Degree Options

MA in English

The MA in English provides broad training in English

studies, with a concentration in one of three areas:

literature, professional writing, and rhetoric and

composition. Thesis or non-thesis options are available.

MAT in English

The MAT, an English Education degree, is designed to

enable college graduates holding degrees other than

education degrees to work toward NC licensure at the

graduate level.

MAEd in English

The MAEd, an English Education degree, is for

individuals with a BSEd in English who wish to become

more professionally competitive.

Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing

This Certificate is designed for college graduates seeking

advanced preparation in technical and professional

writing for communication-based fields.

Write your own future

EnglishGRADUATE STUDIES IN

110

Cor

del

ia C

amp

C

ull

owh

ee, N

C 2

8723

WC

U is

a U

niv

ersi

ty o

f N

orth

Car

olin

a ca

mp

us

and

an

Eq

ual

O

pp

ortu

nit

y In

stit

uti

on. 5

00 c

opie

s of

th

is p

ubl

ic d

ocu

men

t w

ere

pri

nte

d a

t a

cost

of

$336

.25

or $

0.67

eac

h.C

reat

ive

Serv

ices

| 1

4-54

0

Western Carolina University is an ideal setting for

graduate studies. Tucked in a valley between the Blue

Ridge and the Great Smoky mountains, the Cullowhee

campus is one hour southwest of Asheville, North

Carolina and three hours northeast of Atlanta, Georgia.

Classes are also taught at our Biltmore Park instructional

site in Asheville.

One of seventeen campuses in the University of North

Carolina system, Western Carolina University enrolls

more than 10,000 students annually, including nearly

1,700 graduate students. The university operates on a

semester system.

The Graduate School first awarded degrees in 1952. Since

that time, it has continuously broadened its programs

and now offers graduate programs leading to nineteen

master’s degrees in more than thirty areas, as well as

three doctorate degrees and ten certificate programs.

Whether your goal is to jump-start your career, enhance

your current skills, or make a career shift, one of our

graduate programs may be just right for you.

EN

GLI

SH

DE

PAR

TME

NT

305

Cou

lter

Bu

ild

ing

Cu

llow

hee

, NC

287

23

828.

227.

7264

|

grad

engl

ish

.wcu

.ed

u

GR

AD

UAT

E S

CH

OO

L &

RE

SE

AR

CH

828.

227.

7398

| 8

00.3

69.9

854

Ash

evil

le: 8

28.2

51.6

642

| g

rad

.wcu

.ed

uD

ISTA

NC

E E

DU

CAT

ION

edou

trea

ch.w

cu.e

du

FIN

AN

CIA

L A

IDfi

nai

d.w

cu.e

du

Graduate Faculty A primary strength of our dynamic

program is our accomplished faculty. The faculty teaching

our graduate classes possess terminal degrees in their field,

extensive publication records, national and international

reputations, and years of university teaching experience. We

value teaching as much as scholarship, and our faculty have

won numerous teaching awards at WCU, from the Arts and

Sciences Teaching Award to the Chancellor’s Distinguished

Teaching Award to the Board of Governors Award for Teaching

Excellence. Also, our classes are taught by full-time faculty,

never adjuncts—we are all invested in your success.

Assistantships Our graduate assistantships serve as

professional apprenticeships—students teach in our writing

program, work with faculty on editing and research projects,

or hone their professional writing skills. We offer extensive

mentoring and training, and our graduate assistants gain

valuable experience and credentials while working on

their degrees. Assistantships provide yearly stipends, and

the department is able to offer tuition waivers to a few

outstanding students.

Admission Prospective students must hold a baccalaureate

degree from an accredited college or university. For specific

requirements, see gradenglishadmission.wcu.edu.

828.227.7398 | 800.369.9854 grad.wcu.edu | gradenglish.wcu.edu

EnglishGRADUATE STUDIES IN

In our program, students receive individualized

attention and have ample opportunity to interact and

work with our graduate faculty. Our program is small

enough to be personal, and our excellent facilities

support a professionally active faculty and graduate

student population.

We offer both variety and specialization, with courses

available in Cullowhee and at Biltmore Park. Students

can take courses in literature, creative writing, technical

and professional writing, rhetoric and composition,

and teaching theory and practice. Our program attracts

a wide variety of students, ranging from teachers and

other professionals living from Marion to Murphy, to

aspiring scholars who plan to progress to the PhD. A

graduate degree in English helps students prepare for

a host of professional careers, including secondary

level and community college teaching, writing and

editing positions, jobs in publishing, research-intensive

professions, law and library schools, and doctoral

programs. Distinguished by small class size and expert

faculty, our program emphasizes critical reading and

research, creative thinking, and sophisticated writing.

Faculty Listing Mary Adams (PhD, University of Houston)

Professional Writing, Poetry, Renaissance Literature

Marsha Lee Baker (PhD, UNC-Greensboro)Rhetoric, Composition Theory and Practice

Michael Boatright (PhD, University of Georgia)Language and Literacy Education, English Education

Erin Callahan (PhD, Duke University)TESOL, Sociolinguistics, Linguistics

Catherine Carter (PhD, University of Delaware)English Education, Poetry

Mae Miller Claxton (PhD, University of Georgia)Southern, Appalachian, Native American Literature

Annette Debo (PhD, University of Maryland)Theory, African American Literature, Modernism

Pamela Duncan (MA, NC State University)Fiction Writing

Mimi Fenton (PhD, University of Kentucky)Milton, 16th and 17th-Century British

Brian Gastle (PhD, University of Delaware)Medieval Literature, Professional Writing, Research Methods

Elizabeth Heffelfinger (PhD, Carnegie Mellon University)Film Studies, Film Adaptation, Documentary Film

Beth Huber (PhD, University of Missouri-Kansas City)Rhetoric, Composition Theory and Practice

Jeremy Jones (MFA, University of Iowa)Nonfiction Writing

Brent Kinser (PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill)19th-Century British, Digital Humanities

Nathan Kreuter (PhD, University of Texas at Austin)Rhetoric and Composition Theory, Digital Rhetoric

Diane Martinez (PhD, Utah State University)Professional and Technical Communication

Eleanor Petrone (PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill)Education and Immigration, TESOL

Brian Railsback (PhD, Ohio University)American Literature, Contemporary Literature

Ron Rash (MA, Clemson University)Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies

Drew Virtue (PhD, University of Minnesota)Professional and Technical Communication

Paul Worley (PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill)Global Literatures, Latin American Literatures

Laura Wright (PhD, University of Massachusetts-Amherst)Postcolonial Literature, Ecocriticism, Gender Studies