M.A. Exam

MA Exam Overview:

The MA Exam is one option for the culminating experience in the MA Program in English.  It is an “assessment of the student’s ability to integrate the knowledge of the area, show critical and independent thinking, and demonstrate mastery of the subject matter” (The California State University, Chancellor’s Office website).

With an Exam Director and in conjunction with ENGL 595, students will take an MA Exam in one of the approved areas: Medieval, Renaissance, Eighteenth-Century, Romanticism, Victorian, American Literature to 1900, Modernism (British Emphasis), Modernism (American Emphasis), Contemporary Literature (British Emphasis), Contemporary Literature (American Emphasis), Global Literature: Literature in Translation, Global Literature: Anglophone Literature, Global Literature: Migration and Diaspora, or Rhetoric/Composition.

Working with their Exam Director, students will study for the exam from the departmental readings lists for the approved areas.  These lists include 20 texts, which are representative of major themes, writers, genres, and styles of the period or discipline.  Students may substitute up to 5 texts of their own choosing with approval from their Exam Director.

Exam Timeline:

In order to ensure that the student will complete all MA requirements, receiving by the end of the final semester both a grade and verification that the Exam has been completed, the Department provides the following timetable for progress toward completion. Students who miss deadlines as set forth below may delay progress toward the MA degree.

In the Spring semester one year (or two terms) before taking the exam, students should choose a faculty member, who is an expert in the period or discipline of the exam and is available to serve as Exam Director, by the end of this term.  The Department strongly recommends students begin studying texts from their list during the ensuing summer.

In the Fall semester before taking the exam, students shall submit an MA Exam Declaration Form indicating their intention to take the exam in an approved area.  They must indicate if they are making any substitutions to the reading list on this form and, if so, attach the modified reading list, which has been signed by their Exam Director.  Students must submit the MA Exam Declaration Form to the English Department by 5pm at the end of the fifth week of the semester.  Once students submit this form, they may not change their culminating experience without approval from the Graduate Adviser.

In the final Spring semester, students enroll in ENGL 595.  Students will continue studying for the exam and submit regular written reflections on the texts from their list to the Exam Director and 595 Instructor during the first thirteen weeks of the semester.  Students will take the MA Exam during week 14.  Exams will be graded by finals week.

Exam Director:

  • The director must be a full-time professor in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics, unless the Graduate Adviser has approved another CSUF full-time faculty member.
  • The director should be a professor whose studies and interests qualify them for involvement in the Exam. 
  • The student is responsible for finding the Exam Director and for any modifications to the approved reading lists.
  • The Exam Director will:  
    • Help students develop and approve modifications to exam reading lists.
    • Sign the MA Exam Declaration Form.
    • Regularly consult with students about the reading list during the study period.
    • Regularly consult with the 595 Instructor.

Exam Procedures:

  • The exam will consist of two questions provided to the student by the Exam Director and 595 Instructor on the Sunday of week 14.
  • Answers to each question should be approximately 10 pages, double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, and 1-inch margins.
  • Students have one week to the complete the exam and then submit it electronically to the English Department—by 5pm on the Sunday of week 15.
  • Students shall work independently on their exam and document all outside sources according to the latest edition of the MLA Handbook.
  • If a student commits Academic Dishonesty (plagiarizing material, working with others during the writing of the exam, using AI-generated material, and so on), they will fail the exam and be reported to the Dean of Students.

Evaluation of Exam:

The MA Exam will be evaluated by the student’s Exam Director and the 595 Instructor. MA Exams will be evaluated in terms of the student’s comprehension of major themes and trends from the period or discipline, synthesis of texts from reading lists, as well as clarity and originality of interpretation for the period or discipline.  Students must follow all guidelines outlined on the Department website.

If a student does not pass the MA Exam, they may retake it in the following Fall semester.  Students retaking the exam must consult with the Graduate Adviser and maintain continuous enrollment in the MA Program.