Department of English
Advisement Manual
For Graduate Degrees in
English
(For
students enrolling in 2006 and after.)
11th
Printing, June 2008
Department of
English
Advisement Manual
for
Graduate Degrees in
English
Note: Because of mandated
changes from the New York State Education Department and NCATE, existing
graduate programs are subject to change. Please check for current information
at the Office of Graduate Studies or with your advisor in the English
Department. The official policies of the College are printed in the Graduate
Catalog. The most up-to-date information about our programs can be found
online at: http://www.cortland.edu/english/adviseman.
Manual compiled Fall 2001 (and revised
January and June 2002, August 2003, March 2004, September 2004, February 2005,
September 2005, January 2006, March 2006, and June 2007), by Dr. Denise D.
Knight, Coordinator of the MA program in English. Special thanks go to Dr.
Ellen Jampole, Education Department, and Dr. Carol J. Bell, Mathematics
Department, at the State University of New York at
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Suggested
Schedule for the M.A.T. in Adolescence Education, English 7-12 |
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Suggested
Schedule for the M.S.Ed. in Adolescence Education, English 7-12 |
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Introduction
to Graduate Programs in English
Welcome to graduate study in the English Department! We are
pleased that you have selected SUNY Cortland to pursue your graduate degree in
English and expect that you will find the program a challenge as well as a
basis for future intellectual endeavors.
This advisement manual has been written to clarify many
questions that may arise during your graduate study. Additional sources where
you can have your questions answered include the Graduate Catalog
(available only online), the Graduate Studies Office, and your advisor. You
should consult with your instructor regarding questions concerning a specific
course. Please read this manual in its entirety and consult it before
contacting your advisor, since doing so may save everyone, including yourself,
time and energy. The Graduate Catalog that is in effect when you enroll
is the official document that outlines all the regulations by which you must
abide. Your advisor (either the Coordinator of the Master of Arts (MA) Program
in English, the Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Adolescence
Education—English, or the Coordinator of the Master of Science in Education
(MSEd)—Adolescence Education—English) is available to answer questions left
unanswered in the advisement manual or the Graduate Catalog.
PLEASE TAKE CARE NOT TO MISPLACE THIS MANUAL. We encourage
you to establish a secure place, such as a drawer or folder, for all important
documents received from the College—including your acceptance letter, candidacy
confirmation, transcripts, and syllabi of completed courses. This manual, along
with those important pieces of correspondence, should be placed in that
folder. Also, PLEASE MAKE A COPY OF ANY
CORRESPONDENCE THAT YOU SEND TO THE COLLEGE AND PLACE THIS MATERIAL IN YOUR
SECURE FILE. If you follow this
practice, you will never have to second guess whether or not you have completed
certain requirements, such as filing for candidacy. If you have an official
written record of transactions, you can avoid complications in progress toward
your degree completion. We wish you
success as you pursue your graduate program in English at SUNY Cortland.
The current program advisors in English are as follows:
MA
Program—Dr.
MAT and MSEd Programs—Dr. Noralyn Masselink, masselinkn@cortland.edu
The offices and persons listed below will provide information and services to you as a graduate student. Please note that most campus office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
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Financial Aid Office |
(607) 753-4718 |
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Graduate Studies Office Contact: Dr. Yvonne
Murnane |
Brockway Hall, Room 216 (607) 753-4800 FAX:
(607) 753-5988 murnaney@cortland.edu |
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Graduate Coordinator, M.A. Program in English Contact: Dr. |
Old Main, Room 115-D |
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Graduate Coordinator, M.A.T. Program in English Contact: Dr. Noralyn Masselink |
Old Main, Room 111-D (607) 753-2068 masselinkn@cortland.edu |
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Graduate Coordinator, M.S.Ed. Program in English Contact: Dr. Noralyn
Masselink |
Old Main, Room 111-D (607) 753-2068 masselinkn@cortland.edu
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English Department Chair: Dr. Secretary: |
Old (607) 753-4307;
alwesk@cortland.edu |
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Registrar’s Office |
(607) 753-4702 |
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Matriculation, Candidacy, and
Graduation Requirements
Before you read about the program to which you have been admitted, you should first understand some terminology.
Matriculation means that you have been accepted into and are enrolled in the Master’s degree program. The process for matriculation is as follows: you first apply to the graduate program and then you are accepted into the English Department. There is a College fee for applying; contact the Graduate Studies Office for more information. You will indicate the graduate program in which you wish to enroll on this form. You may only take up to nine credit hours (three courses) before being matriculated into the program.
You will be notified of your status by the Graduate Studies Office if your application is lacking any of the requirements such as proof of certification or transcripts. Once the conditions of acceptance are met, you will be accepted into the English Department. It is up to you to provide proof that conditions have been met. If you are accepted unconditionally, you will be notified. When you are accepted into the Master’s degree program, you will be assigned an advisor.
Candidacy is another requirement that
must be met. You need to apply to be a “candidate for a Master’s degree.” You
do this when you have taken between 6 and 15 credit hours at
We offer three Master’s degree programs in the English Department. One program is a Master of Science in Adolescence Education, English 7-12 (AED), which leads to a professional or permanent certificate for students already holding provisional certification.
A
second program is a Master of Arts in Teaching in Adolescence Education,
English, which leads to an initial or provisional certificate. Successful
completion of either of these programs allows
The third program is the Master of Arts in English, which is appropriate for candidates who plan to pursue a Ph.D., who do not wish to pursue a teaching certificate, or who already possess provisional certification and wish to seek permanent certification.
Students in the M.A. program who wish to pursue permanent certification need two years of teaching experience and are required to pass two New York State Teacher certification exams. At the conclusion of their degree programs, M.A. students can either apply on their own for the permanent certificate, presenting a transcript to the state documenting completion of a functionally related master’s degree, along with documentation of completion of other requirements, or the Graduate Studies Office can make the recommendation for certification on behalf of the student.
Students in any graduate program in English must meet several all-College requirements, in addition to the program requirements, for completion of the degree program. Below are the requirements for graduation.
Total Credit Hours: A minimum of 31 credit hours must be earned for graduation in the M.S.Ed.: AEN, English program. A minimum of 46-49 credit hours must be earned for graduation in the M.A.T.: AEN, English program. A minimum of 30 hours is required for the M.A. in English. At least 9 of the hours must be at the 600-level.
Up to six credits from other accredited institutions may be transferred with approval.
Cumulative
Average: A cumulative average of 3.0 for all coursework completed at
Foreign Language Requirement: Students in all master’s programs in English are required to complete one year of college-level study or the equivalent of a language other than English. (Students enrolled in the M.A. program have the option of demonstrating competency in a classical language.) If this requirement has not already been met, the candidate may take language courses concurrently with graduate study.
Time to Complete: In January 2005, the New York State Board of Regents approved a policy change that will allow students who are enrolled in a master’s degree program leading to permanent certification five years to complete the requirements. Specifically, the Board of Regents approved an amendment to the Commissioner’s Regulations (8 NYCRR section 80-3.3[a][1]) that extends the term of the initial certificate to five years. This change will provide teachers with the flexibility to complete a Master’s degree within a five-year period (rather than three) to qualify for professional certification. The amended regulation became effective on February 3, 2005. Teachers who were issued initial certificates since February 1, 2004, will have their certificates extended to five years from the original date they were issued. All future initial certificates will be issued with five-year validity periods. For additional information, visit the New York State Education Department website at www.highered.nysed.gov.
For all non-teaching degree programs (including the MA program), all graduate degree requirements must be completed within five years after the date of the first graduate enrollment, even though such enrollment may be on a non-matriculated basis. Any non-matriculated student who has taken courses prior to the Fall 2001 semester and has not officially been admitted to a graduate degree program will be required to satisfy the new re-registered programs.
Culminating Activities: In addition to the requirements listed above, all students in the M.A. in English program are required to write a substantial (30-40-page) master’s thesis. Students in the M.S.Ed.:AEN and M.A.T.: AEN programs are required to submit an electronic Teaching Portfolio that demonstrates the thirteen institutional learning outcomes. While the various components of the final portfolio will be created and submitted in graduate courses along the way, the portfolio itself will be assembled in the culminating activity course: for MAT students, in AED 578 Master’s Project and Teaching Colloquia; for MSEd students, in AED 678 M.S.Ed Final Project. All teaching portfolio will be submitted via TaskStream (see page
Graduation: You must apply for graduation through Banner Web.
The following section outlines the policies and procedures you should follow as you pursue your graduate study. The selections are listed in alphabetical order.
Admission to Closed Courses
Individual instructors may allow you to enter a closed course at their discretion with written permission. Doing so, however, is a courtesy extended by individual instructors rather than an obligation. Instructors are not required to allow students into closed courses. You will normally have to wait until the Drop/Add period before each semester to determine whether an opening in the course becomes available.
All Those Forms
See the “Checklist of Important Items” (p. 33) and record the date for each requirement completed. Be aware of when each form is due, such as filing for candidacy, transferring coursework, or filing for graduation, which is now done online through Banner Web.
Appropriate Courses for Your Degree Program
In order to determine appropriate courses, you need to consult the page in the online Graduate Catalog for your particular Master’s degree. Then, read more about the courses and the sequence in which you have to take them. It is your responsibility to know the frequency of course offerings, which can also be determined by consulting the Graduate Catalog. Look for the section titled Frequency Code.
You are also responsible for knowing which courses are prerequisites for other courses. In addition, if you take a course at the graduate level that requires undergraduate prerequisites, you must take those before you take the graduate-level course.
Change of Address, Telephone, E-mail, or Name
When you change your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or name, please be sure to notify the Graduate Studies Office and the English Department. This is very important and will help ensure information gets to you correctly and will allow us to keep your folder in order.
Change of Major
If you decide to change your major in the Master’s program, you must file a “Change of Status” form and it must be approved before the change becomes official. You must file the Change of Status form so that you are coded correctly on the computer network, so your transcript will be correct, and so on.