English, B.A./M.A. Accelerated Pathway Program

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Accelerated pathway dual degree programs provide academically outstanding students an accelerated pathway to complete an undergraduate and a master’s degree in a reduced period of time. Accelerated pathway programs provide undergraduate students permission to take a specified number of master’s level courses as electives toward completion of their bachelor’s degree. The students then apply to the graduate degree program, and if accepted, the previously completed graduate coursework during the senior year is counted as transfer credit toward the completion of the master’s degree.

Students wishing to apply for the English, B.A./M.A. accelerated pathway program must complete an application to enter the program by March 1 of their junior year. Applications are available from the academic advising office in the English department. To enter the program, a student must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and submit an application consisting of three documents: a 200-word statement of intent, a 4-7-page critical writing sample, and an unofficial copy of their transcript(s).

If admitted to the accelerated pathway program, the student may take up to 6 credit hours of graduate courses during their senior year. (See list of courses below.) These courses will count as upper-level elective credits toward their bachelor’s degree. The student should then complete the full graduate school application to the master’s degree program during their senior year. If they are admitted to the master’s program, the student will receive transfer credit for the graduate-level work taken during the senior year and will have 24-27 credits left to complete the master’s degree.

Graduate Level Courses Approved for the Accelerated Pathway Program

ENGL 6311 Research Methods

ENGL 6312 History of Literary Criticism

ENGL 6313 Modern Literary Theory

ENGL 6314 Feminist Criticism

ENGL 6315 Critical Cultural Theory

ENGL 6316 American Folklore

ENGL 6318 Queer Theory

ENGL 6330 General Linguistics

ENGL 6332 History of the English Language

ENGL 6333 Descriptive and Contrastive Linguistics

ENGL 6362 Middle-English Literature

ENGL 6363 Early Modern Literature

ENGL 6364 Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature

ENGL 6366 Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century British Literature

ENGL 6367 Nineteenth-Century American Literature

ENGL 6368 Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century American Literature

ENGL 6398 Selected Topics in Linguistics

ENGL 7334 Studies in Language Acquisition

ENGL 7335 Sociolinguistics

ENGL 7336 Methods of Teaching English as an Additional Language

ENGL 7344 Discourse Analysis

ENGL 7345 Language Socialization

ENGL 7346 Grammar and Usage

ENGL 7396 Topics in Language and Literature

It is important to note that students who are admitted to the accelerated pathway program during their junior year are not automatically admitted to the master’s degree program. They must complete all requirements of the graduate school application and must be formally admitted to the master’s degree program following their final undergraduate year.