The MA in English is designed to provide a broadly inclusive course of advanced study in English and American literature together with preparatory training and scholarly background for the PhD. Applicants must have completed the equivalent of the undergraduate major in English (i.e. 30 units of upper-division literature courses) with a grade-point average of at least 3.50 in literature courses. Candidates for the MA must take a total of 30 units of graduate coursework (of which 27, or 9 classes, must be in regularly scheduled literature courses unless otherwise approved by the Program Director), demonstrate reading knowledge of a foreign language, and pass a final examination based on reading lists approved by the faculty.