Northern Illinois University
Department of English
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

We offer two tracks leading to the M.A. degree, depending on your academic and professional goals. 

Track I requires a minimum of 30 semester hours plus a foreign language requirement, and track II requires 36 semester hours .

All students pursuing the M.A. in English are required to take a final comprehensive examination or complete an M.A. thesis after completing a minimum of 24 semester hours in the Department of English.

Students pursuing the M.A. in English may choose one of seven areas of study:

• British and American literature;
• English Education;
• Linguistics;
• Film and Literature;
• Literature and Rhetoric/Composition;
• Rhetoric and Professional Writing; and
• TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

Substitutions within each area of study may be made at the discretion of the department's director of graduate studies.