Master of Arts
in English, Rhetoric
4-week
COURSES
Year-round
enrollment
230K+ Alumni Worldwide
Overview
The Master of Arts in English degree provides a comprehensive program of graduate study in English, including core courses in literature and a rich array of electives covering the large area of academic study in English. This program is ideal for teachers who desire a content MA beyond the credential. It’s also excellent preparation for doctoral studies in English, teaching at a two-year college, or other careers requiring a high degree of literacy.
Program curriculum covers major approaches to literature, including theoretical, historical, comparative, thematic, multicultural, and genre studies. Coursework provides you with the critical vocabulary, tools, and research ability to produce literary scholarship of professional quality and to participate in ongoing scholarly discussions of issues in literary study.
The Rhetoric specialization offers a program of graduate study in literature, as well as a wide range of cultural production—from classical oration to contemporary cinema—with a particular emphasis on how language and image are used to produce various effects and meanings. The curriculum contains several variable-topic courses, allowing you to pursue broad program goals in topic areas matched to your interests.
Foundation Courses
For the Master of Arts in English with a specialization in Rhetoric, you must complete six foundation courses and four specialization courses.Variable-topic courses can be taken for credit more than once, with different content, to fulfill degree requirements.
Course Details
Course Name
An introduction to graduate-level research practices and methodologies in English studies. This course explores the grounding and skills required to research and write scholarly articles for peer reviewed journals in the field of English studies.
A study of historical and current issues in literary criticism and theory with an emphasis on developments of the last fifty years. This course emphasizes both reading and writing literary criticism to develop the vocabulary and skills needed for scholarly literary debate.
Choose One Course From Each of the Following Four Pairs:
In this course, you’ll do an advanced, historically-oriented study of a literary period or movement. Examples include English Medieval, English Romanticism, Victorian, or the Beat Generation. Topics are variable and are selected by the instructor. (May not duplicate content of ENG 620B.)
OR
An advanced, historically-oriented study of a literary period or movement. Examples include American Romanticism, American Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, or the Lost Generation. Topics are variable and are selected by the instructor. (May not duplicate content of ENG 620A.)
This course examines a literary motif or theme over time and/or across cultures. Theme examples include gothic, utopia/dystopia, vampires, the road, and gender. Topics are variable and are selected by the instructor.
OR
The study of a selected literary motif or theme over time and/or across cultures. Theme examples include dark gothic, meta-fiction, the home, and war. Topics are variable and are selected by the instructor.
A critical study of the work of a single author, such as Jane Austen, Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, or Jack London. Special emphasis will be given to biography, culture, and literary context.
OR
A critical examination of the work of a single author, such as Shakespeare, George Eliot, Garcia Lorca, Ernest Hemingway, or James Baldwin. Special emphasis will be given to biography, culture, and literary context.
This master’s thesis project is designed to be the last course and capstone of the MA in English program. Exceptions may be made if you’re within two courses of program completion and approval is given by lead faculty. Grading is S/U/IP.
OR
This master’s thesis project is designed to be the last course and capstone in the Rhetoric specialization for the MA in English program. Exceptions may be made if you’re within two courses of program completion and approval is given by lead faculty. In this course, you’ll study published models of rhetorical criticism, hone your critical tools, and apply them to a substantial, original project. Working closely with your capstone instructor and peers, you’ll take your chosen project from inception to a finished work of professional-quality rhetorical criticism. Grading is S/U/IP.
Specialization Courses
Select four of the following eight courses:
Course Name
Focuses on the teachings of the major figures of ancient rhetoric, such as the sophists, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian. Students will study the classical texts that form the basis of modern rhetoric studies. The course also surveys major shifts through Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment rhetoric.
Introduces students to the contemporary study of rhetoric. The course covers major figures such as Kenneth Burke, Lloyd Bitzer, and Stephen Toulmin. The course introduces a wide range of academic interests in contemporary rhetoric; in particular, students will practice reading texts rhetorically through major theories of rhetoric.
Prepares students for the practical and theoretical challenges of teaching English composition and other writing courses. Topics include process theory, cognitive studies, language and diversity, genre studies, and best practices.
Film Genre Studies is a content-variable course that may be repeated for credit. Each iteration of the course focuses on a specific genre of film in an international- or American-historical context, including the Western, the Epic, the Biblical Epic, Film Noir, the Crime Story, Science-Fiction Adventure, Agitprop, or other film genres. This is an intensive study of the conventions, artists, and styles associated with specific genres and the historical circumstances in which the genre appeared.
Study of a literary motif or theme over time and/or across cultures. Variable topic chosen by instructor. Examples of themes are: the gothic, utopia/distopia, vampires, the road, and gender in literature.
Learning Outcomes
Students earning the MA in English degree with a Rhetoric specialization will learn to:
- Produce sustained textual analyses and interpretations that are informed by relevant published criticism.
- Evaluate the relevance and validity of different theoretical approaches to the understanding of specific texts.
- Produce rigorous critiques of the scholarly works of others.
- Interrogate and synthesize key theories and practices within composition studies.
- Analyze how language and image are used to produce various effects and meanings across a variety of media forms.
- Produce a work of rhetorical criticism suitable for publication in a scholarly journal.
Program Disclosure
Successful completion and attainment of National University degrees do not lead to automatic or immediate licensure, employment, or certification in any state/country. The University cannot guarantee that any professional organization or business will accept a graduate’s application to sit for any certification, licensure, or related exam for the purpose of professional certification.
Program availability varies by state. Many disciplines, professions, and jobs require disclosure of an individual’s criminal history, and a variety of states require background checks to apply to, or be eligible for, certain certificates, registrations, and licenses. Existence of a criminal history may also subject an individual to denial of an initial application for a certificate, registration, or license and/or result in the revocation or suspension of an existing certificate, registration, or license. Requirements can vary by state, occupation, and/or licensing authority.
NU graduates will be subject to additional requirements on a program, certification/licensure, employment, and state-by-state basis that can include one or more of the following items: internships, practicum experience, additional coursework, exams, tests, drug testing, earning an additional degree, and/or other training/education requirements.
All prospective students are advised to review employment, certification, and/or licensure requirements in their state, and to contact the certification/licensing body of the state and/or country where they intend to obtain certification/licensure to verify that these courses/programs qualify in that state/country, prior to enrolling. Prospective students are also advised to regularly review the state’s/country’s policies and procedures relating to certification/licensure, as those policies are subject to change.
National University degrees do not guarantee employment or salary of any kind. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to review desired job positions to review degrees, education, and/or training required to apply for desired positions. Prospective students should monitor these positions as requirements, salary, and other relevant factors can change over time.