MA in English Program Overview
This Is the Way You Want to Earn a Graduate Degree
What comes to mind when you think of pursuing a master’s degree? Cost? Time commitment? No matter your answer, we want you to know that UT Permian Basin’s online Master of Arts in English program is unlike other graduate English programs you may have seen. As a student, you’ll quickly discover our MA in English program is:
- Affordable
Save with our widely acknowledged low tuition rates. - Personalized
Small class sizes allow for one-on-one attention from our renowned faculty. - Convenient
Our online program format enables you to complete coursework 24/7 from almost anywhere in the world. - Accelerated
Finish your degree in as little as a year and a half. - Flexible
Build your curriculum to match your interests and choose from four different capstone course types.
An In-Depth Online Exploration of English Language and Culture
Our program provides an advanced, in-depth examination of British and American literature by canonical and non-canonical writers of poetry, fiction, and drama, often with an emphasis on the interdisciplinary study of literature and on the structure and complexity of the English language. Through an exploration of past and present literary works, our program provides you with opportunities to relate cultural, historical, aesthetic, social, and psychological issues of literary works to your own psychological, sociopolitical, and cultural conditions today. In the process, you’ll also learn the importance of respecting other people’s perspectives to achieve social and global harmony.
Program Rankings
- #1 for Best Online Colleges in Texas by OnlineU
- #2 for Best Value Master's Degree Colleges for English Language & Literature in the Southwest Region by College Factual
- #5 for GradSource Top Online Schools: Master's in English
- #7 for Most Affordable Online Master's Programs 2023 by EdSmart
- #21 for 50 best Online English Master's Programs by Master's Programs Guide
Transform Your Passion Into Professional Opportunities
Many students use our English master’s degree as a stepping-stone to doctoral studies, teaching positions at the high school, community college, or even university level, or careers in communication, advertising, or civil service. There are many paths you can follow, depending on your area of interest. What’s more, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that master’s degree holders earn nearly 20% more than those with a bachelor’s degree alone. Those with higher levels of education also typically enjoy higher rates of employment, according to the BLS, which means our online MA in English can elevate your passion into real professional benefits. Some of the roles you may qualify for with this degree include:
15-18 credits
9-12 credits
6-18 credits: option 1 or 2 choose 2, option 3 choose 3, option 4 choose 4.
1-6 hours. Choose one.
Admission Requirements
Regular Admission Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in English or 24 hours of undergraduate English classes at the sophomore level or above from an accredited college or university
- GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 credit hours of coursework leading to the baccalaureate degree
- Two letters of recommendation
- Statement of Intent: a one-page statement of purpose explaining your qualifications and desire for an MA in English at The University of Texas Permian Basin
- Writing sample
- Include a 10-20 page sample of your writing, preferably a research paper in the discipline of English
- Optional: GRE scores at average percentile or better
Conditional Requirements
If the graduate faculty find a deficiency, such as a GPA below 3.0 but not lower than 2.5 in the last 60 credit hours of coursework leading to the baccalaureate degree, conditional acceptance may be granted, provided that the faculty still believe the applicant is prepared for graduate level work.
Other evidence may include:
- Minimum GRE score in English is in the 50% percentile or higher.
- The candidate had strong work experience related to the field of English.
- Evidence of success in career field (e.g., teaching or service awards) and/or candidate’s diverse experiences and perspectives.
NOTE: We look for acceptable GPA, letters, GRE, and writing sample. Each individual member of the English graduate faculty votes on whether or not the applicant should be admitted.
Official Transcripts
Official copies of transcripts must come directly from the school in a sealed envelope and can be mailed to:
UT Permian Basin
Graduate Studies Office
4901 E. University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79762
Official transcripts in electronic format can be sent to gradstudies@utpb.edu.
Supporting Documents
All supporting documents related the graduate program should be sent to the Graduate Studies Office:
UT Permian Basin
Graduate Studies
4901 E. University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79762-0001
Electronic versions of supporting documents may be emailed to gradstudies@utpb.edu.
Application Fee
The application fee is $40.
Veterans and Active Duty Military: Your application fee is waived for this program. Get details now.
If you have any questions regarding the admission requirements, please email gradstudies@utpb.edu.
Professor
Department of Literature and Language
andres_s@utpb.edu
Sophia Andres is professor of English, Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities, and English MA program head in the Department of Literature and Languages, where she teaches Romantic literature, Victorian literature and art, literature and mythology, as well as modern and postmodern British fiction. She is the recipient of several teaching and research awards and is currently a member of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Her work has been published in several journals and book chapters. Her most recent book, Poetry in Pre-Raphaelite Paintings (2018), was preceded by The Pre-Raphaelite Art of the Victorian Novel (2005).
Click here to read more about Dr. Andres and her experience with UT Permian Basin's English programs.
William and Ordelle Watts Professor
English Program
babcock_r@utpb.edu
Rebecca Day Babcock is the William and Ordelle Watts Professor at UT Permian Basin, where she teaches courses in writing and linguistics. She also serves as the freshman English coordinator and the director of undergraduate research. She has authored, co-authored, or edited several books on tutoring, writing centers, disability, and meta-research. Her latest book, the first not about tutoring, is Boom or Bust: Narrative, Life, and Culture from the West Texas Oil Patch, edited with former UT Permian Basin students Sheena Stief and Kristen Figgins and based on an NEH grant, the first ever to be awarded to UT Permian Basin. Boom or Bust also features narratives by current and former UT Permian Basin graduate students and faculty.
In addition to her many books, Babcock has also published research articles in Writing Lab Newsletter, Linguistics and Education, Composition Forum, Praxis, The Peer Review, and others. She won the IWCA Outstanding Article Award in 2011 for her article on interpreted writing tutorials with deaf writers and the CWPA Outstanding Scholarship Award in 2019 for Writing Center Directors and Diversity written with Karen Keaton Jackson and former graduate student Sarah Banschbach Valles. Most recently, she won the Best Edited Collection Award for Theories and Methods of Writing Center Studies from the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Literature and Language
English Program
fick_m@utpb.edu
Dr. Marlon Fick is an associate professor of English and chair of the Department of Literature and Languages. He holds a BA from the University of Kansas (philosophy), an MA from New York University (poetics/English), and a PhD from the University of Kansas (English). He is the author of three poetry collections, a book of short stories, and the novel The Nowhere Man (Jaded Ibis, 2015) and is editor/translator of The River Is Wide/El río es ancho: Twenty Mexican Poets (New Mexico, 2005), as well as XEIXA: Fourteen Catalan Poets (Tupelo, 2018). Awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, ConaCulta in Mexico, and Institut Ramon Llull in Catalonia, Dr. Fick specializes in teaching comparative poetics at UT Permian Basin.
Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
richardson_t@utpb.edu
Todd H. Richardson is a professor of English specializing in American Romanticism, transcendentalism, American women writers, nature writing, and multicultural fiction. His work has appeared in American Literary Scholarship (Duke UP), Approaches to Teaching the Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (MLA), Emerson in Context (Cambridge UP), Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism (Oxford UP), Walt Whitman Quarterly, and New England Quarterly. He is past president of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society.
Dunagan Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
wildermuth_m@utpb.edu
Mark Wildermuth has served at UT Permian Basin since 1992. He has published articles in Philosophy and Rhetoric, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, and the Journal of Popular Culture. He has published the following books: Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema; Print, Chaos and Complexity: Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth-Century Media Culture; Gender, Science Fiction Television and the American Security State, 1958-Present; and Feminism and the Western.
We’re pleased to offer program admission on a rolling basis.
Rolling admission refers to our process of accepting and evaluating applications as we receive them and moving any applications that miss the deadline to the next semester. However, if you want to enroll in courses for a specific semester, you will need to make note of the application deadlines found below. If you don’t complete your application and submit the required materials by the deadline, your application will be rolled over to the next semester.