The minimum admission requirement is a four-year undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Honours), with a major concentration in English, Cultural Studies, or a related discipline, and with an average of B+ in at least six full (or 12 half) courses beyond the introductory level in English, Cultural Studies or a related discipline.

Applicants whose first language is not English will be required to provide an official record of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. A minimum TOEFL score of 580 on the regular test and a score of 237 on the computerized test is required. If you are submitting the IELTS test, a minimum score of 7 is required. Please note that achieving the minimum required score on these tests is not always sufficient for admission, and may not indicate that a candidate has a sufficient grasp of the English language necessary to succeed in our graduate programs.

Language Requirement

The Department no longer requires MA students to demonstrate an ability to read a language other than English. However, applicants should be aware that most PhD programs in English, including McMaster’s, do require an ability to read in another language, which can normally be demonstrated by university coursework or passing a translation exam.

Applications for the MA in English should reach the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster no later than JANUARY 14th. Applications and supplementary documentation must be submitted through the application portal: https://applygrad.mcmaster.ca/portal/start_your_app – open November 1^st. Only completed applications, which include supporting documentation, will be reviewed. Application fees are non-refundable. Please read the information below, before beginning your application. For questions regarding the application process, please email us at englgrsc@mcmaster.ca.

Required Documentation

Applicants must compile the following required materials for the program application. Please ensure that these required documents are uploaded when the online application form asks for the Statement of Interest and the CV.

Program and Course Selection

Once accepted, during the summer months students will receive a form asking them to pre-register in courses. Confirmation of course selection will be sent out in late summer. In most cases, students will be permitted to choose their courses freely from among those offered in any particular year. In making their choices, however, they are advised to balance their special interests with the desirability for breadth of coverage. Graduate courses meet once a week during the fall and winter terms, but during the compacted summer term they meet twice a week.

Candidates admitted to the English MA will complete seven one-term graduate courses or their equivalent, normally taking three elective courses in the fall, two elective courses in the winter, one elective course in the summer, and one required core course (English 799) that bridges winter and spring/summer terms.  A final grade of B- is required for each course. Work for fall term courses must be completed before the holiday break in December. Work for winter term courses must be completed by the end of April. Candidates must submit all summer coursework by early August so that final grades may be sent to the School of Graduate Studies and the candidate may graduate in the Fall Convocation. The MA degree normally requires one full year to complete.

Visit Graduate Studies to learn more about tuition, supplementary fees and everything you need to know about being paid as a Teaching or Research Assistant. Tuition fees are assessed on a term by term basis, depending on the number of courses a student takes or if they are paying by term.

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All full-time English graduate students receive scholarship funding from McMaster University. Our scholarship funding offers are competitive with those of other major programs in Canada. However, there are also several internal and external awards available to graduate students.

Graduate students in the Department of English and Cultural Studies have been very successful in winning internal awards and Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) awards, including Harry Lyman Hooker Senior Fellowships, the Harvey E. Longboat Graduate Scholarships for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Students, and the Ontario Trillium Scholarship (OGS).

Our graduate students also have an excellent track record in securing Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) awards, including the SSHRC, CGS-Doctoral, CGS-Master’s, and Vanier awards. Our department provides information sessions, proposal workshops, and one-on-one consultations for students applying to SSHRC’s Doctoral Fellowship and Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) competitions.

The Department of English and Cultural Studies recognizes the importance of teaching as an integral part of our graduate degree programs. For this reason, all full-time graduate students are given a teaching assistantship, supported by faculty-led supervision and peer advice.

MA and first year PhD students typically work as teaching assistants for our first-year undergraduate English and Cultural Studies courses, and we work to offer our doctoral students a range of teaching and research experiences over their four years of study. This may include working as a TA in upper-level English courses, or outside of the department in programs like Theatre & Film, Women’s Studies, Peace Studies or Communication Studies.

TAships generally involve running weekly tutorials, grading student work, and meeting with students individually. Marking TAs do not run tutorials, but instead grade essays and may meet with students individually to discuss their work. Some senior PhD students may be assigned a senior TA position, which involves assisting the instructor, and providing resources to their fellow TAs.

Please see a copy of the TA Handbook in the RESOURCES section below.

The McMaster Graduate Scholarship (MGS) is the most common form of scholarship support available to graduate students in our program. The MGS ensures that students receive a guaranteed minimum level of scholarship support. Adjustments to the MGS will depend on other available scholarships.

The Faculty of Humanities Adjustments guidelines policy is available for review.

REVIEW THE POLICY