Graduate

The Department of English offers three separate graduate degrees to support your personal and professional goals beyond the undergraduate level:

M.A. in English

The English M.A. typically admits ten to fifteen students each fall, offering teaching assistantships with tuition waivers to all incoming students. Students entering our English M.A. program can choose between two tracks: Generalist and Specialist. The Generalist structure focuses on breadth of knowledge regarding the historical eras of English and American literature and their cultural contexts. The Specialist structure, on the other hand, offers the opportunity for in-depth study in one of seven areas: Cultural Studies; Environmental Literature, Writing, and Culture; Ethnic and Regional Literature; Gender Studies; Medieval Literature; Religion and Literature; and Rhetoric and Composition. English M.A. students have the opportunity to take courses and work closely with professors who are top scholars in their respective areas of specialization, are encouraged to professionalize (e.g., through internships), and can conclude the English M.A. program with one of two final project options: portfolio or thesis. Over 115 students have graduated from our English M.A. program in the last ten years, going on to attend doctoral programs around the country or begin careers in a wide range of professions: K-12 teachers, college English instructors, academic administrators, editorial staff, and various positions in corporate, non-profit, and entrepreneurial sectors.

Ph.D. in English 

The English Ph.D. program typically admits three to five students each fall, offering teaching assistantships with tuition waivers to all incoming students. We also try to secure doctoral fellowships for incoming English Ph.D. students who have taken the General GRE (optional for admission consideration) and whose scores make them eligible for fellowship nomination. Students in the English Ph.D. program can specialize in diverse fields of research, including but not limited to: Medieval literature; Renaissance literature; nineteenth-century British literature; modern and contemporary British literature; American literature to 1900; modern and contemporary American literature; literary criticism and theory; American southern literature and culture; world literature and culture in English; American multiculturalism; gender studies; film and media studies; popular culture and popular genres; literary history; and rhetoric, composition, and literacy. Further, English Ph.D. students are encouraged to customize their courses of study according to their individual interests and areas of expertise. English Ph.D. students select their classes with guidance from the Director of Graduate Studies and develop their candidacy-exam reading lists, dissertation topics, and research agendas under the supervision of the program’s prestigious faculty. In the past decade, over 50 students have graduated from our English Ph.D. program, securing both tenure-track and non-tenure-track professor positions throughout the U.S. and overseas, other types of teaching jobs, as well as competitive careers in university administration and advising, editing, and research.

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

Established in 1966, ours is one of the oldest MFA programs in the nation and one of the most innovative, offering degree tracks in poetry, fiction, and literary translation.

For over sixty years, the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation has served as a preeminent training ground for some of the nation’s best writers.

Our 60-hour curriculum enhances the typical workshop experience with coursework in craft and literary studies so that students develop their own creative voices alongside a deep understanding of the great writers and works that have come before them. While students pursue a single degree track in poetry, fiction, or translation, our four-year curriculum enables them to explore outside of their own concentration, with workshops and craft courses in other genres.

Our small class sizes and dedicated faculty—award-winning writers themselves—guarantee that students receive hands-on attention through their four years of study.

Our MFA is designed to be a true terminal degree. Graduates leave our program prepared for all aspects of the writing life.

Coordinators of Graduate Programs

  • Director, M.A. and Ph.D. Programs in English: Susan Marren
  • Director, M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing: Toni Jensen
  • Director, Ph.D. Program in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies (interdisciplinary): Erika Almenara
  • Director, Program in Rhetoric and Composition: Megan McIntyre