in its social and cultural setting. (Same as AN 4403/6403)
EN 6413 History of the English Language: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Twelve hours of English). Three hours lecture. The origin and development of the English language; past and ongoing changes in sounds and structure; influence of social history on language variation and change
EN 6433 Approaches to TESOL: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. This course covers various approaches to language teaching, including course design, classroom management, and sociocultural and sociopolitical issues surrounding being a language teacher
EN 6443 English Syntax: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Grammatical analysis of English with emphasis on pedagogical applications to teaching English as a foreign/second language
EN 6453 Methods in TESOL: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. This course covers the various practical pedagogical approaches common in TESOL including methods for teaching reading, listening, speaking, and writing as well as communicative approaches
EN 6463 Studies in Second Language Acquisition: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: EN 4403/6403 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A survey of the major theories of language acquisition, concentrating on accounts of second language acquisition
EN 6473 Phonetics: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: Either EN 4403/6403, AN 4403/6403, or Instructor Consent). Three hours lecture. This course focuses on the physical and linguistic aspects of speech sounds, including how they are produced, transcribed, measured, and perceived. (Same as PSY 4473/6473)
EN 6493 TESOL Practicum: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite:EN 4403/6403).Three hour practicum. A pedagogical practice class that focuses on the practical application of TESOL approaches, methods, and techniques
EN 6503 Shakespeare: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Shakespeare's plays through 1599
EN 6513 Shakespeare: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Shakespeare's plays from 1600
EN 6523 Chaucer: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Studies in the major works of Chaucer. Readings in Middle English
EN 6533 Milton: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. The principal writings of Milton, including all of PARADISE LOST and PARADISE REGAINED, and some of the chief prose works
EN 6623 Language and Culture: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Examination of language as a part of culture, a source of knowledge about other aspects of culture, and a social behavior. (Same as AN 4623/6623 and SO 4623/6623)
EN 6633 Language and Society: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Examination of relationship between language and society. How language varies regionally and socially; people’s use of and attitudes toward different ways of speaking. (Same as AN 4633/6633 and SO 4633/6633)
EN 6643 The Eighteenth-Century British Novel: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of Twelve hours of English). Three hours lecture. A study of the early cultural and critical history of the novel, focusing on the novelists who invented and refined the form
EN 6653 The Nineteenth-Century British Novel: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. A study of the major nineteenth-century British novelists
EN 6663 British and Irish Novel Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. A study of British and Irish novelists from Conrad and Woolf to Rushdie and Byatt, as well as literary movements including modernism, postmodernism, and postcolonialism
EN 6703 English Literature of the Sixteenth-Century: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). Study of the development of the English literary tradition, including works by Wyatt, Sidney, Spenser, Marlowe and others in their cultural and historical contexts
EN 6713 English Literature of the Seventeenth-Century: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of Twelve hours of English). Three hours lecture. Study of major works of poetry, prose, and drama, including works by Donne, Jonson, Wroth and others in their literary, cultural, and historical contexts
EN 6723 British Literature and Culture from 1600-1700: 3 hours.
(Perquisites: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). An exploration of the literature and culture of the Restoration and late seventeenth century. Covers a variety of genres
EN 6733 British Literature and Culture of the Eighteenth-Century: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of the English requirements in the student’s major.). Three hours lecture. An exploration of important literary, political and cultural phenomena from the British eighteenth century. Covers a variety of genres
EN 6803 Types of Drama Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. The development of modern American, British, and Continental drama since Ibsen
EN 6813 The World Novel Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Major world novelist since 1900, excluding British, Irish, and American
EN 6823 Poetry Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Chief American and British poets; their verse technique and their contribution to poetic art
EN 6833 The American Short Story: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major) Three hours lecture. A study of the American short story from Washington Irving to the present, as well as relevant literary movements
EN 6863 The Romantic Poets and Prose Writers: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. An intensive study of the major Romantic poets Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron, Coleridge along with some of the non-fiction prose of the period
EN 6883 Victorian Poets and Prose Writers: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Intensive study of Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Swinburne, and other Victorian poets, along with some of the non-fiction prose of the period
EN 6893 American Literature to 1800: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student’s major). Three hours lecture. Studies of topics in American literature from its beginnings to 1800
EN 6903 American Literature: 1800-1860: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Studies in Irving, Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, the Transcendentalists, and Southern Humorists. This course cannot be taken before EN 2243
EN 6913 American Literature: 1860-1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Studies in Twain, Whitman, Dickinson, James, Crane, and others. This course cannot be taken before EN 2253
EN 6923 American Novel Since 1900: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. A study of the American novel since Dreiser
EN 6933 Survey of Contemporary Literature: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Significant trends in European and American literature since the outbreak of World War II
EN 6943 Form and Theory of Fiction: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Theoretical aspects of fictional technique, genre, style; readings include novels, short stories, and writings about the craft of fiction. Recommended complement to creative writing courses
EN 6953 Form and Theory of Poetry: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Completion of English requirements in the student's major). Three hours lecture. Poetic theory; formal conventions, techniques, and innovations in the tradition of English and American poetry. Recommended complement to creative writing courses
EN 6990 Special Topics in English: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)
EN 7000 Directed Individual Study in English: 1-6 hours.
Hours and credits to be arranged
EN 8000 Thesis Research/ Thesis in English: 1-13 hours.
Hours and credits to be arranged
EN 8103 Graduate Research in English: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. A required introduction ot fields of study and to scholarly research and writing in English lang- uage and literature
EN 8333 Studies in Southern Literature: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Studies in the literature of the U.S. South
EN 8513 Studies in English Literature to 1485: 3 hours.
EN 8523 Studies in English Literature 1485-1660: 3 hours.
EN 8533 Studies in English Literature 1660-1832: 3 hours.
EN 8543 Studies in English Literature 1832-1900: 3 hours.
EN 8553 Studies in American Literature to the Civil War: 3 hours.
EN 8563 Studies in American Literature from Civil War-1914: 3 hours.
EN 8573 Studies in Literature Since 1900: 3 hours.
EN 8583 Selected Topics in Language and Literature: 3 hours.
EN 8593 Studies in Post-Colonial Literatures: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Studies in the literatures of the English-speaking world, excluding Great Britain and the United States
EN 8990 Special Topics in English: 1-9 hours.
Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)