Graduate Teaching Assistants
The English Department usually is awarded eight graduate teaching assistantships by the Graduate Office.
Graduate Assistants normally take two academic years to complete their programs and teach two sections of composition (or perform other comparable duties) during the fall and spring terms of each academic year. A typical course load for a GA (Option III) would normally consist of nine hours each in the fall and spring terms. The University Catalog and the Director of English Graduate Studies should be consulted for a complete listing of degree requirements.
During the fall and spring terms, GA's receive a bi–weekly stipend, full remission of out–of–state fees, and remission of a percentage of in–state fees (currently 100%, but subject to change). For the summer term following their assistantship years, students do not receive a stipend but are eligible for the same remission of fees. Students awarded graduate teaching assistantships in English are required to maintain their status as graduate students in the English program and to enroll in English courses. English GAs who transfer to other graduate programs will not be allowed to keep their assistantships in English.
The department chairperson has the responsibility of recruiting applicants for graduate teaching assistantships. The deadline for applications is usually March 31. Applicants are screened by the graduate faculty in April and assistantships awarded by vote of the graduate faculty. The faculty also selects a ranked list of alternates in case initial appointees decline or later resign their awards. Awards are normally for one academic year, beginning with the fall semester, renewable for a second year. However, awards are occasionally available at the beginning of the spring semester.
Master's Examination Policies
All masters students in English must pass two examinations: a preliminary exam on literary analysis and a comprehensive exam on literature and the student's area of specialty. All exams will be given once each term: fall, spring, and summer.
The Placement Test. The Placement Test replaces the old Preliminary Examination. The Placement Test is given every August the week before the start of fall classes. Students new to the Master's program and those who have yet to take or pass the old Preliminary Examination must take this new examination. Students are excused from the Placement Exam under two circumstances only:
- They have earned a grade of "B" or better in English 304 (Introduction to Writing About Literature) at Pittsburg State University.
- They have "preempted" the Exam by enrolling in English 304.
Students will be given about 90 minutes to perform a detailed explication of a short formal poem. Students performing satisfactorily on the Placement Test will have shown they have at least the basic tools for conducting textual analysis at an advanced level; students who do not perform satisfactorily will be asked to enroll in English 304 (Introduction to Writing About Literature) in order to acquire the analytical skills necessary for success in graduate-level literature courses. (If enrollment in 304 creates a schedule conflict, the student should talk to the instructor for the course.)
Students who are unable to take the Placement Test at the scheduled time are responsible for contacting the Graduate Director and making other arrangements.
Comprehensive Exam. The comprehensive exam is based on the master's reading list, which is distributed to students when they enter the English graduate program. The reading list is divided into five parts (see the paragraph below for a description). In the term prior to the semester in which they intend to sit for the exam, students select three parts of the reading list, at least two literature sections and one additional section of their choice, upon which to be examined. Selections are made with the guidance and approval of the Director of English Graduate Studies and a faculty mentor. Students are allowed approximately one hour to complete each section of the exam on each testing date.
Students must pass all three parts in order to receive the M. A. degree in English. A student who passes two parts but fails one part may retake the part not passed in the same term or in any subsequent term. A student who fails two or more parts must retake the entire exam in a subsequent term. Any retake in the same term or in a subsequent term shall count as an attempt. Unless a student has passed two sections of the exam and is attempting a retake of the third section, any student sitting for the comprehensive on a given test date shall be considered to have attempted all three parts.
A student who receives a copy of any portion of the comprehensive exam from the exam proctor shall be considered to have attempted all three parts of the exam, even if that student does not write and turn in an answer to one or more parts of the exam. A student is limited to three attempts to pass the exam. Anyone who does not pass all three parts of the exam in three attempts shall be dropped from the program.
Master's Reading List
The masters reading list is divided into five parts:
- British literature before 1789
- British literature after 1789
- American literature
- Professional Writing and Rhetoric
- Community College Teaching
The contents of the list are determined by majority vote of the graduate faculty. Proposals for revision of the list may be made at any time by any member of the graduate faculty. The Director of English Graduate Studies will keep a file of all suggested revisions. Any proposed revision of the Masters Reading List will be considered by the graduate faculty only within the context of a full–scale review of the entire list. Such a review may be initiated only by majority vote of the graduate faculty. The Director of English Graduate Studies is responsible for maintaining the list, presiding over its revision, distributing the list to English graduate students, and guiding their selection of parts upon which to be examined.
Statute of Limitations
Students must complete all degree requirements, including course work and examinations, within six years after the date of first enrollment.
