MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH AND LITERATURE
When students complete the M.A. they should be able to:
- Demonstrate skills necessary to produce independent, analytical or creative work in English.
- Communicate in a style appropriate to the discipline.
- Follow ethical guidelines for work in the field.
- Communicate effectively in writing as well as through speech or other means to professional audiences about issues in the field.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH AND LITERATURE
When students complete the Ph.D. they should be able to:
- Conduct original, publishable work in the field.
- Demonstrate expertise in two sub-disciplines in the field.
- Follow ethical guidelines for work in the field.
- Communicate effectively in writing as well as through speech or other means to professional audiences about issues in the field.
The University of Tulsa hosts many academic journals and publications that are referenced around the world. Two distinguished academic journals, The James Joyce Quarterly and Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, are edited and published under the auspices of the department, and the innovative web-based Modernist Journals Project, a collaboration between Brown University and The University of Tulsa, is directed from the department. Undergraduate internships are available at the MJP and both journals and at the international literary journal Nimrod. Learn more.
The University of Tulsa is well known for its extensive archival holdings, making it an ideal location for graduate study. The Helmerich Center for American Research at Gilcrease Museum houses the Gilcrease Library and Archive containing more than 100,000 rare books, documents, maps and unpublished works. In addition, Special Collections at the University of Tulsa’s McFarlin Library holds manuscripts, personal papers and first editions that rank alongside those of Harvard, Yale, and the Ransom Humanities Research Center as the preeminent archives of twentieth-century literature in the world. Learn more.
The English Department boasts a stellar 82% job placement rate, thanks to the firm emphasis faculty place on professional development. Throughout their graduate careers, student build both academic CVs and non-academic resumes to ensure their success on the job market, and faculty encourage students to vary their skill sets through a variety of fellowship assignments: teaching, interning with McFarlin Library’s Special Collections, working for one of the literary journals, serving as administrators in the University of Tulsa’s writing program. Due to the small size of the program, all students receive close personal attention from faculty, who ensure that they develop marketable CVs. In addition, a designated faculty member serves as Departmental Job Officer, assisting graduate students with the production of application materials and arranging mock interviews.
In the last ten years, the University of Tulsa English department has awarded 45 doctorates. Of these PhD recipients, 27 (60%) hold full-time academic jobs. Another 10 (22%) have gone on to jobs in business, publishing, the nonprofit sector, and elite private high school instruction. Among our recent graduates are the following:
Academic Positions
2006 Richard Allen Black, Jr., Associate Professor of English, Northwest Missouri State University
2006 Jeffrey S. Longacre, Associate Professor of English, University of Tennessee at Martin
2006 Kara Marie Ryan, Assistant Professor of English, Tulsa Community College SE
2006 Marilyn Dallman Seymour, Associate Professor of English, Newberry College
2006 Cristina Emanuela Dascălu, PhD Lecturer in Faculty of Communication Sciences, Apollonia University (Romania)
2007 Geoffrey A. Wright, Associate Professor of English, Samford University
2008 Jeremy Saint Larance, Associate Professor of English and Department Chair, West Liberty University
2008 Matthew David Perry, Associate Professor and Chair of English, Del Mar College
2008 Lisa BreAnn Riggs, Assistant Professor of English, Oklahoma Wesleyan University
2008 Elizabeth J. Thompson, Instructor in English, Ohio University
2008 Seung-Bok Yi, Assistant Professor of English, Soonsil University (South Korea)
2009 Jennifer McKellar Handy, Associate Professor, Los Medanos College and Columbia College (Coast Guard Island)
2010 Sara Beam, Writing Program Director and Applied Assistant Professor of English, The University of Tulsa
2010 Irina Strout, Visiting Research Professor, Northeastern State University
2011 Lavaughn Towell, Associate Professor, School of Humanities & Communication, Daytona State College
2012 Jennifer Krisuk, Assistant Professor, Dodge City Community College
2012 Seung-a Ji, Assistant Professor of English Education, Chonnam National University (South Korea)
2012 Patrick Belk, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Multimedia and Digital Culture, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown
2013 Jennifer Fuller, Assistant Lecturer in English, Idaho State University
2013 Kristen Marangoni, Assistant Professor of English, Tulsa Community College
2014 Matthew Vaughn, Assistant Professor, Jefferson College
2014 Tabatha Hibbs, Instructor, Connors State College
2015 Melissa Antonucci, Renewable Term Lecturer, First-Year Composition Program, University of Oklahoma, Norman
2015 Greg Stone, Provost and Professor of English, Tulsa Community College Metro Campus
2015 Hyundong Ko, Assistant Professor of English, Changwon National University (South Korea)
2015 Matthew Kochis, Assistant Professor of English and Journalism, Mercer County Community College, NJ
2016 Ashley Schoppe, Assistant Professor of British and World Literature, Pfeiffer University
2017 Ryan Slesinger, Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Oklahoma State University
Alt-AC Positions
2006 Michael Howard Berglund, Holland Hall Preparatory School (Tulsa, OK)
2008 Matthew Huculak, Postodoctoral Fellow in Digital Scholarship, University of Victoria (Canada)
2010 Karen Dutoi, Managing Editor, Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature
2010 Dane Spencer, Head of the English Department, Rancho Solano Preparatory School, (Scottsdale, AZ)
2012 Tara Aveilhe, Director of Education, Sweet Adelines International (Tulsa, OK)
2013 Barbara Woodfin, Sponsored Programs Coordinator, Tulsa Community College
2014 Lexi Stuckey, Composition Mentor, Western Governors University
2015 David Chandler, Associate Director of Research, ConsumerAffairs, Tulsa
2015 Kate Williams, Director of Research, ConsumerAffairs, Tulsa
2015 Jami Barnett, Associate Director of Research, ConsumerAffairs, Tulsa
2016 Lindi Smith, Senior Digital Editor, Dallas County Community College District
To be considered for graduate admission, the following items must be submitted to the Graduate School:
- A completed Graduate School application
- Statement of Purpose (admission essay)
- 10 – 20 page academic writing sample
- 2 – 3 letters of recommendation from individuals who can comment on your academic potential.
- Official or unofficial transcripts from all universities attended
- GRE General Test results
- $55 application fee
- International students who studied at a university outside of the U.S. will also need to submit TOEFL or IELTS results
