English, MA
Continue your education by joining the English MA program, exploring central questions about the human experience alongside a community of writers and scholars who believe in the power of the words we use and the stories we tell. You will work closely with internationally recognized graduate faculty to explore enduring questions about art, identity, culture, freedom, ethics, politics, and history.
Program Overview
The English MA program builds literary, rhetorical, and research skills, preparing students for careers in academia, technical writing, digital media, and more.
Master’s students in English can choose between two concentrations: Literature, Criticism, and Textual Studies, and Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics. In both concentrations, our exceptional faculty and abundant course offerings allow students to explore widely while building expertise in their chosen area of specialization.
Whether you want to become a professor or an expert researcher or to use your skills in industry, our program prepares you to stand out.
Concentrations
Our current selection of concentrations includes:
- Literature, Criticism and Textual Studies
- Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics
Our largest graduate concentration—Literature, Criticism, and Textual Studies—allows students to pursue interdisciplinary research across genres, historical periods, and methodological approaches.
Our Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics concentration invites students to work across a variety of fields, including the history of rhetoric, composition research and pedagogy, literacy studies, technical communication, applied linguistics, and second-language acquisition.
Thesis and Non-Thesis Options
With both thesis and non-thesis options, our program allows you to tailor your pathway to your career goals. While a thesis option is offered for both concentrations, students pursuing the Literature, Criticism and Textual Studies have an additional non-thesis option. This option allows them to take coursework and a comprehensive exam in place of the thesis.
Why Study English?
Obtaining a master’s degree in English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville offers the opportunity to work with passionate, world-class faculty while developing your skills as a reader, writer, and thinker who is ready to communicate effectively in a complex world. The program offers generous funding and the chance for experiential learning. You will show up in the professional world ready to make an impact.
Fully Funded Students
Every graduate student—whether pursuing an MA, MFA, or PhD—is eligible for a teaching assistantship, which provides full funding. Once in the program, graduate students can also apply for research and editorial assistantships. These exceptional opportunities allow you to pursue your passions with purpose.
Learn Outside the Classroom
Our graduate programs offer a wide range of experiential learning opportunities, including the opportunity to participate in study abroad programs, digital humanities projects, and journal editing. Visiting speakers in literature, rhetoric, and creative writing inspire and challenge, and students receive travel funding to present at field-specific conferences.
Exceptional Faculty
No matter your research or career interests, our faculty are dedicated to providing personalized mentorship and collaboration opportunities. They will work with you to make sure you gain the skills you need to succeed after graduation.
What Can You Do with an MA in English After Graduation?
A degree in English from UT sets you up for success in a variety of careers. Our students learn to communicate effectively and creatively, allowing them to excel across fields.
They pursue a wide range of careers that require cultural understanding and an ability to write and think with originality. They become screenwriters, novelists, poets, teachers, publicists, content creators, business people, consultants, and entrepreneurs. Skills from an English degree are highly transferable.
No matter which path you choose, the skills you learn will equip you to achieve your professional goals.
Featured Courses
ENGL 404 Shakespeare I: Early Plays
This course covers Shakespeare’s dramatic achievement before 1601. Students will complete reading and discussion of selected plays from romantic comedies, including Twelfth Night; English histories, including Henry IV; and early tragedy, including Hamlet.
ENGL 531 Readings in English Literature of the Restoration and 18th-Century
Topics vary in this course, but might include genre: poetry, prose, fiction, drama; or period: Restoration, earlier 18th-century, and later 18th-century.
ENGL 560 Readings in 20th-Century Literature
Students explore themes, genres, and movements in British, American, or global Anglophone literature of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries.
ENGL 586 History of Rhetoric
This course covers a survey of rhetoric from Greek Classical period to modern era.
Complementary Majors, Minors, and Certificates
Looking to enhance your degree? Consider these programs as a complement to your primary major.
Looking For More Options?
The College of Arts and Sciences offers students the broadest range of academic programs and opportunities for research and creative activities at the University of Tennessee, powered by faculty expertise across every discipline.
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