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English

In the College of Arts and Letters

Office: Adams Humanities 4158
Telephone: (619) 594-5307
Fax: (619) 594-4998

Faculty

Carey G. Wall, Ph.D., Professor of English, Chair of Department

Sandra B. Alcosser, M.F.A., Professor of English

Jackson J. Benson, Ph.D., Professor of English

Roberta F. Borkat, Ph.D., Professor of English

Jerry D. Bumpus, M.F.A., Professor of English

Gerald J. Butler, Ph.D., Professor of English

Glover T. Davis, II, M.F.A., Professor of English, Director of Creative Writing Program

Laurie D. Edson, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Gerald H. Farber, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Jay H. Gellens, Ph.D., Professor of English

Ronald J. Gervais, Ph.D., Professor of English

Jerome J. Griswold, Ph.D., Professor of English

Suzanne Henig, Ph.D., Professor of English

Harold Jaffe, Ph.D., Professor of English

Dorothea F. Kehler, Ph.D., Professor of English

Lois R. Kuznets, Ph.D., Professor of English

Lawrence F. McCaffery, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Fred S. Moramarco, Ph.D., Professor of English

Thomas A. Nelson, Ph.D., Professor of English

Harry Polkinhorn, Ph.D., Professor of English

William N. Rogers, II, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

James Rother, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Minas Savvas, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Ita G. Sheres, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Donald A. Shojai, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Alida L. Allison, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Alfred F. Boe, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Marilyn Chin, M.F.A., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Clare E. Colquitt, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Director of Graduate Studies

Sinda J. Gregory, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English

D. Emily Hicks, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Lynda L. Koolish, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English

William A. Nericcio, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

James L. Wheeler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

E. Jane Robinett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Jeanette Shumaker, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English

Associateships and Scholarships

Graduate teaching associateships in English are available to a limited number of qualified students. Application blanks and additional information may be secured from the graduate director.

General Information

The Department of English and Comparative Literature offers graduate study leading to a Master of Arts in English and the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. The M.A. student can choose one of four areas of specialization: American literature, British literature, comparative literature, or rhetoric and writing. The M.A. is a 30-unit degree program particularly well suited for students who anticipate further graduate work in a literature or rhetoric Ph.D. program or who intend to teach English in a community college or a secondary school (after obtaining a credential). The M.F.A. in creative writing is a 54-unit program which offers study in poetry or fiction with a balance between studio and academic, traditional and experimental, commercial and aesthetic approaches. The program has two stages - graduate seminars followed by intensive study with one or more professors in tutorials and thesis preparation. The M.F.A. is a professional program intended for full-time students who wish to receive a terminal degree in creative writing. Each year, in addition to the resident faculty, the department invites approximately twenty writers and editors to the campus for readings and residencies.

The department offers a wide range of courses and approaches to the study of literature and writing, many of which are outlined in English 600, Introduction to Graduate Study, required of all entering M.A. students. Faculty publications in literature and rhetoric are similarly diverse. They include major literary biographies, historical studies, critical analysis from various current perspectives, reviews of and interviews with contemporary writers, as well as a broad spectrum of original poetry and fiction. The department also sponsors the literary periodicals Fiction International and The Pacific Review.

Admission to Graduate Study

Students will be admitted in both the fall and spring semesters. Submit applications by October 1 for the spring and by April 1 for the fall.

All students must satisfy the general requirements for admission to the University with classified graduate standing, as described in Part Two of this bulletin. Students may be admitted to the graduate program in literature in one of two categories:

1. Classified Graduate Standing
To be considered for admission, students must meet the following minimal requirements:

a. 24 units of upper division work in English. (Students choosing the comparative literature specialization may substitute foreign language literature or comparative literature courses.)

b. 2.75 overall on a 4.0 Grade Point Scale.

c. 3.0 grade point average in the English major. (Students choosing the comparative literature specialization in either foreign language literature or comparative literature courses must possess a 3.0 grade point average.)

d. 1050 on the GRE General Test (combined verbal and quantitative or analytical scores, minimum 550 verbal).

2. Conditional Classified Graduate Standing

a. Conditional acceptance will be considered for a candidate who is below requirements in one of the above. A student may be granted conditional acceptance if there is a deficiency in any of the above requirements. A student accepted conditionally must achieve an average of 3.25 in nine units of English or comparative literature courses with no grade less than B- before proceeding to further study and is limited to 12 units. Any units taken above this quota will not count toward the 30 units for the master's degree in English.

b. English major unit deficiencies. Students who lack 24 units of credit in upper division courses in English or in foreign language literature or comparative literature courses will be considered for conditional standing if they meet the requirements of 2.75 overall and 1000 on the GRE General Test (combined verbal and quantitative). After the completion of 24 units for the undergraduate major, students will be considered for classified graduate standing if they meet the other requirements. Students choosing a comparative literature specialization may substitute 24 units of upper division coursework in foreign language literature or comparative literature courses for part of this requirement.

Applicants are required to submit a 750-1000 word statement of purpose with their application, along with three letters of recommendation.

Advancement to Candidacy

All students must satisfy the general requirements for advancement to candidacy, including the foreign language requirement, as stated in Part Two of this bulletin. Each candidate, with the approval of the graduate coordinator, may fulfill the foreign language requirement in one of several ways: (1) by passing the Graduate School Foreign Language Test or the Modern Language Association Reading Examination, (2) by passing a local examination administered by one of the University's foreign language departments, (3) by completing one three-unit upper division foreign language literature course with readings in the original language with a grade of C (2.0) or better, or (4) by passing an examination to be determined by the graduate adviser if the chosen language is not one taught in a department at San Diego State University.

This is page 1 of 3 for English