Frequently Asked Questions for M.A.

 

What are the requirements for admission 完全地.A. 程序?

If you have completed fewer than 24 units, you may be admitted to Conditional Standing, but you will need to complete the required number of units and achieve the required grade point average before you can take graduate-level classes or begin 工作 toward 30个单位的M.A. 程序. 当你准备好晋级到分类级别时 你必须带着表格和你的非正式成绩单到M.A. 有顾问 the change made official.

 

我该怎么做? 申请M.A. 程序?

Simply fill out the online 加州申请 for 研究生 招生. 你可以找到 说明在这里. 您将需要在您的应用程序中列出三个参考，但您不需要 to supply letters of recommendation. Have all transcripts sent directly to the 研究生 招生 & Program Evaluations Office(失效链接). For full and detailed instructions, please review the "Steps to 研究生 招生" brochure [pdf].

Note: Be sure to specify only M.A. 英语 程序 on your form. If you also indicate a credential objective, your application may not be routed to the Department of 英语 and Comparative Literature. Send your writing sample to the 研究生 顾问 in the Department of 英语 and Comparative Literature. Ideally the writing sample will 举一个你以前学文学时的例子. 

 

What are the requirements for the 学位?

Complete 英语 201 (Materials and Methods of Literary Research) and 英语 297 (综合考试准备)作为30单元课程的一部分. Both courses are offered 只有在秋天. 你应该在第一学年的秋季修201门课，第二学期修297门课 Fall of your second year.

 

我该怎么做? demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language?

硕士学位要求第二语言的流利程度大致相当于一门语言 year of college study of a language. If you have completed 2 semesters/3 quarters 入学时已修过大学水平的外语课程; you have already satisfied this requirement. If not, you may be admitted on a conditional 基础，并在申请候选人资格之前必须满足要求. 学生 who have acquired their language skills and knowledge outside of an academic institution 能满足法语、德语、西班牙语或其他语言的外语要求吗 major world languages by taking an examination offered in the World Languages Department 那是专门为我们的研究生设计的. For information on how satisfy this requirement in a language not offered by the World Language Department, please contact the M.A. 顾问.

 

是什么? comprehensive examination?

M.A. 综合是一个笔试，旨在测试你的关键技能和能力 你的文学史、文学理论和修辞学知识. 每个都有 semester in two parts:

  1. Part 1 is a timed in-class exam given in 英语 297.
  2. Part 2 is a take-home exam given in the fifth or sixth week of the semester (check 通讯 日期).

要参加第2部分，你必须提前通过电子邮件报名 M.一个顾问 并指定您希望检查的三个领域. Deadline to sign up is May 1 for the Fall exam and Dec 1 for the Spring exam.

Reading lists and sample questions are available online. Examiners will assume that you have read what is on the list and will frame questions accordingly, but you will not be limited to discussing only 工作s on this list when you answer the questions.

的 Reading List Guidelines, you should note, represents a minimal coverage of the 工作s an 英语 M.A. 应该知道. 的 程序 assumes you will do a considerable amount of reading in addition to your course assignments. Seminars, for the same reason, are not designed necessarily to cover the titles on the list; they are designed rather to model various ways of reading literature and to equip you to understand and evaluate critical approaches. 希望您在学习作品时应用这些方法 on the list and to demonstrate on the 综合考试ination that you are capable 达到了英语文学硕士所要求的独立学习水平.

 

如果我的综合考试全部或部分不及格怎么办?

你 will be allowed to repeat whichever part of the exam you failed when it is next given, but you may not take any part more than twice. A second failure will result 如果被终止，你必须在没有获得学位的情况下离开这个项目.

 

Is it necessary to write a thesis?

No. 你可以完成全部30个单元的课程作业(B计划). Or you may, if you have a strong record and submit a strong proposal, be permitted to write a six-unit thesis as part of your 30-unit 程序 (Plan A). (No matter what your plan, you must pass all parts of the comprehensive exam.)

如果你打算写论文，请看系里的 M.A. 论文的指导方针. Follow these instructions very carefully.

 

Is financial aid available?

有关财政援助的一般信息可从财政援助办公室获得. 你 should also visit the site for Awards and Scholarships available to graduate students. 的 英语 department offers no scholarships or fellowships, but you may wish to apply for 一个 of the 研究生 Assistant or Teaching Associate positions described below.

 

Teaching Associate Positions

欢迎新入学的学生和继续就读的学生申请 研究生 Assistant and Teaching Associate positions. 通常情况下，第一年的学生将被任命为研究生助理 并将协助教授教授大班或作文课. 在他们的 second year, as Teaching Associates they will teach composition classes under the T导.A. 协调员. But students who enter the 程序 with the appropriate 经验可以直接用于课堂教学.

如果你想申请这些职位之一，写一封求职信:

  1. Describing your goals and your experience
  2. 列出你修过的研究生课程和成绩
  3. 给你写推荐信的两位教员的名字.

这些推荐信是直接寄给M吗.A. 顾问. 最后期限 for applications is on or before April 1. New Teaching Assistants are required to attend meetings in May and during the summer.

 

我该怎么做? plan my 程序?

你 will need to take 英语 201 (Materials and Methods of Literary Research), demonstrate 熟练阅读一门外语，并通过综合考试. M.A. 阅读清单会让你对预期的阅读范围有所了解. 因为英语 201 provides the ground工作 for other graduate courses, you should take it as early as possible in your 程序.

If you are interested in being a Teaching Associate, please take 英语 259 (Rhetoric and Composition) as soon as possible. 这个研讨会是 ONLY OFFERED IN THE FALL 所有希望在第二年担任助教的学生都必须参加.

Choose your electives according to your strengths and your interests but also keep the comprehensive exam requirements in mind and fill in any gaps in your knowledge.的 university 目录 gives a general description of the courses; the 研究生 英语 Newsletter in November and April gives more detailed information about the seminars that will be offered the following semester. 你 are always invited to talk with M.A. 顾问 关于你的课程选择和你项目的其他方面. 记住, seminars are designed to provide in-depth 工作 with specific writings and to illustrate ways of reading; they are not designed to "cover" the reading list. 期待你的到来 to do much reading on your own and to apply the skills you develop in the seminars.

Please be aware that electives are NOT offered every year, nor sometimes even every 第三学期. 如果你看到你感兴趣的选修课，请务必确定 to sign up for it when you see it. Unless you stay with us for more than two years, an individual elective is unlikely to appear again. 

 

How long will it take to complete M.A.?

Because 12 graduate units is considered a full semester load, and because the department offers no graduate seminars in the summer, it will take at least three semesters to complete the course 工作. 你还必须满足外语要求和 pass the comprehensive exam. Most students take at least two years to complete the 还有很多人，因为他们是兼职，所以要花更长的时间. 记住, per CSU policy, courses completed more than seven years before your date of graduation 不计入你所要求的30个单元的课程，必须重修. A small percentage can be recertified via oral examination but the best policy is to complete all of the 学位 requirements within seven years.

 

Can I complete M.A. without having or 工作ing toward a secondary credential?

Yes, these are quite separate 程序s. Consult the Credential 顾问 if you are interested in also obtaining a credential that will allow you to teach high-school 英语. M.A. 如果你想在社区大学教书，必须要有学位吗. Four-year colleges and universities require the Ph.D. If your goal is to eventually teach at the college level, we highly recommend that you apply for the graduate assistant and teaching associate positions as the experience and training these 程序s provide 将是无价的.

 

If I later decide to 工作 for the Ph.D. 度，将M.A. 数?

的 weight given to your M.A. 工作 will depend on the policy of the university that accepts you, and these policies vary widely. Consult university catalogs on line and 在图书馆，和上海州立大学的老师谈谈你感兴趣的项目. 当 you've narrowed your choices, make an appointment to talk directly with the graduate advisors at the schools to which you might apply. In any event, a good record in your M.A. 学习将加强你被录取的理由，以及学习本身 will give you training and experience that will be helpful when you undertake your Ph.D. 工作.

 

如果我后来决定申请圣何塞州立大学的MFA项目，M.A. 数?

Literature seminars completed for M.A. will also 数 toward M.F.A. 程序 at San Jose State. M.F.A.但是，总共需要48个单元(而M.A.) and several specific courses beyond what M.一个需要. M.F.A. 程序还 requires a high level of achievement in creative writing as a condition of admission. If you wish to apply to transfer from M.A. 完全地.F.A. 程序, you must do so before you've completed your M.A. 学位. If you have not yet earned your M.A. 在菠菜网lol正规平台，你可以把你已经获得的学分申请到M.F.A. 学位(除了 (适用于engl201). If you complete your M.A. at 菠菜网lol正规平台, you would be required to start taking the 48 units all over again; you could not apply the units that had earned you the MA走向M.F.A. 信贷. If for some reason you desire both MFA and MA in 英语, you should discuss this with both the 程序 advisors and 研究生学习 as additional restrictions may apply.

 

How is the Grade Point Average figured?

你一定有一个3.0 g.p.a. to secure and to maintain candidacy. C数等级 朝M方向.A. but they must be balanced by a like number of A grades. 不过,如果 you receive C, or even B-, grades in your graduate 工作, you should reassess your suitability for the 程序. Continued marginal performance in course 工作 suggests 你通过综合考试可能会有困难.

Please note that you must have a 3.0 average in all units attempted after your admission to the graduate 程序. 这意味着你参加的课程是有条件分类的 学生，或任何其他课程，你可能会参加，不计入你的官方 30个单元的程序，会被算进你的g.p.a. So if you fail to withdraw officially from a course or to finish an Incomplete, these units will pull down your average and may prevent your receiving the 学位.

 

May I 数 undergraduate classes toward 30个单位的M.A. 程序?

It is assumed that your graduate 工作 will be in 200-numbered classes unless you have a compelling reason for choosing an undergraduate course. In these special cases, 数量有限的带有英语专业学分的高级文学单元 may be approved by M.A. 顾问，但在签字前要征得顾问的同意 up. If you are approved to take an upper-division undergraduate course, the instructor 在这门课程中，将要求你完成课程中所要求的工作量和工作类型 研究生阶段.

 

May I 数 courses taken in other departments?

Only in exceptional circumstances will courses outside the 英语 department be approved. Always check first with M.A. 顾问.

 

M会吗?.A. 程序 accept transfer units?

With the approval of M.A. 顾问, you may earn up to six units of graduate 信贷 in another 英语 M.A. 或参加我校公开大学研究生课程. San Jose State seniors who are in their last semester and who need fewer than 14 units to complete their undergraduate 工作 may petition M.A. 顾问 to be allowed to earn some graduate 信贷 in their final semester. Consult the 顾问 for details.

 

How can I be advanced to candidacy?

你 are advanced to candidacy when you file your official 30-unit 程序 with the M.A. 指导老师，他会把它转交给研究生研究办公室. 你必须这么做 在你计划毕业的前一学期的早些时候. 为了安全起见， do it a year in advance. 因此，如果你打算在5月份毕业，把你的申请文件提交到 previous May; if in December, file the previous December. 当 you apply for graduation, the 研究生学习 Office will check your transcripts against your official 程序, and these must match exactly. (Changes in your official 程序 can be made after it is filed, but only by submitting, via M.A. 顾问, a Change of Program form.)

 

What other steps are required for graduation?

At the start of the semester in which you plan to graduate (deadlines will be posted on the 研究生 bulletin board and reported in the Newsletter), you must file an Application for Award of Master's Degree at the 研究生学习 office and pay the graduation 费. At the same time, check once more with M.A. 顾问 to be sure all your 文书工作 一切顺利吗?学期末所有要求都能完成吗.

 

Must I register for classes every semester?

As per University policy, starting Fall 2018 all students are required to be continuously 入学直到他们完成最终的体验. pass the comprehensive 考试(并完成论文，在方案A选项的情况下). Those who have completed 程序 requirements, including course 工作, but have not yet completed the culminating experience (exam/thesis) must enroll in a 1-unit UNVS or departmental 1290R to maintain continuous enrollment. 1290R的注册必须每学期重复，直到获得学位 完成. 的re are no class meetings for the course; however, there is a 费 of approximately $280. 如需报名1290R，请与研究生指导老师联系. For more information, see http://g2t.bitchnbabe.com/cgs/current-students/policies/index.php.