Required Courses 6001 (or test), 7500 (if a Graduate Teaching Assistant) Competency in an additional modern foreign or classical language (2002, 2500 or equivalent, with a grade of B or better) Students with an emphasis in Literature must take at least one course in linguistics. Students with an emphasis in Linguistics must take at least one course in literature or film. No more than one Directed Readings/Projects (GRMN 8160, 3 hours) may count towards the total number of hours required for the M.A. degree. General Requirements The Graduate School requires a minimum of 30 credit hours for an M.A. degree (min. 24 in course work/max. 6 thesis or research). The M.A. portfolio requires students to complete a minimum of 33 hours of course work in German Studies or Linguistics. The Written MA Exam The purpose of the M.A. exam is to test the student's knowledge of German literature or Germanic linguistics as well as of a self-selected area of expertise. The exam is based on: A core reading list (Core Reading List in Literature, Core Reading List in Linguistics) is provided to the student upon acceptance into the program. The reading list is meant to be studied independently and should be prepared in full by the student for the exam. Students prepare the list that reflects their area of concentration in either literature or linguistics. Students may request the substitution of readings from their respective reading list with works from either the same period or area similar in scope or content. Requests for substitutions shall be made in consultation with the major professor and will have to be approved by the entire committee. A supplemental reading list shall be comprised of readings from two graduate seminars taken in the program. This reading list should be compiled by the student in consultation with the major professor and be distributed to all members of the M.A. Committee upon completion of the third semester of study. The exam is comprised of questions from the three different professors serving on the student's M.A. Committee. It is three hours in length. Two hours of exam time should be devoted to questions concerning the core reading list (a), and one hour to questions concerning the supplemental reading list (b). The major professor will be responsible for questions related to the supplemental reading list. Further specifications for the M.A. exam are as follows. The exam: will be given in the department on the first Thursday in February may be written by hand or on a computer may be written in either English or German The student's M.A. Committee will vote on the entire exam. A two-thirds majority constitutes a pass. The Student Portfolio At least fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled oral defense, the examinee will submit to the committee members a portfolio consisting of two seminar research papers, a critical essay of 6-8 pages reflecting on the research conducted, and materials related to achievements in research and/or teaching. The essay should be written in consultation with the major professor, who should also be consulted with regard to the content of the portfolio. Materials included in the portfolio do not have to match the specific expertise of committee members. The student must defend the portfolio in a one-hour oral defense which will serve to evaluate and critique the student's work. While the Graduate School requires only a pass/no pass decision for the defense, the department will internally evaluate the quality of the student's work in the following three categories: pass with distinction, pass, and no pass. This evaluation shall be announced to the student at the end of the oral examination.
