The Department of English at Western Michigan University offers an Accelerated Graduate Degree Program in English that allows seniors to accumulate credits toward the completion of a master’s degree while still enrolled as an undergraduate. Students admitted to the English department’s AGDP may take up to 12 credit hours of designated 5000- and 6000-level courses for graduate credit. The designated courses may be used to complete the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree.

Degree Hours

The AGDP in English requires a total of 30 hours, 12 of which are taken during the student’s senior year as an undergraduate and the remaining 18 are taken in the second year of the student’s accelerated program.

Eligibility for Admission

This program is open to undergraduate students who have:

• Senior status
• A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and 3.5 GPA in English
• At least 45 earned hours

Continuing Eligibility

To remain in the program, students must:

• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Maintain a cumulative GPA in English of 3.5
• Be declared English majors

Admission

Applicants must:

• Meet with the graduate director early in their junior year
• File an application for admission to the English MA with the Office of Admissions
• Complete the necessary application materials
• Meet with the graduate director and an undergraduate advisor to complete a program of study

Criteria for Admission

Students must:

• Hold a cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Hold at least a 3.5 GPA in English (at least 14 credit hours in English, excluding ENGL 1050)
• Submit three letters of recommendation
• Submit a personal statement of at least 750 words describing career objectives and academic and professional interests
• Submit a typed, double-spaced, unmarked, 8-12 page thesis-driven writing sample, such as a researched essay on a literary or scholarly topic.

Eligibility for Graduation

Students are expected to:

• Pay undergraduate tuition for AGDP-eligible 5000- and 6000-level courses for their senior undergraduate year and graduate tuition for the second year of the AGDP
• Earn their B.A. one year after enrollment in the AGDP
• Have taken ENGL 6150: Literary Criticism and ENGL 6900: Scholarship and Writing in the Profession
• Have followed the program of study
• Have completed the requirements of the M.A. within 24 months of the completion of the B.A.

An AGDP requires 30 hours of coursework: 12 as an undergraduate and 18 as a graduate student. Applicants must have senior status as undergraduates and be declared English majors with a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA and a 3.5 or better GPA in English.