The Ohio State University's graduate minor in English offers focused, high-level training in any of the Department of English’s many fields, including creative writing, literary history, folklore, narrative studies, critical theory, popular culture, film, writing, rhetoric, literacy studies, and postcolonial and ethnic studies. All students in the arts, humanities and social sciences are invited to construct a customized minor that will further their individual academic and professional plans.
The graduate minor in English offers considerable flexibility with regard to program design and course selection. For example, students could take courses that correspond to one of the following tracks:
- Writing, rhetoric and literacy: Students could take courses in writing, rhetoric and literacy studies, including courses in digital humanities.
- Folklore: Students could take courses in fieldwork, ethnography and performance studies.
- Theory: Students could take courses in critical theory, narrative theory, theoretical approaches to gender and sexuality and/or theoretical approaches to postcolonial and ethnic studies.
- Literary history: Students could take courses in one historical period (ex: Renaissance), adjacent historical periods (ex: medieval and Renaissance or eighteenth and nineteenth century) or a range of courses that provide students with a solid background in a national literature (ex: American literature, nineteenth-century American literature and contemporary literature).
Alternately, students may take a series of courses that cut across tracks in ways that further their particular area of study. Students are also welcome to propose other ways of fulfilling the course requirements for the minor. Students may have already taken one or more of these courses before they enroll in the minor.
There are no prerequisites for the Graduate Minor in English. The minor requires a minimum of 12 credit hours of coursework, or four courses. Students can repeat only one of the courses required for the minor. A grade of B or better (or S when applicable) is required in each course comprising the minor. Students can select from any courses at the 5000-level or above offered by the graduate faculty in the Department of English with the following exceptions:
- 5191: Internship in English Studies
- 5193: Individual Studies
- 5194: Group Studies
- 5797: Study at a Foreign Institution
- 5892: Workshop
- 6781: Teaching First-Year Writing
- 6998: Graduate Research in English
- 8903: Teaching College English
- 8996: Research in English: The Candidacy Examination
- 8998 & 8999: Research in English
***List of eligible elective courses forthcoming***
Step 1: Talk to an advisor
Students should discuss their interest in pursuing the graduate minor in English with their advisor and determine how to best incorporate it into their program of study.
Step 2: Submit the form
Students should submit a Minor and Interdisciplinary Specialization form in GRADFORMS. The form should include a list of the four courses they plan to take to complete the requirements. The coordinator of the minor will be notified to review the application, and the student's advisor will also receive an email notice that the student submitted the form. Additionally, the student must complete the application webform for the Department of English. On the application webform, the student must identify the four courses they propose to take as well as provide a statement that describes how those courses will develop their expertise in a field or subfield of English.
Step 3: Form approval
The list of courses and statement will be submitted to the Department of English's Graduate Studies Committee for final approval. If the student is accepted into the program, the chair of the minor program will approve the electronic program form. This action routes the form to the Graduate School.
Step 4: Confirmation
Once the Graduate School confirms the decision, the student will receive a confirmation email.
Step 5: Curriculum approvals
The student must adhere to the curriculum of the minor program as indicated on the program form. If changes in the approved curriculum are necessary, the student must have the change approved by the minor program, which will notify the Graduate School. Departures from the approved minor program could result in the specialization not appearing on the student's transcript.
Step 6: Transcript designation
When the student has completed the minor program, the student must complete the minor transcript designation form in GRADFORMS for final review. Once reviewed and approved by the minor program and the Graduate School, the designation will be posted to the student's academic record.
For questions, please contact the English graduate program office via email or phone (614-292-7919).