MA in English
The course consists of four 400-level papers, which may include an extended essay, in the first year, and a thesis (ENGL 690) in the second. The thesis turns the general Honours degree into a specialised research one.
An MA degree is highly valued by Government departments and by businesses seeking staff with analytical and writing skills. It is also the most well recognised way of entering into a PhD programme, either in New Zealand or overseas.
MA Thesis
This section sets out the way in which Master's thesis studies are conducted in the programme. You should also familiarise yourself with the University's regulations about Master's studies which you will find in the annual Calendar.
For Part 2 of the MA students will write and present a thesis of a maximum of 40,000 words. This will be graded with a Pass, or with Merit, or Distinction or, where appropriate, with Honours.
Students should discuss possible topics with the Postgraduate Coordinator, who will consult potential supervisors. Topics, together with an outline of the project (300-500 words), must be submitted to the Postgraduate Coordinator at the beginning of February each year. Formal proposals (Word, 71 KB) (1200-1500 words and bibliography) to be submitted to the College of Arts are due two months after enrolment. All submitted written work must follow format and citation guidelines as established by the MLA Handbook.
Students wishing to enrol part-time for the MA must in the first instance apply to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies. Students wishing to complete the MA Honours degree part-time may take up to four years (two for course-work and two for the thesis). Part-time students of the MA, Parts 1 and 2, aiming for a Pass degree only may take up to six years. Part-time thesis-only students wishing to qualify for a Distinction or Merit must complete the thesis within two years of enrolment; otherwise a part-time student may take up to four years to complete the thesis.
Staff Involved
Postgraduate Coordinator
The Postgraduate Coordinator, who supervises the MA, is elected by the School. You should feel free to approach the Postgraduate Coordinator with any problems or difficulties you encounter in the course of your work. This includes any problems or difficulties relating to supervision. The Postgraduate Coordinator will treat any such communications with the strictest confidence, and will attempt to find a satisfactory resolution to them.
Thesis supervisors
Two supervisors will be appointed. The Senior Supervisor will be a full-time member of staff appointed after consultation with the student and members of staff. A second supervisor will be appointed in the same way, either from within the English programme, or, as the topic requires, from outside the discipline.
Supervision
The University has drawn up a standard Supervision Agreement governing the terms in which thesis supervision is to be undertaken. The Agreement, which sets out the responsibilities of both supervisors and student, is to be signed by both and returned by the supervisor to the Postgraduate Coordinator. Variation of the terms, or the addition of further terms, may be undertaken by mutual agreement.
You should feel free to approach the Postgraduate Coordinator with any problems or difficulties relating to supervision. The Postgraduate Coordinator will treat any such communications with the strictest confidence, and will attempt to find a satisfactory resolution to them.
Prospective supervisors planning to go on leave, or to be otherwise absent during the course of a supervision, must keep students informed of this and arrange for a replacement supervisor.
MA Thesis Expectations
The MA thesis represents work of a professional standard. First, the thesis should show a firm grasp of the issue it sets out to investigate, including the relevant critical and historical contexts. Next, the thesis should be able to present an argument about its topic in a logical and sensible fashion. The thesis should witness a strong competence in academic critical language. In sum, the thesis must offer a clearly presented, sustained, and substantiated discussion of an explicitly defined problem. The stylistic and formal presentation of the thesis must follow the guidelines set out in the MLA Handbook.
Presenting the Thesis
The 40,000 word length of the thesis is an absolute maximum length, but is exclusive of the bibliography, notes and appendices.
As prescribed in the Calendar, the thesis must be submitted by the end of February two years following the date of enrolment. A further extension of the deadline, for compelling academic reasons or on the grounds of ill-health, may be made by the Programme Director on the recommendation of the supervisor. Failure to obtain an extension will terminate the project.
Theses must conform to the requirements of the current edition of the MLA. Handbook, which is lodged in the English library.
The thesis should not be bound until it has been approved by the supervisor.
Two copies of the thesis in soft-bound form must be submitted at the Registry.
Marking the Thesis
The thesis will be marked by two examiners, one of whom may be internal (but not the Senior Supervisor) and the other from another university, to be appointed by the University Registrar after consultation with the Postgraduate Coordinator, the individual supervisors and the student in each case. Should there be a serious disagreement between examiners (e.g. over grades, rather than specific marks) a third examiner, from another university again, will be consulted.
The following range of marks will be used: A+ 90-100%; A 85-89%; A- 80-84%; B+ 75-79%; B 70-74%; B- 65-69%; C+ 60-64%; C 50-59%; D 40-49%; E 0-39%.
A mark of 80% or more entitles the candidate to award of the Masters Degree with Distinction, unless the thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of an MA Honours degree, in which case it will contribute to the overall grade of that degree.
Students may request reconsideration of their theses by application to the Postgraduate Coordinator within seven days of learning the result of the grading, or within seven days of receiving the examiners' reports.
Before final presentation of the thesis, the student must make any corrections that are requested by the supervisor, the external examiner or the Postgraduate Coordinator. Hard-binding of the thesis is no longer University practice.
When the two corrected copies of the thesis are deposited at the Registry, students may sign a document outlining the embargo, of up to five years, which they require to be placed on their material. A student may choose not to embargo the material, in which case the thesis is immediately available for consultation and citation by other scholars. The nature of the embargo and the options available may be discussed with the Postgraduate Coordinator and individual supervisors before signing.
Until the nature and duration of the particular embargo are known, no other persons may have access to the student's material or use it for their own research, except with the written permission of the student.
Any use of thesis material after the embargo has expired must be made with full acknowledgement.