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English Language, Literature and Creative Writing

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Home / English Language, Literature and Creative Writing / Graduate Programs

Graduate Programs

The Department of English at the University of Windsor offers two fields within the M.A. Program in English: Literature and Creative Writing, and Literature and Language. Within the Literature and Language field, there are two different options: the Thesis Option and the Course Work Option.

The Literature and Creative Writing field allows students to combine graduate-level study of literature with advanced work on creative writing in a two-term workshop and by developing a significant independent writing project. Within the Literature and Language field, the Course Work Option offers exposure to a wide variety of topics in literature, composition and rhetoric, and linguistics. The Thesis Option allows students to investigate a single topic in depth through independent, extended research with faculty supervision.

Programs of Study

The specific requirements for each field are:
 
M.A. in English: Literature and Creative Writing:
  • 26-591 / 592: Creative Writing Seminar A and B (Fall and Winter Terms)
  • Four graduate seminars
  • 26-794: Creative Writing Project
  • 26-500 Scholarship and the Profession (a pass/fail 4-week course)
M.A. in English: Literature and Language:
 
Thesis Option
  • Five graduate seminars
  • 26-797: Thesis/project
  • 26-500 Scholarship and the Profession (a pass/ fail 4-week course)
Course Work Option
  • Eight graduate seminars
  • Scholarship and the Profession (a pass/fail 4-week course)
All students must include 26-500 (Scholarship and the Profession), a four-week course, in their program in addition to the regular M.A. course load.

Requirements for Admission

In addition to the documents specified in the current Graduate Calendar, applicants must submit a "Proposal of Studies" (about 500 words) with their applications indicating the program and option to which they are applying and discussing such issues as their areas of academic or creative interest, their undergraduate training, their academic or career goals, and how these might be reflected by the available faculty and resources at the University of Windsor. Students with an Honours B.A. in English may apply to either of the M.A. degree fields and to any of the options.
 
Students applying to the Literature and Creative Writing field must submit, with their application, a portfolio of representative creative work (20-25 pages) for faculty evaluation. It is, in part, on the basis of this submission that the student will be admitted to the Literature and Creative Writing field and to the graduate seminar in Creative Writing (26-590). Students meeting other requirements, but not accepted into a graduate seminar in Creative Writing, may apply to 26-498 (Creative Writing III: Seminar), and be allowed to reapply to the Literature and Creative Writing field the following year. Alternatively, they may ask to be considered for the Literature and Language field.
 
Although work on a Master's degree must be completed within three consecutive calendar years after the full-time student's first registration, the usual duration of the Master's program is three to five terms of full-time study. Therefore students in the thesis or project option in particular should plan their programs carefully; normally the topic for a thesis or project and the student's Master's Committee should be determined by the end of the first term of study. Within this term students can review their program and may be able to change to a different option.
 
The minimum qualifications for admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for the Master of Arts programs in English are: (1) an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English; (2) a B average in all undergraduate English courses; (3) a B+ average in English courses in the final year.
 
In addition, acceptance to the program requires the following undergraduate preparation:
 
  1. some courses, normally four, in the pre- and early-modern periods, that is, from Old English through the Eighteenth-Century;
  2. some courses, normally four, in the modern period, that is, the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, including Canadian and American;
  3. some courses, normally two, from the areas of Critical History, Theory and Approaches, Scholarship and Bibliography, and Language and Linguistics;
  4. additional courses from any of the above areas to make up the total number of courses required for an Honours English B.A.
Students who do not have the Canadian Honours English B.A. or its equivalent may be admitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies on the condition that they fulfill the above requirements by completing undergraduate courses determined by the English Department.

Approximate Thesis and Project Deadlines

The approximate deadlines for the submission of academic theses, cultural studies theses/projects, and creative writing projects for Committee approval are mid-April and mid-August. The approximate deadlines for defences/presentations/readings are mid-May and mid-September. The approximate dates by which completed theses and projects must be deposited in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research office are mid-May and mid-September. Check with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research office for the exact dates.

About Seminars

Enrollment in a graduate seminar is limited to 12 students, because each member is expected to make a considerable contribution. Each term all graduate students are given a Seminar Preference Form. This form lists the seminars to be offered next term and asks that student number the seminars in order of preference. Every effort is made to accommodate students' preferences for seminars. However, demand may preclude some students from receiving all their choices. Among criteria used in allocating places in seminars are:
 
1. Students' stated preferences.
2. The total number of courses and terms already completed.
3. The number of courses competed in a particular area.
 
The Department ordinarily requires the corresponding undergraduate survey course as a prerequisite for the seminar. In the descriptions in this booklet, professors may indicate alternatives to this requirement.
 
Every student in a seminar is usually responsible for:
1. A seminar presentation.
2. A seminar paper.
3. The reading necessary for each weekly meeting of the seminar.
4. A fair share of work within the seminar meeting evidenced by asking questions, stating other points of view, probing the arguments advanced, querying documentation, etc.
 
The statements on grading in the course descriptions in this booklet should be regarded as provisional. Any changes will be provided in writing by the instructor within the first two weeks of a course.

Grading

Students in the first year of a two-year M.A. program must maintain a B+ average. Students in the candidate year of the M.A. program must maintain at least a B- average, but graduate credit is given only at the A or B level. The University's policy on repeating courses for credit and on the grade of Incomplete may be found in the current Graduate Calendar.
 
In accordance with the Policy of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, the Department of English allows the grade of Incomplete to be assigned to a student who so requests at the discretion of the instructor, after discussion concerning the nature of the work to be completed and the time period for completion. Normally, the Department of English requires that all work must be competed within six weeks after the last date of the examination period for a letter grade to be assigned.
 
A record of the specific conditions must be recorded on the Incomplete form, available from the Departmental Graduate Secretary. This form must be signed by the student, the seminar instructor, and the Department head. If the work is not completed within a twelve-month period, then a permanent grade of "Incomplete" will be assigned.

Duration of Study and Time Limits

Full-time students must complete work on a Master's degree within three years after their first registration as candidates. Three terms of full-time registration should suffice to complete the course-work program. Programs of study involving a thesis or a project may require additional time. Part-time students admitted to candidacy should complete their work within five years after first registration. See also the statement in the current Graduate Calendar.
 
All full-time students are required to maintain continuous registration through all terms of their graduate program. Students wishing to take a leave of absence for a term must apply to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research and pay the appropriate fee. All students must be registered graduate students in the term preceding the proper deadline for Spring or Fall Convocation in order to be permitted to graduate. See the current Graduate Calendar, "Graduate Registration Regulations," for details.
 
NOTE: All dates affecting thesis submission or graduation should be confirmed with the Assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Financial Assistance

While there is no guarantee of financial support for individual students, the University of Windsor strongly supports and encourages graduate study. See the section "Postgraduate Awards and Financial Aid" in the current Graduate Calendar for details of awards available.

Scholarships

Ontario Graduate Scholarships and SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships are major external sources of financial support for graduate study at the Master's level. They are highly competitive and students are encouraged to apply for these in the fall of their final year of undergraduate study.
 
University of Windsor Scholarships and tuition Bursaries are awarded by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research on a competitive basis. A scholarship may be worth up to $5,000 plus tuition for three terms. Summer Research Scholarships are worth $1,000 plus tuition.

Graduate Assistantships

A majority of full-time candidate-level students are awarded Graduate Assistantships. The maximum Graduate Assistantship requires 10 hours work per week during the Fall and Winter Terms for a total stipend of $9,259.60 (2008-09). Partial assistantships with prorated stipends may also be awarded.

Students holding Assistantships may be assigned to a number of different teaching-related duties in the Department. For example, they may be instructors in the first-year Composition course (26-100) (N.B.: Graduate students assigned to teach Composition are expected to enroll in Composition Theory and Practice, 26-596), assist a faculty member in an undergraduate literature course, or be assigned editorial duties in conjunction with editing and publishing practicum courses. Most financial awards have early deadlines.

 
Inquiries should be directed to:
 
Department of English Language, Literature, and Creative Writing
University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4
Fax: 519-971-3676
Telephone: 519-253-3000, ext. 2288
e-mail: englishgrad@uwindsor.ca