Admission Requirements

Admission requirements are essentially the same for both degrees. The applicant must possess a baccalaureate degree from a department of approved standing granted by an accredited college or university. The applicant should have received a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for all previous academic work, and should have completed prerequisite academic work that gives evidence that he / she should be able to pursue effectively the graduate work in the area of specialization. (We do not specify that the bachelor’s degree must be in any particular particular field of study.) The applicant must submit an academic writing sample and at least three letters of recommendation. An applicant for the MA must be accepted by the Department of English, for the MA-Ed., by both the Department of English and the College of Education.

All applicants with less than a 3.0 cumulative grade point average are required to forward results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test and at least two of their letters of recommendation must be from professors of English familiar with their academic work. Non-native-speaking international students are required to take the GRE general test and the TOEFL (a minimum TOEFL score of 600 is required).

Downloadable application and reference letter forms are available on-line via the UT Graduate School website. (It is also possible to fill out the main application form on line.) Paper application materials are available from the Department of English by mail or by e-mailing Douglas W. Coleman, the graduate adviser for English as a Second Language. When contacting us, please be sure to include a complete mailing address, your e-mail address (if you have one), and your phone number (if inside the USA). Also, specify which degree (MA-Ed. in ESL or MA in English with Concentration in ESL) you are applying for.