About CSUN English Graduate Program

General Information¶

The CSUN English Department's MA program has three options: Creative Writing, Literature, and Rhetoric & Composition. Regardless of which option you choose, the official degree you receive will be an MA in English. The program requires students to complete 10 courses, though it is often possible for students to take additional courses for credit or on a Pass/No Pass basis.

Graduate students typically take 2-3 courses per semester. Students should expect to spend approximately 10 hours per week completing work for each graduate class in which they are enrolled. Full-time enrollment status for graduate students is 8 units, though most full-time students take 3 courses (9 units). In terms of tuition rates, 6.0 units or fewer is considered part-time, and 6.1 units or more is considered full-time. In-state and out-of-state students are subject to different tuition rates. Please note that certain financial aid packages require students to be enrolled in a minimum number of classes. Select the following link to find information about tuition rates: https://www.csun.edu/stufin/tuition.

Students should bear in mind that courses "expire" after 7 years, which means that any CSUN classes or transfer credits that a student uses to fulfill MA requirements cannot have been taken more than 7 years prior to the semester in which the student applies to graduate. Students may transfer in up to 9 units of courses from other universities that fulfill MA requirements at CSUN. Consultation with the Graduate Adviser is required to determine the applicability of transfer credit.

Graduate students may take up to two semesters of leave from their graduate program before they must reapply to the program.

Students who have been accepted to the MA program and who wish to defer enrollment must reapply to the program for the semester they plan to enroll.

Course Schedules¶

Graduate courses meet once per week and are held at either 4:00-6:45 p.m. or 7:00-9:45 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Students can take up to three 400-level classes to fulfill MA degree requirements. Certain qualifying 400-level courses may be held earlier in the day. A small number of qualifying 400-level courses will be held online during Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions.

Academic Requirements¶

Students must receive a C or higher to receive credit for any class taken to fulfill MA degree requirements. Students who receive a C- or lower must repeat that class if it is a core course or take another course that fulfills that option-specific requirement. A 3.0 GPA must be maintained throughout the graduate program. Failure to maintain this GPA will result in a student being placed on academic probation with the requirement that she/he/they raise that GPA in the following semester of enrollment or be disqualified from the program.

Financial Aid¶

Financial aid of various types is available to qualifying students. Students should contact the Financial Aid & Scholarship Department to learn more about options for financing their degree. Neither the Graduate Adviser nor the English Department has access to students' financial aid information. All questions about financial aid should be directed to the Financial Aid Department.

Program Requirements¶

The course schedule for each upcoming semester is available from the links in the sidebar. If you need help choosing courses to meet the course requirements, please confer with the Graduate Adviser.

Students may take certain courses twice for credit. These courses include (but are not limited to) ENGL 408, ENGL 409, ENGL 410, ENGL 412, ENGL 494IP, ENGL 512, ENGL 525, ENGL 608, ENGL 609, ENGL 620, ENGL 622, ENGL 623, ENGL 630, and ENGL 654.

Please note in the course plans below that the phrase "or equivalent" indicates that classes other than those listed in the course catalog or Degree Progress Report (DPR) as fulfilling specific requirements may be used to satisfy a particular requirement. Confer with the Graduate Adviser to determine whether a particular class may be substituted for a specific requirement.

Students sometimes want to re-take a course that they already took as an undergraduate. Such courses cannot fulfil requirements or electives for the MA unless they are listed as repeatable. To see if a course is repeatable, consult the English Course Catalog. Courses listed as "(3-3)" may be repeated once. Courses listed as "(3)" cannot be repeated and cannot be counted towards the MA.

Literature Option¶

The option consists of 30 units, 15 units of core requirements and 15 units of option-specific requirements.

Core Requirements¶

• Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (3 units): ENGL 507 [permission number required]
• Seminar in Literary Theory (3 units): ENGL 638
• Seminar in Genre Studies (3 units): ENGL 512, ENGL 608, ENGL 609, ENGL 622, ENGL 623, ENGL 624, ENGL 653 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in Cultural or Textual Studies (3 units): ENGL 525A-Z, ENGL 630 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in the Study of Language (3 units): ENGL 400, ENGL 604, ENGL 650, LING 510 [or equivalent]

Option Requirements¶

• Literature Option Requirements (15 units)
• Two 500-600 level seminars, with an emphasis on literature (6 units)
• Two electives (6 units): Any 400, 500, or 600 level ENGL course. Courses at the 400 level or above in other departments relevant to the student's research interests may be acceptable electives, but please check with the Graduate Adviser before enrolling in a course in another department.
• Culminating experience (3 units): Culminating experience (3 units): ENGL 697C (Exam), ENGL 698D (Capstone) [permission number required; can only be taken in the final two semesters after certain pre-requisites have been completed].

Creative Writing Option¶

The option consists of 30 units, 15 units of core requirements and 15 units of option-specific requirements.

Core Requirements¶

• Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (3 units): ENGL 507 [permission number required]
• Seminar in Creative Writing Theory (3 units): ENGL 652
• Seminar in Genre Studies (3 units): ENGL 512, ENGL 608, ENGL 609, ENGL 622, ENGL 623, ENGL 624, ENGL 653 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in Cultural or Textual Studies (3 units): ENGL 525A-Z, ENGL 630 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in the Study of Language (3 units): ENGL 400, ENGL 604, ENGL 650, LING 510 [or equivalent]

Option Requirements¶

• Two 500-600 level seminars, with an emphasis on creative writing (6 units)
• Two electives (6 units): Any 400, 500, or 600 level ENGL course. Courses at the 400 level or above in other departments relevant to the student's research interests may be acceptable electives, but please check with the Graduate Adviser before enrolling in a course in another department.
• Culminating experience (3 units): ENGL 698D (Capstone) [permission number required; can only be taken in the final two semesters after certain pre-requisites have been completed.]

Rhetoric & Composition Option¶

The option consists of 30 units, 15 units of core requirements and 15 units of option-specific requirements.

Core Requirements¶

• Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (3 units): ENGL 507 [permission number required]
• Seminar in Rhetoric & Composition Theory (3 units): ENGL 651
• Seminar in Genre Studies (3 units): ENGL 512, ENGL 608, ENGL 609, ENGL 622, ENGL 623, ENGL 624, ENGL 653 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in Cultural or Textual Studies (3 units): ENGL 525A-Z, ENGL 630 [or equivalent]
• Seminar in the Study of Language (3 units): ENGL 400, ENGL 604, ENGL 650, LING 510 [or equivalent]

Option Requirements¶

• Two 500-600 level seminars, with an emphasis on rhetoric and composition (6 units)
• Two electives (6 units): Any 400, 500, or 600 level ENGL course. Courses at the 400 level or above in other departments relevant to the student's research interests may be acceptable electives, but please check with the Graduate Adviser before enrolling in a course in another department.
• Culminating experience (3 units): ENGL 697C (Exam), ENGL 698D (Capstone) (permission number required; can only be taken in the final two semesters after certain pre-requisites have been completed).

Culminating Experience¶

Students enrolled in MA programs have three options for completing their culminating experience (a capstone class, MA Exam, or thesis). It is up to individual departments to determine which of these options it is appropriate and feasible to offer. The two options currently offered by CSUN's English MA program are as follows:

ENGL 697C (MA Exam)¶

• The MA exam may only be taken by Literature and Rhetoric & Composition students.
• The exam option may be a good fit for students who excel at working independently or who have a complicated schedule that would make it hard for them to attend the capstone class (ENGL 698D).
• The exam is attached to a course number that carries units, but it is not a class that students attend. Rather, it is a self-guided research experience, focused on creating an annotated bibliography that is used to complete a timed written exam at the end of the semester. Students are expected to complete a number of assignments over the course of the semester in consultation with faculty advisers.
• The MA exam can be taken in either the Fall or the Spring semester. It must be taken in the semester the student plans to graduate.
• Students interested in taking the MA exam should consult with the Grad Adviser prior to the semester in which they plan to take the exam (or, at the latest, by the end of the second week of the semester in which they plan to graduate).
• The exact procedures vary from semester to semester, but the links below provide a sense of how the process works.
• MA Exam in Literature Guidelines
• MA Exam in Rhetoric & Composition Guidelines
• Reading List for MA Exam in Rhetoric & Composition

ENGL 698D (Graduate Project)¶

• This capstone course is available to students in all options and is taken by the majority of studens in the MA program.
• This course is only offered in Spring semesters. (Students who plan to graduate in a Fall semester may take this course in the Spring prior to the semester in which they will graduate.)
• Usually, two sections of this course are offered: one for Creative Writing students and one for Literature and Rhetoric & Composition students.
• As this is a capstone class, it is taken near the end of the student's progress towards the degree It generally involves revising and expanding a paper or creative work completed in a previous graduate class, though some instructors allow new research or focus on cultivating a portfolio of creative works.
• As of Spring 2026, ENGL 698D must be taken in the student's final two semesters after having completed two graduate-level seminars that count towards the student's option. One of these courses may be the theory course for their option (ENGL 638, ENGL 651, or ENGL 652). See ENGL 698D for further details about eligibility. Please consult the Graduate Adviser or the Graduate Coordinator if you are unsure whether you are eligible to enroll in ENGL 698D.
• Professional development opportunities will also be part of the class (e.g. crafting a CV or resumé, writing artist statements, writing conference proposals, creating effective job letters, and talks from previous English MA graduates about their career paths). Whatever the project is, it is officially known as a Graduate Project.
• All CSUN English MA students who are enrolled in or have taken ENGL 698D must complete and submit an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) form in the semester they have filed to graduate. The purpose of ETD is to create an official archive of the Graduate Project's completion that is accessible to the public. Students do not submit the project itself — just a 350-word abstract. The submission takes place in three phases: Planning, Preliminary, and Final. In the Planning Phase, students submit a working title and the names of faculty committee members. In the Preliminary Phase, they submit a preliminary abstract of their project. In the Final Phase, they submit a revised abstract. The deadlines for each phase are scattered throughout the semester. After each submission Graduate Studies checks for incorrect information or editing errors. It is the student's responsibility to check the ETD website for any required format change(s). Failure to meet any of the deadlines results in a delay of the graduation date to the next available semester.

Changing Options¶

Thinking of changing your option? You will probably need to consult with the Graduate Adviser to ensure that you will be able to fulfil the requirements for your new option in a timely manner. Once you have made the decision, you will need to fill out the Change of Objective form and submit it as directed on the form.

Teaching Associates Program¶

The English Department at California State University, Northridge has developed an especially strong program for training teachers in teaching first year composition. Composition is a required course in most American colleges and universities today, and Teaching Associates have the opportunity to teach our first-year writers as sole instructors in the classroom. More information on the progam and how to apply can be found here.