BA/MA Program
Director of the MA Program: Jason Maxwell, jasonmax@buffalo.edu
The English Department at the University at Buffalo now offers the option of a fifth-year BA/MA degree to qualified English majors. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Those students accepted into the program will take two graduate-level courses in the fall semester of their senior year (English 501—Scholarly Methods, and English 502—Introduction to Critical Theory). In the spring semester, they can take one graduate seminar if they have already completed all requirements for their BA in English. In the fifth year, they will continue at the University as MA students and take six additional graduate courses. They must also complete a thesis or an MA project (oral exam and 30-page essay).
Eligibility: English majors in their junior year with, ideally, a GPA of around 3.75 or higher in the major.
Application Procedure: Apply On-line. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
The application process consists of the following parts:
• A 500-word statement of purpose outlining the intellectual interests to be pursued in the MA program. A strong statement will also include some discussion of how the applicant’s previous coursework in the English department has prepared him or her for graduate study.
• A transcript or transcripts of undergraduate work (including grades for your 3rd-year spring term).
• Two writing samples. We strongly prefer, but do not require, that one of the writing samples should be 10 pages or longer.
• Reference letters from two professors in the English Department. All letters of reference should be submitted directly to Graduate Admissions in the English Department scanavos@buffalo.edu
• Students do not need to take the GRE in order to apply for this program.
