Master of Arts in Literature and Writing Studies

California State University San Marcos offers an innovative M.A. in Literature and Writing Studies that provides balanced training in both literary and writing studies, with a focus on cultural and diversity studies, theory, and history, sustained analysis, and the creation, writing, and presentation of written and visual texts in a variety of genres. Literature and Writing M.A. students receive specialized training in college-level writing instruction and pedagogy and have the opportunity to teach first-year composition.The focus on first-year writing instruction has allowed our program to establish an excellent job placement record for instructors at local community colleges.
The M.A. program offers a variety of options for the culminating thesis project: in addition to traditional literary analysis, students may choose to analyze visual texts (such as films, television shows, andor graphic fiction) or take the creative thesis option. A creative thesis can take many forms (e.g., work in digital literature, fiction, poetry, drama, life writing, screen writing, hybrid forms, etc.) and includes a critical introduction.

Admission to the program requires a bachelor\u2019s degree, preferably in English, literature and writing studies, comparative literature, rhetoric, linguistics, or a comparable program.

Applicants with these and any other bachelor\u2019s degree must have taken at least five upper-division courses of 3-4 units each in literature or writing from an accredited university. Admission decisions will be influenced by the breadth, appropriateness, and grades of undergraduate course work. Applicants must have maintained a grade point average of not less than 3.0 in the last 60 units of undergraduate study, and a 3.3 average in upper-division literature and writing courses.

Satisfy English Language Proficiency Requirement for admission purposes with one of the following:

TOEFL score of 80 iBT

IELTS overall band score of 6.0, writing score no lower than 6.0 and no section score below 5.5

Cambridge English C1 Advanced (CAE), C2 Proficiency (CPE)\u2013certificate awarded with a Cambridge English score of 180 or higher.

Duolingo score of 110

The application deadline for Fall admission is March 1, for best consideration.