M.A. in English

The Graduate Program in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln offers the master's degree for students interested in Literary and Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, and Composition and Rhetoric. In recent years, students who graduated with an M.A. from our department were subsequently accepted with fully-funded offers to Ph.D. programs at UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside, University of Southern California, U Wisconsin, U Minnesota, U Illinois, U Oregon, Ohio State U, Penn State, U Pennsylvania, Brandeis, SUNY Buffalo, Loyola-Chicago, U Utah, Claremont Graduate College, U Kansas, among others; of those, students accepted the offers by U Wisconsin, USC, SUNY Buffalo, Ohio State, Penn State, U Pennsylvania, and U Minnesota.

Program Details

The M.A. in English is generally a two-year degree. Students complete the degree with a departmental specialization in Literary and Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, or Composition and Rhetoric. M.A. students take coursework in a variety of areas of English studies and develop expertise within one or more areas. 

M.A Handbook

There are two options by which students may earn the master's degree:

M.A. in English with a Specialization in Creative Writing

M.A. students specializing in Creative Writing follow the same requirements as M.A. students specializing in Literary and Cultural Studies or Composition and Rhetoric, except that they substitute an additional writing course for one of the areas and typically write a creative thesis. Creative Writing students take courses offered by our nationally recognized faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Interdisciplinary Specializations and Certificates

English graduate students may choose to earn an interdisciplinary specialization or graduate certificate on top of their departmental specialization. Interdisciplinary specializations can be earned in Ethnic Studies, Great Plains Studies, Nineteenth-Century Studies, or Women's and Gender Studies. Additionally, two graduate certificates are offered through the English Department: the Certificate in the Teaching of Writing and the Digital Humanities Certificate.

M.A. with a Concentration in the Teaching of English

Students with established careers in K-12, community college, state college, and liberal arts college English teaching, or who envision careers in such teaching, may elect to complete an M.A. with a Concentration in the Teaching of English. The Concentration in the Teaching of English may be completed through either Option A (Thesis Option) or Option B (Non-Thesis Option). However, instead of completing the area requirements for MA students, students pursuing an M.A. with a Concentration in the Teaching of English must complete 9-12 hours through three courses focused on teaching English. (See Section VI of the M.A. handbook or the Nebraska Writing Project website for more information.)

Teaching and Assistantships

Department Assistantships

Students admitted into the M.A. program are eligible for up to two years of funding. They are not required to teach their first year, but are normally awarded Research Assistantships which give them the opportunity to work with the Prairie Schooner, the Walt Whitman Archive, or the Creative Writing Program, or to assist faculty on their research, plan national conferences, or arrange visits by nationally known writers. In making these assignments, we match up students with professors and projects according to their interests as much as possible. The second year of M.A. funding is a Teaching Assistantship. Students teach two sections of first-year composition each semester. We support new Teaching Assistants with a required week-long teaching workshop the week before classes begin, and a seminar in Composition Theory and Practice during the fall semester.

Assistantship Package

In 2026-2027, the stipend for first-year Research Assistants was $15,912 plus tuition remission (either out-of-state or in-state) for up to 12 hours each semester and 6 hours in the summer. The stipend for Teaching Assistants in 2026-2027 was $19,853 plus tuition remission (either out-of-state or in-state) for up to 12 hours each semester and 6 hours in the summer. The assistantships cover a large portion of the student health insurance premium, but do not cover books and student fees. We expect our 2027-2028 stipends to be at these levels with possibilities for slight increases.

Research Assistantship sponsored by the Cather Project and the Cather Archive

The Willa Cather Project and the Willa Cather Archive are pleased to offer one Research Assistantship to an incoming M.A. student in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln each year. This assistantship provides students with full funding for two years—stipend, benefits, and tuition remission—at the same level as other funded M.A. students in the department. Those selected will be welcomed to the collaborative research team behind the digital humanities project, the Willa Cather Archive. The team is currently preparing Cather’s journalism for publication and finishing work on A Digital Library of Willa Cather’s Literary Manuscripts. The person selected for this position will join these ongoing initiatives and be part of new and developing projects. The student may also be assigned to duties in support of the work of the Cather Project, the English department unit that produces the Willa Cather Scholarly Edition and Cather Studies and supports research and teaching on Cather.

Applicants who wish to be considered for this Research Assistantship should check the designated box in the graduate application and indicate their interest in their application statement. The successful applicant will have a demonstrated interest in the life and work of Willa Cather and/or a closely related field such as early twentieth century women’s writing, LGBTQ literature, or Western American literature. No prior experience is necessary, as extensive training and mentoring will be provided, but we welcome applicants with experience in digital humanities, textual studies, and historical research.

Other Assistantships and Fellowships

Our M.A. students have also obtained assistantships that include tuition remission plus a stipend in the Advising Office of the College of Arts and Sciences, Student Involvement, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Ethnic Studies. Still others teach at local colleges. Each year, the English Department awards several fellowships to graduate students. M.A. students are eligible for the following recruitment fellowships: Chancellor's Fellowships, Centennial Fellowships, Pulos Fellowships (awarded to students in nineteenth-century literature), McPhee Fellowships, and Edgren Tuition Fellowships. M.A. students are also eligible for the Van Sickle Fellowship in Creative Writing and Stuff Retention Fellowships. In their second year, M.A. students are eligible for fellowships through Graduate Studies.