English studies is a rapidly changing discipline embracing a number of related fields, from British, U.S., Anglophone, and postcolonial literatures to critical theory, creative writing and new media, rhetoric and composition, pedagogy, and media and cultural studies. Our program at Albany responds to these developments by combining the traditional strengths of historically and textually based modes of analysis with new theoretical approaches.
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The Master’s Program in English accommodates the varied interests of students pursuing graduate study in English, including literary and cultural studies, electronic media and film, writing and pedagogy. It is closely linked with the Ph.D. Program, making it ideal for those interested in more advanced graduate work. For those whose primary objective is secondary school teaching, the Master’s in English provides the opportunity to specialize in literary and writing studies along with selected coursework oriented to pedagogy. Students interested in writing–creative or critical, aesthetic or practical, print-based or digital—will find a number of courses, including workshops and seminars, devoted to the practice, theory, and teaching of writing.
English MA/Information Science MS [Dual Degree]
The Department of English in conjunction with the Department of Information Science offers a dual degree program combining the M.A. in English and the M.S. in Information Science. By applying six credits in Information Science to the English degree program and seven credits from English to the Information Science program, a student can reduce the total number of credits needed for both degrees. Work done for an awarded master's or doctoral degree may not be used for this program.
The Doctor of Philosophy in English with emphases on writing, teaching, and criticism is a professional degree designed primarily for those planning on or already engaged in careers as teachers and writers in four-year colleges and universities. Focusing attention less on bodies of knowledge than on the making of knowledge and on the questions that arise out of the movement between theory and practice, this program prepares individuals for positions in which particularly strong credentials in rhetoric, poetics, pedagogy, and theory are desirable. Flexible enough to be adaptable to the individual student's needs and interests, the Doctorate in English program nevertheless requires that all students develop competence in the history of English studies, the teaching of writing and literature, and the interrelations among rhetoric, writing of various kinds, and literary scholarship.
