Graduate Faculty: Adams, Baird, Benet, Bond, Chelliah, Cooke, Cukor-Avila, Duban, Ford, Holdeman, Kesterson, Lippincott, Marks, Menzer, Mitchell, Montler, Palmer, Parrish, Perez, Peters, Pettit, Preston, Raign, Rodman, Ross, Shillingsburg, Simpkins, Sims, Stevens, Tanner, Upchurch, Vanhoutte, Vann, Warde, Wright.
The faculty of the Department of English is a very dynamic one with divisions devoted to English literature, creative writing, technical writing, linguistics and English as a second language (ESL).
The literature division offers a range of courses in British, American and world literature from the earliest periods to the present day. Courses in literary criticism and theory educate students in orthodox and postmodern modes of analysis, and various special topics courses offer students the opportunity to study literature and culture across conventional boundaries of period and discipline. The division prides itself not only on the quality of its teaching, but also on its international scholarly reputation. Professors routinely publish their work in top academic journals and, increasingly, in monographs and editions published by university presses. The department also sponsors two literature journals, Studies in the Novel and American Periodicals. The department is also home to two on-going critical editions, The Works of Tobias Smollett (University of Georgia Press) and the Selected Works of Eliza Hawood (Pickering & Chatto) as well as to the reprint-series, British Ideas and Issues, 1660-1820 (AMS Press).
The creative writing faculty consists of several nationally recognized writers, qualified not only as creative practitioners, but also as mentors and critics. Their books have been published by Dutton, BOA Editions, University of Georgia Press, Sarabande Books, and other presses. Stories, essays, and poems by faculty regularly appear in such journals as The Paris Review, Story, The Yale Review, Denver Quarterly, The Ohio Review, The Georgia Review, and Creative Non-Fiction. One of the distinctive strengths of graduate creative writing studies at UNT lies in how closely the literature and creative writing faculties work together, exploring ways in which knowledge of diverse literary traditions facilitates the development of one's own craft. In addition to its form and theory classes in fiction and poetry and its graduate workshops in fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and screenwriting, the department offers a creative thesis option (as part of its MA in creative writing) and a creative dissertation option (as part of its PhD in English). Each year the university sponsors a Visiting Writer Series in which students may attend both readings and pedagogical sessions with distinguished authors. Students also have opportunities to pursue editorial positions with the department's national literary journal, American Literary Review, and with the local student-run journal, North Texas Review, which in turn sponsors its own reading series involving faculty and students.
The University of North Texas is one of only two universities in Texas to offer a graduate program in technical writing. Students graduating with a master's degree in English and a concentration in technical writing have enjoyed a 100 percent job placement rate since 1990. These graduates work in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, electronics, computer software and hardware, airlines, and telecommunications. Through the program, students have the opportunity to work with faculty who not only are highly qualified teachers, but are also published scholars and consultants. The faculty have published in major journals, such as the Technical Writing Quarterly, Technical Communication: Journal of the Society for Technical Communication, and Journal of Business Communication. They have also published books on technical communication and writing for publishers such as Harcourt Brace and Houghton Mifflin. Our faculty also work as consultants for companies across the United States, such as Southwestern Bell Telephone, Pacific Bell, Ericsson, Centex. The technical writing program at the UNT offers students the opportunity to gain the theory and practice to work as technical communicators in any industry.
The linguistics division offers MA degree both in linguistics and in linguistics with a concentration in English as a second language. All of the faculty in the division are well-known scholars with national and international reputations. They are uniquely qualified not only across the core areas of linguistics (phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics), but also in their various specializations: Native American linguistics, Southeast Asian linguistics, linguistic theory, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics. Students seeking the MA in linguistics receive the kind of personal attention and support that has invariably resulted in subsequent placement into PhD programs of the highest caliber. Those seeking the MA in ESL likewise receive personal attention; the extremely high placement rate of the division's MA/ESL graduates speaks for itself.
The Department of English offers the following degrees:
To be eligible for admission to any MA degree program in English, the applicant must have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester hours of work prior to receiving the bachelor's degree, or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work. Up to 24 hours of undergraduate course work may be required. For the concentration in technical writing, up to 9 hours of senior-level undergraduate course work in technical writing may be required before a student may register for graduate level courses in technical writing. Prerequisite course work is determined by the chair of graduate studies on the basis of the applicant's educational background and area of scholarly interest.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required of applicants entering the department. The student must have taken the examination prior to or during the first semester of graduate study, and must score in the 50th percentile or higher on the verbal aptitude section. A student who fails to comply with this requirement will not be allowed to re-register as a master's degree candidate with a major in English except in unusual circumstances and with the consent of the chair of the Department of English and the dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. International students may satisfy the GRE requirement by making a score of 575 on the TOEFL paper examination or 233 on the computer examination.
Applicants to the MA degree program in English with a concentration in creative writing must also
submit a portfolio of writing samples. These samples must comprise both a creative writing sample
(10 pages of poetry or 15-25 pages of fiction) and a critical writing sample (a paper of 10-20 pages).
Beginning full-time students who meet all qualifications may apply for financial assistance in the form of the academic assistantship; those who have already completed 18 graduate hours in an area offered by the Department of English may apply for a teaching fellowship. Applications for both may be requested from the department by telephone at (940) 565-2050, e-mail at englgrad@unt.edu, or the department web site at www.engl.unt.edu.
For the Master of Arts degree with a major in English or a major in linguistics with a concentration in ESL, the student must have a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language. As evidence of such foreign language, a student may present the results of a standardized examination or have completed the sophomore year of a foreign language, or the equivalent, provided that the grade point average on all language courses is 2.75 or higher. A student who has permission to write a thesis or to enroll in ENGL 5920-5930 will not be allowed to register for the courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
Students seeking the Master of Arts with a major in linguistics must show basic knowledge of one Indo-European language and one non-Indo-European language. The Indo-European language requirement may be met by any of the means currently accepted by the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. The non-Indo-European language requirement may be met by enrolling for LING 5380 (Field Methods) when the topic of this course involves a non-Indo-European language.
During the second semester of graduate work toward the Master of Arts degree in English or linguistics, the student is required to file a degree plan in the office of the chair of graduate studies in English. Students should obtain an appointment as soon as possible after the registration period during their second semester's work.
The candidate for the MA degree with a major in English and Option III of the ESL concentration in linguistics must pass the master's comprehensive examination. This examination is administered by the graduate committee of the Department of English and is given several times per year. Students must register for this examination at the appropriate time in the office of the chair of graduate studies in English. Students should consult with the graduate adviser early in their programs to learn of the specific nature of the comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination may be taken twice. If the candidate fails the examination on both occasions, then permission for any retake of the examination must be granted by the graduate committee.
The candidate for the MA degree in linguistics and Options I and II of the ESL concentration in linguistics must pass an oral comprehensive examination and defense of the written project prospectus as well as a defense of the completed project (thesis or two scholarly papers).
The following materials should be sent directly to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.
1. A completed graduate application form with the intended major indicated the in appropriate blank.
2. Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores sent from the Educational Testing Service. Candidates applying for the MA in English must take the GRE verbal and writing sections. Candidates applying for the concentration in creative writing must take the GRE verbal section. Candidates applying for the concentrations in technical writing and ESL and the MA in linguistics must take the GRE analytical and writing sections.
3. Official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL) examination for students whose native language is not English.
4. Official transcripts for all previous undergraduate and graduate academic work.
5. For the concentration in creative writing only, a writing samples portfolio (creative and critical).
Candidates also applying for an academic assistantship or teaching fellowship should send the following directly to the Department of English:
Course Requirements
1. Required courses:
2. Area courses (non-thesis option): in addition to the required courses listed above, the student who is not given permission to write a thesis or to enroll for ENGL 5920-5930 (Research Problems in Lieu of Thesis) must complete 27 semester hours of additional course work.
3. Area courses (thesis option): the student who is given permission to write a thesis or to enroll in ENGL 5920-5930 will complete 21 hours of course work in addition to the required courses listed above. Course work to complete the additional requirements may be taken in the traditional areas of literature, writing or linguistics, as approved by the chair of graduate studies. No student who has permission to write a thesis will be allowed to register for the courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
All students must complete 36 hours of course work as follows:
The candidate for the creative writing MA degree in English must write a thesis. A student is permitted to write a thesis only with the permission of the chair of graduate studies and a major professor. No student who has permission to write a thesis will be allowed to register for the courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
Option I: 36-Hour Program with Written Examination
Topics Courses, 9 hours selected from the following:
Core Courses, 12 hours selected from the following:
Topics Courses, 6 hours selected from the following:
Thesis, 6 hours:
The candidate for the technical writing MA degree in English must write a thesis under Option II. A student is permitted to write a thesis only with the permission of the chair of graduate studies and a major professor. No student who has permission to write a thesis will be allowed to register for the courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
Core Courses
Students must take 15-18 hours from among the following areas:
Students may take up to three hours at the graduate level in a cognate area. Cognate hours for the Master of Arts with a major in linguistics may be taken in anthropology, biology (neuroscience), experimental psychology, philosophy, communication studies, speech pathology, foreign languages, or computer science. To take a cognate-area course outside of these areas, students must seek approval in advance from the chair of graduate studies.
ENGL 4040 or LING 5040 or consent of instructor is required before a student may register for LING 5060, LING 5300, LING 5310, LING 5330, LING 5360 or LING 5360. Subject to approval by the chair of graduate studies, students may count 3 hours outside of linguistics/ESL toward this degree.
The candidate for the linguistics MA degree must write a thesis. A student is permitted to write a thesis only with the permission of the chair of graduate studies and a major professor. No student will be allowed to register for the relevant courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
Course Requirements
Option I: 30-Hour Program with Thesis
ENGL 4040 or LING 5040 or consent of instructor is required before a student may register for LING 5060, LING 5300, LING 5310, LING 5330, LING 5360 or LING 5360. Subject to approval by the chair of graduate studies, students may count 3 hours outside of linguistics/ESL toward this degree.
The candidate for the ESL concentration in linguistics must write a thesis under Option I or two scholarly papers under Option II. A student is permitted to write a thesis or scholarly papers only with the permission of the chair of graduate studies and a major professor. No student who has permission to write a thesis or scholarly papers will be allowed to register for the relevant courses until the foreign language requirement has been met.
Admission to the doctoral program in English is highly competitive. At the beginning of each academic year, no more than 15 students are admitted. Admission is granted only at the beginning of each fall semester; students cannot enter the program during any other semester. Deadline for application is January 15 of each academic year.
All applicants must meet the following minimum standards.
1. Graduate Record Examination. While most students in the doctoral program have scores above the 85th percentile, every applicant is required to make a score representing the 70th percentile or above on the verbal portion of the aptitude test. The student must also meet GRE requirements established by the Graduate Council and must comply with general regulations concerning the GRE in relevant sections of this bulletin. Applicants whose native language is not English must either meet the GRE requirement above or present a score on the TOEFL of at least 630 on the paper examination or 267 on the computer examination.
2. Academic record. The applicant must have at least a 3.5 overall GPA on all undergraduate semester hours of work prior to receiving the bachelor's degree. An applicant who has completed any graduate-level work must have at least a 3.5 overall GPA on such graduate work.
3. School of Graduate Studies admission. The applicant must meet the qualifications for admission set by the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies of the University of North Texas.
To apply to the doctoral program in English, applicants must submit all of the following:
All application materials may be requested from the department by telephone, e-mail, or their web site. If you require assistance in filling out the application, or if you would like advice on prospects in the different areas, please contact the chair of graduate studies in English (940) 565-2115 or e-mail englgrad@unt.edu.
Full-time students who meet all qualifications
for both the doctoral program and for instructional positions will be offered employment as graders, academic assistants or teaching fellows in the Department of English, thus receiving financial support for a five-year period in the pursuit of the doctoral degree. Financial support will normally
not be awarded beyond the fifth year of graduate studies. Students are not required to perform any instructional services if they do not want to receive this form of financial aid. Part-time students will normally be employed elsewhere, but, if qualified, they are not precluded from performing instructional services at some time during their studies.
Scholarships may be awarded to incoming graduate students who show unusual promise as indicated by their application credentials. These will normally be one-year scholarships for students not yet eligible to be teaching fellows. Similar scholarships may also be awarded to students in their fifth year, principally to help defray the costs of producing a dissertation.
The student must meet the doctoral residence requirement described in the general section of this bulletin dealing with requirements for the doctoral degree.
All students must demonstrate competency in one language other than their native language and other than English (as stipulated by the Graduate School) by completing two advanced courses (3000, 4000, or 5000 level) in a single foreign language, with a grade point average on both courses of at least 3.0. (These advanced courses exclude the graduate-level "reading" courses offered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.)
Students satisfying the requirement, by either method, through the UNT Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will, generally, be limited to French, German, Latin or Spanish. Another language may be offered to satisfy the requirement, provided that both sufficient rationale as a tool and linguistic competency are demonstrated to the satisfaction of the graduate committee of the Department of English.
After admission to PhD study, a graduate student will be accepted for candidacy for the PhD after accomplishing all of the following:
1. successful completion of all required courses (including at least three doctoral seminars chosen from ENGL 6020, 6200, 6250, 6410, 6500, 6530 or 6590);
2. successful completion of foreign language requirements; and
3. successful completion of the fourth year qualifying oral examination.
All students in the doctoral program must complete 90 semester hours of graduate work beyond the bachelor's degree.
Each student is encouraged to choose an area of focus by the end of the second year and must have chosen a focus prior to registration for the spring semester of the third year.
The student may focus in one of the following seven areas and must write the dissertation in that area:
Each student is expected to take courses as nearly as possible in the order stipulated below. All deviations from the scheduled program of study in the first two years must be approved in advance by the chair of graduate studies. Courses preceded by a bullet (·) must be taken by all students in the program. However, students entering the program with an approved MA degree in English (up to 30 hours) or students entering the UNT program with graduate-level transfer credits from another institution (up to 24 hours) may seek an exemption from those courses preceded by an asterisk (*). Students seeking such an exemption must provide the chair of graduate studies with a course syllabus from each original course. All decisions on exemptions are at the discretion of the graduate committee.
1. Second year written essay examination.
Students who have completed all their required course work with at least a 3.5 grade point average may continue in the program without examination. Students with less than a 3.5 average and who desire to continue in the program will be permitted to take a four-hour essay examination. There are three levels of evaluation of this examination: 1) pass and continue in the PhD program; 2) conditional pass and be awarded an MA degree; or 3) fail, with the option of taking the examination one more time for an MA degree. This examination will be prepared, administered and evaluated by the graduate committee.
Students will be given a choice of essay topics in all the areas covered by the required course work and will write two two-hour essays on topics from two different areas of the student's choice. This examination will normally be administered during the first summer session each year.
2. Fourth year oral examination. During the period from November 1 to the end of the fall semester of the fourth year in the program, each full-time student will take a two-hour oral examination covering the major only. Part-time students will be required to take this examination when they have reached an equivalent point in their program, i.e., the completion of approximately 54 hours of course work. This oral examination will be administered by an examination committee composed of at least three faculty members appointed by the chair of graduate studies in consultation with the area adviser of the relevant major area. The examination committee will become the student's dissertation committee. Any exemptions must be approved in advance by the graduate committee.
On the oral examination students may pass outright, may pass conditionally, or may fail. The conditional student may be required to write an essay(s) or retake all or part of the oral examination. The student who fails the oral may petition the graduate committee to repeat the oral examination the following spring semester, but will not be allowed to register for courses during that semester.
3. Fourth-year dissertation prospectus. Each student is required to provide an extended and detailed dissertation prospectus to his or her dissertation committee. The prospectus, developed while the student is enrolled for ENGL 6941/2/4, must be turned in to the dissertation committee no later than the end of April of the fourth year.
The dissertation prospectus must be approved by all members of the student's dissertation committee. The approved prospectus, along with a prospectus cover sheet and approval form, must be turned in to the chair of graduate studies. The faculty committee that approves the prospectus must be the same as the dissertation committee. Any changes in the constitution of the dissertation committee must be approved by the graduate committee. Students may not enroll for dissertation until the prospectus has been approved by the dissertation committee and turned in to the chair of graduate studies.
4. Final comprehensive examination (dissertation defense). The candidate is required to take an oral comprehensive examination over the contents of the dissertation. This examination will be administered and evaluated by the members of the student's dissertation committee.
1. A dissertation is required of all candidates for the doctorate. The dissertation must be a work of original research and writing justifying the awarding of the doctoral degree.
2. Students cannot enroll for dissertation credit until the fourth year oral examination has been passed, foreign language requirements have been met, and the dissertation prospectus has been approved.
3. Students enrolled for dissertation credit must comply with the continuous enrollment policy set forth in appropriate sections of this bulletin.
4. The dissertation committee is composed of three faculty members. The dissertation will be directed by a qualified faculty member whose area of expertise is in the student's major area. Two other faculty members from the Department of English constitute the rest of the dissertation committee. Area advisers and the chair of graduate studies will assist students in the selection of the dissertation committee.
5. When the dissertation is completed and has received the preliminary approval of the dissertation committee, the dissertation director will schedule the final comprehensive examination (dissertation defense) and notify the chair of graduate studies in English and the dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies of the date and time of the examination. The dissertation will be submitted to the chair of graduate studies in English only after this examination has been passed. After the approval of the chair of graduate studies in English has been secured, the dissertation will then be transmitted to the graduate dean's office and finally approved by the graduate dean.
6. Instructions for submitting the dissertation may be obtained from the graduate dean's office. Students should consult the Academic Calendar in the annual Graduate Catalog for deadlines.
All Courses of Instruction are located in one section at the back of this catalog.
The "Course and Subject Guide," found in the Courses of Instruction section of this book, serves as a table of contents and provides quick access to subject areas and prefixes.
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