Graduate Advising

The following information is for students in the M.A. in English. Your advisor is the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Meghan Barnes. Feel free to contact her at mbarne56@charlotte.edu if you have any advising questions or would like to make an advising appointment.

Dr. Ralf Thiede (rthiede @ charlotte.edu) advises students in the graduate certificate program in applied linguistics, and Dr. Greg Wickliff (gawickli @ charlotte.edu) advises students in the graduate certificate program in technical/professional writing.

Tracking Your Progress

Once admitted to the degree program, students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies for academic advice. Students will work on their capstone projects or theses with a faculty advisor in their area, but the Graduate Director serves as an academic advisor for all students and is available for advice and consultation at any time. It is strongly recommended that students meet or check in periodically via email with the Graduate Director to discuss their progress toward the degree.

The student is responsible for seeing that all requirements for the degree are met, though the Director of Graduate Studies is available to review requirements with the student. All work for the degree must be completed within a seven-year period, beginning with the first term in which credit toward the degree is earned (including any transfer credit). Though DegreeWorks is a useful guide, it is not 100% accurate, so please contact the Director of Graduate Studies with any questions about requirements or progress toward a degree.

Program Requirements

The normal graduate course load for a full-time student is nine semester hours during a fall or spring semester or six semester hours during a five-week summer session. Students may, however, attend part-time, taking one or two courses per semester until they finish their degrees. M.A. students may take courses at the 5000- and 6000-level. To accommodate working students, all 6000-level and many 5000-level courses are offered in the evenings; required 5000-level courses are generally offered in the evening at least once per year to ensure that students can complete their coursework entirely in the evening.

The program requires a minimum of 36 semester hours of graduate credit. Thirty hours must be in English courses, and eighteen credit hours must be in English courses at the 6000-level, open only to graduate students. In some cases, up to six hours of electives may be taken on the graduate level in areas related to English.

In addition to coursework, students are required to complete a capstone. You can visit the Capstone Experience page for more information about the various options.

Transfer Credit

Transfer of coursework to or from another school, or transfer of courses taken as a post-baccalaureate student at UNC Charlotte, is limited to six hours of credit. Any coursework done elsewhere while enrolled in the M. A. program is subject to the six-hour limitation on all transfer credit and must be approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies and through a graduate petition. All courses taken as a part of a certificate program can be counted towards a Master’s degree should the student apply and be accepted into the M.A. program while in the certificate program or after they receive the certificate, provided the courses meet the requirements for the concentration chosen.

Grading Policies

Only courses with grades of “A” or “B” count toward the M.A.; a course in which a student receives a grade of “C” or “U” is not allowable as part of the 36 required hours. Students receiving one “U” or three “C” grades will be automatically suspended from the program; that suspension must be successfully appealed before a student may resume taking courses.

Additional Program Information

Students who wish to obtain advanced teacher licensure should consult with the College of Education for licensure requirements.

Students interested in doing an internship for course credit should click here for more information. Those interested in an on-campus assistantship should keep an eye on the Career Center’s posting of positions.

See the Graduate Catalogue for more information about Graduate School policies and guidelines.

If you are going to a conference, let Dr. Barnes know! There is some funding through GPSG and the English Department.