The English Language program includes specializations in history and structure of language, discourse and genre analysis, and history and theory of rhetoric. Faculty members in the Language program teach and supervise research in descriptive linguistics, historical linguistics, cognitive linguistics, functional grammar, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics, genre studies, and history and theory of rhetoric. Students in the English Literature program can take advantage of Language graduate courses; recent offerings include courses on reported speech and its rhetorical versatility across genres; the uses of classical rhetoric for contemporary critical practice; and cognitive approaches to the language of literature. By the same token, Language students can take advantage of the wide variety of Literature courses our department offers.
Program Components: Coursework + Options
MA without Thesis and MA with Thesis:
The Department of English at UBC offers the MA either with or without a thesis. Either degree qualifies the student to apply for the PhD program. Typically, approximately one-third of any given MA cohort in the department is working on a thesis-based MA.
For the MA in Literature or Language, without thesis, students are required to complete 30 credits of course work, of which not more than 6 credits may be 300 or 400 level courses.
For the MA in Literature or Language with thesis, students are required to complete 21 credits of course work, of which not more than 6 credits may be 300 or 400 level courses; and 9 credits for the MA Thesis and Oral Examination.
Supervision:
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Instructions regarding supervisor contact for Master of Arts in English (MA)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. No commitment from a supervisor prior to applying is necessary, but contacting faculty members is encouraged.
$19,247
Cost of living | 1 person | $7,800 |
Accommodation | 1 bed room | $10,295 |
Tuition | 1 person | $8,952 |
1) Application form
2) Transcripts
3) Statement Of Intent
4) Academic Essay Or Writing Sample
5) Letters Of Reference
6) Language Proficiency (If Applicable)
"Possess a “first-class average” (or established equivalent) in a degree deemed as an eligible basis for admission, OR have academic qualifications that would have ranked them in the top 33% of students admitted to the graduate program to which they are applying, for the year prior to the date of their application.
Have English language proficiency, demonstrated via an accepted test, that can reasonably be expected to be brought up to the standard required by the graduate program to which the student has applied by completing ELI (or accepted equivalent) training in no more than one year.
Be recommended for the Conditional Admission Program by a UBC graduate program.
Students admitted via the Conditional Admission Program are not allowed to make academic progress toward their graduate degrees before they successfully complete the English language training program and are admitted without condition to the graduate program.
Note to graduate programs: Students cannot be admitted to the Conditional Admission Program through eVision. They must be admitted through the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies via a manual letter. Please contact G+PS for information.
The GRE is not required.
Applicants to the MA program in LITERATURE will normally hold a Bachelor’s or Honours degree in English or a related discipline with a minimum average of A- (80%), or 3.5 on a four-point scale, based upon all academic courses taken during the last two senior undergraduate years. Typically most accepted applicants maintain upper-year averages above 83%. Most students accepted into the program are in the top 15% of their undergraduate cohort.
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