Graduate Programs

The Department of English at Syracuse University offers three graduate programs: a Master's degree of Fine Arts in creative writing, and MA and Ph.D. degrees in English. Most of our graduate courses are workshops or seminars, giving students in all three programs an opportunity to work closely with internationally known creative writers, literary theorists, and cultural historians.

The M.F.A. program in Creative Writing offers promising fiction writers and poets an opportunity to study and practice their art with dedicated fellow writers. For three decades, one of the prime strengths of our program has been the excellence of our students. The strictly limited enrollment, with six poets and six fiction writers admitted each year, guarantees that students work closely together with a faculty that includes four fiction writers and four poets of national acclaim.

In the MA and Ph.D. programs, we recognize that the boundaries and contents of the discipline of English are no longer givens but instead are subjects of collective investigation and debate. We have chosen to organize our inquiries in and about the discipline around critical studies in history, aesthetics, and politics. Our department has a distinguished faculty in early modern studies, Victorian studies, American studies, critical theory, and film studies. The library at Syracuse offers substantial resources; additional outstanding research facilities are located in nearby universities. Students may also take courses at Cornell or Rochester Universities.

The MA degree in English is a two-year program emphasizing our focus on critical studies in history, aesthetics, and politics. We typically admit 10 new students a year, and most receive teaching assistantships or fellowships.

Our Ph.D. program in English gives students opportunities for more specialized research while preparing them for college and university teaching. We emphasize close faculty-student interaction and offer support for five years with admission from the BA and four years with admission from the MA n the form of teaching assistants and fellowships.

Administration

The department's graduate programs are supervised by the Chair of the department, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Director of Creative Writing. The Graduate Committee, consisting of five members of the faculty and one doctoral student representative, supervises the MA and Ph.D. programs, while the Creative Writing Committee, consisting of all creative writing faculty and one graduate student representative supervises the MFA program.

Terri A.G. Zollo is the Graduate Studies Coordinator. She has worked with the graduate program for many years and can provide lots of useful information and assistance. She is located in the English office in 420 Hall of Languages. Her office number is (315) 443-2174 and her e-mail address is tazollo@syr.edu

The Director of Creative Writing is Christopher Kennedy. His office is 420A Hall of Languages, his phone number is (315) 443-3755, and his e-mail address is ckennedy@syr.edu .

There is also a graduate student organization, called the English Graduate Organization (EGO). EGO meets regularly to discuss and act upon graduate student interests, concerns, and problems.