MA in Literature, Language, and Theory

In your final year of your MA, you will take ENGL 779 and ENGL 789. In 779, you will work towards refining your thesis topic and the course will culminate in a draft of your thesis prospectus. In preparation for this methods course, identify a paper you are proud of and would like to revise and expand into a thesis or identify the topic you would like to pursue in a culminating thesis for your English MA. ENGL 779 must be completed before enrolling in ENGL 789.

Once you've completed ENGL 779 and have a draft of your thesis prospectus, contact a professor you would like to work with as what we call your “First Reader,” or advisor. The First Reader/advisor should be a full-time member of the department with expertise in the field to which your thesis will contribute. It may be the professor in whose class you wrote the paper you plan to develop. Ask the professor if they will be your thesis advisor/First Reader and specify the semester you plan to enroll in ENGL 78900 and complete the thesis. Faculty availability depends on many things, including scheduled leave time and number of students a faculty member is currently advising, so don’t be discouraged if your first choice for advisor/First Reader is unavailable to work with you. Generally, you should only ask a professor you have worked with to be your First Reader.

Once you have secured an advisor/First Reader, you will work in consultation with that advisor/First Reader to prepare your thesis prospectus. The prospectus guidelines can be found on the English MA Brightspace site. Consult that document in full, but to summarize, the prospectus is an 8-10 page document that frames the questions you will be answering in your thesis, identifies the critical conversation the thesis intervenes in, and contains a prospective bibliography for the project. This step must happen before you plan to enroll in ENGL 78900. The faculty advisor will give you field-specific feedback on your prospectus. To enroll, you must submit your advisor-approved thesis prospectus to the Graduate Advisor, along with the name of your advisor/First Reader and your EMPL ID number so that the Department can enter permission for you to enroll in the thesis course. You may submit an approved thesis prospectus any time in advance of the semester you which to enroll, but no later than the first day of classes of the semester you plan to take the thesis course.

Devise a writing/draft schedule with your advisor/First Reader. It can be very helpful to put this down in writing, acknowledging the need for some flexibility on both sides, student/advisor. How many drafts will you exchange? When will you get the advisor/First Reader those drafts? Be aware that the thesis deadline changes slightly each semester, but generally you will need to have a completed draft approved by your advisor/First Reader about a month before the end of the semester. 

At the beginning of the semester you are enrolled in ENGL 78900 you must secure a Second Reader for your thesis. The primary advising work happens with your advisor/First Reader, but once the thesis meets with the approval of the advisor/First Reader, you will submit the thesis to your Second Reader, whose role it is to ensure the thesis meets departmental standards, to make relatively small suggestions for revision (which may include additional secondary sources you should consult or reference), and to catch any mistakes. Consult with your Second Reader about when he/she/they can expect your First Reader approved thesis to ensure that this person has enough time to read and comment on the thesis before (one hopes) giving their approval in time to submit the thesis to the Graduate Advisor. This is generally a minimum of 2 weeks.

If you intend to graduate in the semester you are enrolled in ENGL 78900 (and all of your requirements except that course and the thesis submission have been fulfilled), you must apply for graduation on CUNYFirst. This will trigger a degree audit, the results of which you will receive roughly one month after applying for graduation. This is the time to catch any outstanding requirements or problems with your record.

Once your thesis is approved by your First and Second Readers, submit the thesis to the English Graduate Advisor. It should be error free and comport with the Arts and Sciences theses guidelines (including title page format and alphabetized Works Cited), found here: https://hunter.cuny.edu/artsci/graduate-academics/preparing-your-thesis/

The Graduate Advisor will let you know if any changes are required before uploading it to AcademicWorks.

The Graduate Advisor will usher your thesis through the online approvals process and once uploaded, your thesis work is done. In the event the thesis is not ready by the end of the semester you are enrolled in ENGL 78900, you will receive a grade of “SP” (Satisfactory Progress) for that semester. You do not have to enroll in ENGL 78900 again, but when you complete the thesis (ideally the following semester), your First Reader/advisor will submit a change of grade form (from “SP” to “P” for “Pass”). It is common for students to need more time than a single semester. If this is the case for you, you must pay the Maintenance of Matriculation fee (in lieu of a fee for units) to maintain your standing in the program and you must reapply for graduation in the semester you will complete the thesis. After your thesis has been officially approved by the First and Second Readers, the Graduate Advisor, and the Dean’s Office, this accomplishment will be reflected on your transcript and your thesis will become publicly available.