Graduate Programs

Overview

The master’s degree program in English at The University of Toledo draws a talented and dedicated group of students from across the country and the world.

The 1:1 ratio of professors to students allows for small classes and close mentoring relationships. Our program has a strong record of success in preparing students for post-graduate life. We're a particularly good fit for students who are not quite ready for a large M.A. or Ph.D. program, but who benefit from the personal mentorship and training we offer in a smaller graduate program.

Top Reasons to Study english at UToledo

1. Vibrant faculty.

   Our energetic professors teach a wide range of classes in literature and writing while closely mentoring graduate students. They are active researchers, writers, and scholars.
2. Funding options.

   We offer a wide variety of funding options to all graduate students. Incoming students can apply for scholarships, teaching fellowships, and assistantships, which are renewable in their second year.
   

   • All qualified, full-time students are considered for graduate assistantships, which include a full tuition waiver (9 credits) and an additional stipend. They are also considered for a department scholarship in addition to this funding
   • Most UToledo master’s English students get valuable teaching experience by working as teaching assistants in the composition program.
   • Funding is available to cover students' travel costs to attend and present research at national conferences.
3. Multidisciplinary and innovative courses.

   Our graduate seminars are small with a strong interdisciplinary, multicultural focus. We offer a broad array of topics, from medieval performance to post-Brexit immigration narratives, and everything in between. Recent seminars include “Early Modern Gender Studies,” “Asian American Archives,” “Empire, Race, and Immigration in the 21st Century,” and “Late Medieval Misc. Manuscripts” among others.
4. Network.

   UToledo’s English department educates and inspires outside the classroom. It regularly hosts outstanding speakers and sponsors workshops and symposiums.
   

   • Students can network with distinguished writers and scholars at our Annual Richard M. Summers Memorial Lecture and other events. Summers Lecture speakers deliver a public talk and often engage with students and faculty through smaller question-and-answer sessions and informal conversations. Recent Summers Lecturers have included Natasha Trethewey, Ania Loomba, Julie Crawford, Danzy Senna, George Saunders, and Carolyn Williams.
   • In addition to Summers Lecture speakers, the department regularly hosts a range of visiting writers and scholars. Recent visitors have included Phillip B. Williams, Zadie Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye, Carl Phillips, Mark Doty, and Michael Bérubé.
   • Workshops on professionalization address Ph.D. applications and how to transition into a doctoral program as well as non-teaching post-graduate careers.
5. Teaching experience.

   Our English graduate assistants develop practical skills and learn to share their knowledge and passion with students by teaching in the English department’s Composition Program. These teaching experiences are accompanied by extensive pedagogical training and close faculty mentorship, ensuring our students are successful in their classrooms from day one.

6. Futures.

   We have a strong record of helping our graduate students find fulfilling graduate programs and careers. Many of our graduates have gone on to work in teaching, publishing, libraries, non-profit organizations, and other fields related to reading and writing. They are employed in Toledo Public Schools, Owens Community College, Toledo Lucas County Public Library, and Partners in Education, among others. Quite a few have entered graduate school in related disciplines, such as Library Science, completed a law degree, or have continued to Ph.D. or M.F.A. programs in literature and creative writing. Recently, we have had students accepted to the English Ph.D. programs of the Universities of Toronto, Minnesota, Iowa, Rhode Island, Penn State, SUNY Buffalo, Ohio State, and Wayne State.

UToledo English faculty members are dedicated teachers and active researchers, theorists, poets and novelists. They have expertise in: 

• African-American literature
• British, American and world literature
• Business and technical writing
• Cell 4
• Linguistics
• Postcolonial and diasporic literature
• Rhetoric and composition
• Writing in multimedia environments
• Writing theory and pedagogy 
• Victorian literature

What jobs can I get with an english degree?

UToledo graduate students in the English master's program have been accepted into doctoral programs at: 

• Howard University
• Michigan State University
• Penn State University
• Syracuse University
• University of Iowa
• University of Minnesota
• University of New Mexico
• University of Texas, Austin

UToledo alumni of the master’s program in English are working as:  

• Attorney specializing in criminal defense and civil rights litigation, Chicago
• Community library manager, Queens Library, New York
• Editor, Beacon Press, Boston
• Education resource specialist, WGTE public television, Toledo
• English instructors, Owens Community College, Rutgers University and others
• Founder and editor, Girls in Capes (online publishing)
• Head of education and outreach services, University of Colorado, Denver Libraries
• Marketing manager, Cengage Publishing, Boston
• Screenwriter/editor, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton