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Graduate Certificate in Language & Literature
20 Credits
The online Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature provides training in the core principles of writing and literature. As a student in this program, you learn to teach students how to craft sound arguments using close attention to logic, context, and audience. You also develop a fluency with the current debates, schools, and theories of writing instruction.
Specific areas of focus include:
- Contemporary theory on the pedagogy of composition and literature
- Linguistic structures and history of the English language
- Reading strategies and literary analysis, with attention to close reading, style, form, genre, and rhetorical practices
- Approaches to composition and writing instruction, including the identification and evaluation of sources, use of evidence, generation of ideas, and the development and organization of argument
- Fostering discussion and developing presentation skills in a seminar setting
- Developing archival research skills and facility with electronic resources
- Developments, trends, and frontiers in the digital humanities
Your Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature prepares you for such careers as:
- Composition and/or literature dual-credit teacher (high school)
- Composition and/or literature instructor (community college)
This program is part of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences.
The Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses to hold either a master's degree in their area of instruction or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework.
- If you hold a master's degree in another discipline, you can meet HLC standards by completing the 20 credit hour Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature.
- If you plan to pursue the online MA in English, you may apply the 20 credit hours from the Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature toward the master's degree.
Program Requirements
To earn the Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature, you must complete a total of 20 credit hours.
Requirements are broken down as follows:
- Language and literature core courses (16 credit hours)
- Language and literature elective course (4 credit hours)
NOTE: If you choose to pursue the online MA in English, these certificate courses may apply to ("stack into") your degree requirements. Admission to the Certificate in Language and Literature does not constitute admission into any of the face-to-face graduate programs in English at the participating campuses.
Admissions
To be accepted to this program, you must have:
- A bachelor's degree: To enroll in this program, you must possess either a BA in English (or related bachelor's degree in education with an English specialization, concentration, or outside area) or two years of secondary teaching experience in literature or composition classes.
- 3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale
NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states
To apply to this program:
Complete an online application that includes: - Official transcripts
- 250-word personal statement explaining background and reasons for entering the program
- TOEFL scores (international students only)
Courses
Core courses:
- Writing pedagogy for college instructors (4 Credits)
- ENG-D 600 –OR– ENG-G 655 History of the English Language (4 Credits)
- ENG-L 503 Teaching Literature in College (4 Credits)
- ENG-W 509 Writing and Literacy Studies –OR– ENG-W 500 Teaching Composition: Issues & Approaches (4 Credits)
Elective courses: