Accelerated MA for Undergraduate English Majors

The Accelerated English BA/MA Program allows our strongest undergraduate English majors to take graduate classes and earn their English MA in as little as one year!

For Queens College students in junior or lower senior standing, the Accelerated English BA/MA option enables you to start taking English MA classes while still an undergraduate.

MA courses available

Up to nine (9) graduate English credits may satisfy elective requirements in the English BA, and then also count toward completion of the MA in English:

  • ENGL 636: History of Literary Criticism
  • ENGL 701: Graduate Methodologies
  • A 600- or 700-level English elective course (excluding the creative-writing workshops and craft classes reserved for MFA students)

Timeline

Junior and lower-senior English majors with minimum 3.5 GPAs are eligible and encouraged to apply!

Admitted students begin taking graduate coursework at undergraduate tuition rates in their senior year, and automatically continue on to our English MA program after they finish their BA, without having to reapply. Admitted students could graduate with their MA degree in just one additional year.

Application & eligibility

Applicants for the accelerated English MA option must have a minimum 3.5 GPA in English and are required to submit the following information as part of their online application:

  1. A writing sample of about 3–5 pages demonstrating their strongest work in an English course
  2. The name of one English Department faculty member who has agreed to serve as the student’s referral (no formal letters of recommendation required)

To apply: Log into the Accelerated Degrees Online Application System using your QC username and password (CAMS account credentials, NOT CUNYfirst) to submit an application.

Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Note: For undergraduate students who are enrolled in the QC English Honors Program, ENGL 399W will count as 6 graduate credits toward the English MA degree. These students may take up to two (2) of the graduate English courses listed above, allowing them to transfer twelve (12) graduate credits to the English MA program. Twelve (12) is the maximum number of graduate transfer credits that is allowed by the College.

More information

Learn more about the English MA program here.

Questions

Please email the Directors of Graduate Studies in English (Prof. Bill Orchard and Prof. Hillary Miller) at MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu.