To gain admission to a master's program in English, applicants must have a strong transcript and relevant course work. Beyond grades, many programs require applicants to take standardized exams, such as the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) or the specific GRE Literature in English. Schools use the general or subject test to gauge a student's potential separately from his college’s course work or reputation.
Master's programs often require graduate students to take courses from a variety of literary periods. The distribution requirements expose students to a range of styles and historical eras. Periods usually include Anglo-Saxon England to the 17th century, the Romantic and Enlightenment periods of the 18th and early 19th centuries, and the modern and postmodern eras. Master's programs want students to become competent in literary history. Some programs also allow students to pursue particular emphases, such as book history or post-colonial literature.
Most master's programs in English literature require students to pass a language exam or take advanced course work in another language. As Arizona State University notes, “Students must demonstrate evidence of a competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English.” The requirement encourages students to read beyond English literature and explore scholarship in other languages. Popular languages include French, German and Italian. For students interested in older periods, such as medieval or Renaissance literature, Latin or ancient Greek are useful choices.
To orient their graduate study, many master's programs require students to take a research methods course that also includes material on literary theory. Research methods help students understand resources for literary study and publication, and literary theory course work exposes students to the several theoretical frameworks that have influenced scholars. New York University, for example, requires students to take the introductory course “Advanced Literary Study for M.A. Students” their first semester.
Most master's programs require a thesis or special project to graduate. The thesis is a significant research paper, longer than the typical 20-page seminar paper, which presents independent research on a literary topic or work. While not as demanding as a Ph.D. dissertation, the master's thesis should be the culmination of graduate work at the master's level. Some programs, like Georgetown University’s, also require an oral examination.