Program Requirements
The MA program requires 30-33 credit hours for students. These hours are acquired as shown in the table:
| Core Requirements | 3 Credits |
| Culminating Experience | 3-6 Credits |
| Advisor Approved Electives | 24 Credits |
| TOTAL | 30-33 Credits |
Core Requirements: ENGL 5950 (3 credits). All English MA students take this course.
Culminating Experience: these are either thesis credits (ENGL 5960) or independent project credits (ENGL 5970). If you are going through the formal thesis process at ETSU, you take the former; if completing an expanded paper, comprehensive exams, or other qualifying project you take the latter.
In either case, you must first establish a committee with a chair and at least two other members from the graduate faculty before signing up for these credits.
Advisor Approved Electives: these are all other ENGL courses at the 5000-level. 24 credits means all students will take eight courses of their choice over the course of their graduate degree.
Other Requirements:
- Students holding Graduate Assistantships (GA) are also required to take ENGL 5055: Composition Pedagogy. This should be taken before you begin to teach, and it is offered each spring.
- You may count no more than three split-level (5XX7) courses toward your degree. Split level courses include undergraduate enrollment and may be identified by their ending with a 7.
- Students holding a GA or a TS must maintain a 9-credit load each semester, except for their last semester, in which the graduate school allows students to enroll in 6 credits if that is all that is required of the academic program.