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The Master of Arts degree in English at UNO is a generalist degree with some opportunities for custom specialization, as well. Course offerings span a wide range of traditional and contemporary subjects, methodologies, and areas within the professional discipline of English, and students are encouraged to pursue their degree by tailoring it to their own personal interests and needs. The UNO English faculty offer courses in:

• Composition Theory
• Creative Nonfiction
• Linguistics
• British, Irish, Anglophone, and American Literature Rhetoric
• Technical Communication

Two choices of program are available for English MA students:

THESIS OPTION

• Successful completion of 30 credit hours in course work, including at least 15 hours in seminar-level course

• A thesis (six credit hours) on an approved topic accepted after oral defense before a faculty committee. Thesis forms:
  • Proposed Supervisory Committee Form
  • Thesis/Thesis Equivalent Approval Form

In addition, with approval of a student's advisor and the English Graduate Program Committee, a student may include a minor or course work from another related discipline or disciplines as part of the Plan of Study. For Option I (thesis) a minor is nine hours.

NON-THESIS OPTION

Successful completion of 36 credit hours in course work, including at least 18 hours in seminar-level courses, plus a comprehensive written examination over a designated body of literature or language prepared and judged by a faculty committee. To register for a comprehensive exam please fill out this form: Comprehensive Exam fillable form.

In addition, with approval of a student's advisor and the English Graduate Program Committee, a student may include a minor or course work from another related discipline or disciplines as part of the Plan of Study.

Graduate Certificate in Advanced Writing is designed for students interested in becoming more expressive, powerful writers of nonfiction prose. Students interested in securing publication of their writing are mentored in the publication process by the faculty.

The Advanced Writing Certificate is designed for the following students:

• Writers interested in developing and publishing their creative nonfiction
• Graduate students in English and related fields
• Educators seeking writing-specific training and credentials
• Working professionals who either are currently employed or will be seeking employment as experts in written communication
• Individuals who work in community service organizations
• Individuals dedicated to cultural activities in the community

Learn more:

• Admission, Application, and Course Work Requirements
• Portfolio Title and Signature Page
  
• Portfolio Information and Important Portfolio Links
• Certificate in Advanced Writing Brochure

The graduate certificate in Literature and Culture offers an education in the intersection between literature written in English—either originally or in translation—with human culture broadly considered. The certificate will give high school teachers the credential to teach preparatory coursework worthy of college credit at UNO and other universities. And it is also designed as a continuing education option for anyone wishing to study literature at a post-baccalaureate level for personal enrichment. The certificate can be earned as part of the larger Master’s in English at UNO, and it can also be applied toward completion of that larger program retroactively.

The certificate will teach:

Although applicants need no formal training in literature to enroll, they should expect to be immersed in a professional discipline of literary study with a research component. One especially designated course required for the certificate will provide training for students in the methodology of literary research.

Learn More:

• Certificate in Literature and Culture Brochure

The Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication is designed for graduate students and industry professionals seeking a foundation in the theory and practice of Technical Communication. This foundation provides students with the kinds of competencies expected from technical communication professionals, including writing, editing, design, and software applications.

The Technical Communication Certificate is designed for the following students:

• Part- and full-time UNO students pursuing graduate degrees, who are seeking a cognate area outside, but relevant to, their primary program of study
• Industry professionals seeking to develop the knowledge and skills for a career in Technical Communication
• Business or technical professionals seeking to enhance their employment opportunities through a professional development program

Learn More:

• Certificate in Technical Communication Brochure

TESOL students undertake an intensive study of linguistics, applied linguistics, and language pedagogy.  Students must demonstrate proficiency in linguistic theory, the linguistic structure of English, common pedagogies for teaching English in the classroom, and second language acquisition theory.

A TESOL certificate does not certify a graduate to teach in Nebraska public schools. Instead, it is an academic credential meant for teachers already certified in other areas, for people who plan to teach in venues other than public schools, and for anyone who works in some capacity with non-native speakers of English.

Students in Teacher Education or in Speech/Language Pathology should contact the TESOL director prior to applying to this program.

English Dual Enrollment Certificate is intended for high school English teachers, primarily in the 19 states under the jurisdiction of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) but also elsewhere in the country, all of whom need to have completed at least 18 hours of graduate English courses to teach dual/concurrent enrollment courses at the post-secondary level.

The English Dual Enrollment Certificate is designed for the following students:

• Educators seeking credentials to teach dual enrollment courses

• Individuals seeking primarily online modality

Sampling of approved coursess:

• Book-Smart: The Politics of Education in Literatures and Cultures
• The Harlem Renaissance
• Teaching Latino Literature
• Shakespeare
• Immigration, Migration, and Diaspora: Critical Approaches and Theories of Movement in Literature
• Great Works of British Literature
• Bringing the War Home: Depictions of War Veterans in Literature and Film
• Text-Based Research Methods in English Studies
• Professional and Technical Writing
• Introduction to Linguistics
• History of English
• Creative Nonfiction in Digital Environments
• Applied Linguistics
• Writing Across Differences: Rhetorical Theory for Persuasion and Public Advocacy
• Structure of English
• Sociolinguistics
• L2 Composition Pedagogy
• Digital Literacies for Technical Communication
• Technical Communication
• Technical Editing
• Information Design for Technical Communicators