Department of English and Creative Writing

Elizabeth Tasker Davis, chair
Ericka Hoagland, coordinator of English graduate studies
Dugas Liberal Arts North, Room 260
Phone: (936) 468-2413
Fax: (936) 468-2614
sfasu.edu/english

Objectives of the Department

The SFA graduate program in English provides students with a body of learning in British, American and world literature and fosters critical thinking and excellence in creative expression. Through close engagement with texts, professors and fellow graduate students, students develop advanced understanding of the contexts, methods and theories that inform literary study and production.

The 36-hour English, MA  offers the choice of two tracks (literature or creative writing), thesis and nonthesis degree plans, and the option to add in a Certificate in Advanced English Pedagogy.  The program also offers a 12-hour Certificate in Professional Writing. All graduate coursework in English has distance options for students who desire to study remotely.  

Our flexible graduate offerings prepare students for careers in teaching, writing and other fields demanding textual expertise and for further study at the doctoral and MFA level.

Graduate Faculty

Professors

• Marc S. Guidry, PhD, Louisiana State University, Medieval British Literature, Arthurian Romance
• Ericka Hoagland, PhD, Purdue University, World Literature (non-Western)
• Steven Marsden, PhD, Texas A&M University, Colonial and 19th-Century American Literature
• Michael Martin, PhD, Illinois State University, Contemporary American Literature
• John McDermott, PhD, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Creative Writing
• Mark Sanders, PhD, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Modern Poetry, Creative Writing, 20th-Century American and British Literature; PhD, University of Idaho, Higher Education
• Elizabeth Tasker-Davis, PhD, Georgia State University, Restoration and 18th-Century British Literature, Rhetoric
• Kenneth L. Untiedt, PhD, Texas Tech University, Literature of the American West, 20th-Century American Literature
• Kevin West, PhD, Indiana University, World Literature (European), Literature and Religion

Assistant Professors

• Jason L. McIntosh, PhD, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Rhetoric and Composition
• Sara B. Parks, PhD, Iowa State University, Technical Writing, Rhetoric of Science

Graduate Assistantships

A limited number of graduate assistantships are awarded each year. Interested applicants should contact the coordinator of English graduate studies for additional information. Preferential consideration for assistantships will be given to applications received by March 31 of the prior academic year; however, applications are accepted through May 31. During their first year in the program, graduate assistants are assigned to work on departmental materials, publications and events; aid English faculty with their research and teaching; and sometimes work as tutors or administrative support staff for other SFA departments. In their second year, after completing eighteen hours of graduate coursework, including ENGL 5380 - Teaching First-Year Composition  and receiving professional development training, graduate assistants teach multiple sections of freshman composition.

Background Requirements

For clear admission to the graduate program a student must have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale during the last 60 credit hours of undergraduate work in advanced-level undergraduate English courses. For further information on provisional status, see the Graduate Admission  section of the Graduate Bulletin. Although students may be granted probationary admission with a GPA below 3.0, no students may be granted probationary admission with a GPA below 2.7.

Ordinarily, an English major with an undergraduate degree from an accredited college may pursue graduate study in English; however, any student with fewer than 24 semester hours of undergraduate credit in English may be asked to complete additional work to establish a background for graduate study. Students may be admitted to a graduate minor in English or to complete an elective concentration in English after evaluation of the student’s academic background by the coordinator of graduate studies.

Programs

• English, MA

• English, Minor

• English Pedagogy, Advanced, Certificate

• Advanced Certificate in Professional Writing