English Department

General Information: M.A. in English

• Master of Arts Emphases
  • Creative Writing Emphasis
  • Literature Emphasis
  • Professional Writing & Rhetoric Emphasis
  • Teaching English in the Community College Emphasis
• The Department and the Community
• Graduate Teaching Assistantships
• Application Information

Master of Arts Emphases

The English faculty at Pittsburg State strongly believe that the study of literature, language, and writing can be, at the same time, both intellectually fulfilling and highly practical. To help our students see the possibilities for successful careers based on a master›s degree in English, we have recently added new emphases in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and Teaching English in the Community College to accompany a newly revised Literature emphasis.

Our master's degree program is designed to be completed in two years. For regulations pertaining to all candidates for master›s degrees at Pittsburg State, see Master›s Degree: General Regulations in the PSU University Catalog. For other information about our graduate degree programs, including the required preliminary and comprehensive examinations, you may e-mail the Director of English Graduate Studies, Dr. Paul McCallum. pmccallu@pittstate.edu

• Creative Writing Emphasis
  This new emphasis offers small classes in poetry and fiction writing with personal attention from faculty. Students in this emphasis are artists committed to the craft of writing. They may also be preparing for further graduate study, or working toward careers in teaching at the college or community college level or any of numerous other career opportunities for those skilled in writing. Students are afforded practical opportunities to work on publishing a literary journal and to help organize our Distinguished Visiting Writer's Series. (Course Requirements for the Creative Writing Emphasis)
  
  
• Literature Emphasis
  Newly revised, our Literature emphasis continues our traditionally strong commitment to literary studies. Students selecting this emphasis may be preparing for doctoral studies in English or for professional degree programs in business or law. High school teachers, on the other hand, may select this emphasis to update their teaching credentials. Several of our recent graduates have gone on to doctoral study in English at more than a half dozen of the leading state universities in the Great Plains region. (Course Requirements for the Literature Emphasis)
  
  
• Professional Writing & Rhetoric Emphasis
  The Professional Writing & Rhetoric emphasis is a new addition to our master›s program. It is designed to assist our graduates in preparing for careers in communications-related fields. National surveys of corporate hiring practices show that good communication skills rank second among all factors that influence employment decisions. (Attitude, by the way, is first.) Persons studying in the Professional Writing & Rhetoric emphasis will be preparing for jobs as technical writers, corporate communications specialists, editors in the publishing industry, or other communications-related jobs in health, education, business, and community service organizations. (Course Requirements for Professional Writing & Rhetoric)
  
  
• Teaching English in the Community College Emphasis
  The Community College Teaching emphasis is also a new addition to our program. Community colleges, which prefer to hire teachers specifically trained to teach in the two-year college environment, represent an expanding employment opportunity for English teachers. Our program is designed to prepare our students to compete for community college teaching jobs by combining a solid pedagogical foundation in composition and literature with academic study of the history and purpose of community college teaching. Students will also complete a teaching internship at a community college. (Course Requirements for Community College Teaching)
  
  

The Department and the Community

The English Department has fifteen full-time faculty. Approximately thirty graduate students major in English. Graduate classes are small, and students receive much individual attention. The Department has a fully equipped 24-station computer classroom that is used primarily for teaching composition, technical writing, and other writing-based classes. We also have a Writing Center that provides writing tutorial services to the entire campus.

Pittsburg, located in southeast Kansas, is a town of approximately 20,000 with a small-town atmosphere. Food and housing costs are considerably lower than in metropolitan areas. City life, however, is nearby. Joplin, Missouri (pop. 60,000) is only half an hour away. Springfield (pop. 150,000) is an hour and a half, and Kansas City is an easy two-hour drive. Convenient commercial air service is available through all three cities.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Graduate teaching assistantships are available to qualified students on a competitive basis. Graduate assistants teach two classes of composition per semester. The stipend is $8,000 per academic year, plus full remission of tuition, which makes an assistantship worth approximately $15,000 for non-residents and $11,000 for residents. Assistantships are renewable for a second year. Health insurance is available to graduate assistants for a moderate monthly fee. Graduate assistants are also provided with comfortable office space and computer access, which includes free e-mail and Internet connections. Several departmental workshops each year provide information and training in such areas as teaching composition, computer-mediated instruction, graduate school and career opportunities, test-taking strategies, web page building, and other topics.

The application deadline for assistantships is March 31 annually. Applications must be complete by that time for first consideration. International applicants and all students whose native language is not English and who wish to apply for a graduate teaching assistantship MUST submit, at the time of application, a TOEFL score of 600+ (paper test) or 250+ (computer test) AND a TSE (or SPEAK) score of 270+ (old system) or 55+ (new system) in order to be considered for an assistantship award. Prospective students may also wish to contact the Office of Financial Aid for information about loans and other financial aid.

Application Information

The applicant for admission to study for the Master of Arts degree in English shall present evidence of successful completion of at least 24 semester hours of undergraduate English above the freshman level, preferably including survey courses in both English and American literature; one course in either linguistics, modern grammar, or the history of the English language;and one upper division writing course. To be considered for an assistantship, your application must be complete by March 31.

Please download the application form, fill it out, and send it to the address at the bottom of the form. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the form. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat reader, you can download it for free from this website: Adobe® Reader®.

For other information, write to Dr. Stephen E. Meats, Chair, English Department, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS 66762. Or you may also call (620) 235-4689, FAX (620) 235-4686, or e-mail engl@pittstate.edu

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