Master of Arts in English, Rhetoric and Writing Concentration

On this page:

• Why Choose Rhetoric and Writing Concentration in English?
• Careers
• Real-World Experience
• Academics and Curriculum
• Admission
• Financial Aid

Why Choose Rhetoric and Writing Concentration in English?

A Master of Arts degree in English meets today’s global challenges by equipping graduates with a range of professional options, including teaching college English or English as a second language, technical and professional writing, work in the non-profit sector, and doctoral study leading to the Ph.D. degree. Students pursuing Wright State's M.A. in English may choose from one of three concentrations: Literature, Rhetoric and Writing, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

The concentration in Rhetoric and Writing provides students with an advanced understanding of written, visual, and oral texts as well as the ability to produce documents in genres appropriate to various audiences, purposes, and contexts:

• Graduates with a focus on teaching college writing pursue careers as writing instructors, program staff, advisors, and administrators at community colleges and universities. Their subjects of study include curriculum design, writing theory, and pedagogy.
• Graduates with a focus on professional/technical writing pursue careers in technical writing, grant proposal writing, communications and marketing, publishing, documentation analysis, public relations and public affairs, academic advising, and software development. Their subjects of study include documentation and web design for business, industry, and non-profit agencies.

Graduates have gone on to earn Ph.Ds at Bowling Green State University, Miami University, Ball State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, among others.

Careers

View the English program profile for sample occupations, average salary, and employment projections. 

Real-World Experience

Some recent real-world projects for English Department students include:

• A grant-funded pilot episode of a children’s television show to air on PBS ThinkTV.
• A series of videos focused on veteran experiences.
• Writing internship opportunities exist with local organizations. Past organizations have included The Antioch Review, Heavy Feather Review, Antioch Writers’ Workshop, The Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, Dayton Visual Arts Center, and elsewhere.
• The Vibrant Visiting Writers’ Series open to the public. Past writers have included Xhenet Aliu, Philip Metres, Kaveh Akbar, Paige Lewis, Amina Gautier, and others.

Academics and Curriculum

All students in the graduate program complete 33 to 36 hours of graduate study and a graduate portfolio, which includes a targeted revision of a seminar paper. Before graduating, a candidate for the Master of Arts degree in English must

• Submit a Culminating Project of work for evaluation; and
• Present selected contents of that project at a designated English Department event.

View the Master of Arts in English program information and requirements in the Academic Catalog.

Admission

Graduate study in English is essentially a professional study. It is demanding and requires ability and commitment. For this reason, minimum admission standards for M.A. in English are higher than those of the Graduate School. The average GPA of students admitted to the program is 3.33, with grades in English averaging 3.5. Applicants may be granted regular or conditional admission. Students admitted conditionally are not eligible for teaching assistantships or graduate tuition scholarships in their first year of study. International students must meet the department’s English proficiency requirement.

Regular Admission Requirements

• An undergraduate major in English with a GPA of 3.5 or better in undergraduate course work in English, and either a) an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, or b) an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7 but with a GPA of 3.3 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree;
  OR
  An undergraduate degree in a subject other than English, but with at least 15 semester hours or the equivalent of appropriate upper-division courses in literature, writing, language, and/or linguistics with a GPA in those courses of 3.5 or better (in some cases, extensive experience in an appropriate subject area may satisfy part or all of this requirement), and either a) an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, or b) an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7, but with a GPA of 3.3 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree;
• A satisfactory writing sample (a thesis-driven paper of at least five pages engaging with and responding to secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)

Conditional Admission Requirements

• An overall GPA of 2.7 or better in undergraduate course work OR an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.5, but with a 3.0 or better for the last 60 semester hours (93 quarter hours) earned toward the undergraduate degree
• A satisfactory writing sample (a thesis-driven paper of at least five pages engaging with and responding to secondary sources and written on a topic in English or in a related field; this may be a paper previously submitted for an undergraduate class)
• An undergraduate major in English with a GPA of 3.2 or better in undergraduate course work in English
  OR
  15 semester hours or equivalent appropriate upper-division courses in literature, writing, language, and/or linguistics with a GPA in those courses of 3.2 or better. (In some cases, extensive experience in an appropriate subject area may satisfy part or all of this requirement.)

How to Apply

Apply online to the Graduate School.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available. Eligible students should apply for both the Graduate Teaching Assistantship and the Graduate Tuition Scholarship.