» Master of Arts in English

All applicants must provide the following materials:

• Official transcripts from ALL degree-granting (bachelor’s or master’s degrees) colleges and universities attended. An official transcript submitted in a sealed envelope which you have received from your college or university is acceptable.
• Your resume or curriculum vitae.
• A statement of intent; an essay expressing your reasons for wanting to join the particular academic program to which you are applying. What are your personal and career goals, and how will this particular degree from Chapman University help you reach those goals? Your essay should be double spaced, size 12 font and 1–2 pages in length.
• A finished critical literary essay of 12-15 text pages that demonstrates your talent for scholarly writing and ability to handle texts of literary criticism relative to the subject matter. The essay should reflect a grasp of critical literary skills and ability to deal with theoretical texts in an effective and knowledgeable manner. The MA essay must be a critical literary essay only. In other words, the subject matter should deal with literary texts and literary topics only unless it is a Comparative Literature paper.
• A graduate admission test is not required if your bachelor’s degree cumulative GPA is 3.0 or above. If your GPA is between 2.5 and 2.99, you may be considered for admission by submitting a satisfactory Graduate Record Examination (GRE): a minimum score of 153 for the Verbal section and 4.5 on the Analytical Writing section. GRE Institution Code: 4047
• Two letters of recommendation that speak to your academic and/or professional preparation, intellectual ability, and aptitude for graduate study.

Students complete 36 credits of academic coursework culminating in a thesis project in literature or rhetoric. For further information on degree prerequisites, admission requirements and a list of courses view the Graduate Course Catalog.

While the program does not offer traditional teaching/research assistantships or tuition fellowships, MA in English students have access to the following funding opportunities:

• Paid Graduate Teaching Assistantships: For select second-year students in the competitive Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) program — worth $6,000 for teaching in our undergraduate English Composition courses. This assistantship allows first-year students who take the spring class in Teaching Composition to apply for one of the GSI positions for the following fall. The selected GSIs each teach a section of composition in the fall, while also enrolled together in a second pedagogy class. This position does not come with an award that covers tuition but does come with a teaching stipend.
• Paid Graduate Assistantships: Starting at $16 an hour for 9 to 19 hours per week, for select students starting as early as their first year of study with either department faculty members or in offices across the larger university.
• We also have some students teaching with community organizations that are not directly related to our program. This speaks to the opportunities our students seek and create and the value of the expertise they are developing.

These are the largest opportunities offered by the program. Importantly, almost all graduate classes are scheduled at 4 p.m. or later, so many of our students work part-time or even full-time in the area, at both paid jobs and internships. Our program also works closely with the college's Career Services Advisor to build bridges to careers for MA students. Our campus career team are well versed in assisting students research, apply for, and accept these opportunities.