2007-09 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

Graduate Catalog: Section 6.8http://graduate.ua.edu/catalog/15900.htmlresearch (EN 537: Introduction to Graduate Studies); 3 hours of writing workshop (EN 538: Research and CriticalProse Workshop, which is offered every spring, and which students take in their fourth semester); 3 hours in EN 620or other linguistics; 3 hours in EN 532: Approaches to Teaching Composition; 3 hours in history of compositionrhetoric(EN 638: History of Rhetoric-Composition Part I or EN 658: History of Rhetoric-Composition Part II); 3 hoursin EN 512: Computers and Writing; 12 hours in approved general electives; and (for teaching assistants) 2 hours inteaching practicum (EN 533/534). Students must take at least three courses at the 600-level. A student writing athesis (Plan I) will take 6 thesis hours (EN 599) and in consultation with the field advisor, drop 6 hours of courseworkfrom his or her concentration. A student not writing a thesis (Plan II) will satisfy the graduation requirement bycompleting EN 538 with an oral defense of the paper generated in that course (See Master’s comprehensive exam,below).Master's comprehensive oral exam. The master's comprehensive exam is an oral examination and defense of thepaper generated in EN 538. The professor in whose class the paper originated, or the specialist advisor chosen by thestudent, will work with the student to construct a list of reading material relevant to the paper's subject matter. Thislist will contain approximately 20–25 items; it may include articles as well as books, primary as well as secondarytexts, works used in the essay as well as works that supplement the essay. This list should be designed to place thepaper's focus in the broader context of English literary studies. The student will then be responsible for these worksin a one-hour oral defense of the paper staged before a faculty committee of no fewer than three members. Failure ofthe defense and exam for the second time will normally result in the student's dismissal from the program. If thesecond defense is successful, the student will be awarded a master of arts in English but will not be allowed to worktoward the doctoral degree in this program.Foreign language requirement. A reading knowledge of one foreign language is required. The foreign languagerequirement may be satisfied by one of the following: (a) the certification through the appropriate department of a"B" average or the equivalent of two years of undergraduate- or graduate-level study in a single foreign language,completed within five years of admission to the master's program; or (b) passing the foreign language readingexamination prepared by the Department of Modern Languages and Classics;or (c) completing a specially-designed two course sequence (Fall + Spring) in either French, Spanish, or German, forthe purpose of reading comprehension. Students who are not native speakers of English may use their nativelanguage to fulfill this requirement.Requirements for the M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Applied Linguistics /TESOL) DegreeAdmission RequirementsA candidate for admission to the M.A.-TESOL degree program must satisfy the minimum conditions for regularadmission to the Graduate School (including a grade point average of 3.0 overall and an acceptable score on thegeneral test of the Graduate Record Examination). Each applicant must also submit a sample of his or her academicwriting. In addition, those who are not native speakers of English must submit a TOEFL score of at least 100 (iBT),250 (CBT), or 600 (PBT); and must submit an audiotape demonstrating their speaking proficiency in English. Forthose who took the PBT TOEFL, scores on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and Test of Written English (TWE) arealso desirable as part of the application. Students may be required to take appropriate courses in speaking andwriting at the English Language Institute. Application materials should be received by February 1 to ensure fullconsideration for admission for the following fall term.Degree RequirementsStudents will be required to complete 30 semester hours for the degree: 24 hours of required courses and 6 hours ofdepartment-approved electives or of thesis research.Students will be required to pass a comprehensive examination at the end of their coursework; the examination isnormally given once a year, in February. The examination will cover all the major areas of study.An optional thesis may be written under the guidance of the TESOL faculty. Please see the Graduate School 's generalrequirements for the master's thesis, outlined under "Academic Policies" earlier in this catalog.To earn the degree, native speakers of English must demonstrate proficiency in a second language; students whosenative language is not English must demonstrate satisfactory proficiency in spoken and written English.For further details about the program, visit the departmental website and contact the coordinator of the AppliedLinguistics/TESOL program.Requirements for the M.F.A. Degree in Creative WritingThe program leading to the master of fine arts (M.F.A.) degree in creative writing is a studio/academic course ofstudy. Imaginative writers enroll in writing workshops, forms courses, and literature classes, gaining exposure to abroad range of writing models and experimenting with a variety of strategies and forms. Guided development of eachwriter's talents culminates in a complete, carefully conceived final project (the thesis), typically a book-lengthmanuscript. Most writers focus their studies on either poetry or fiction, with minor studies in one or more additionalgenres. Coursework is offered in hypertext, nonfiction, screenwriting, and autobiography, as well as poetry and