Book Publishing M.A./M.S.
The Department of English offers graduate work leading to the Master of Arts or Master of Science in Book Publishing. The 48-credit M.A./M.S. in Book Publishing is designed for students who are prepared to undertake advanced work in the field. Courses are taught in areas such as editing, design, and marketing.
The program has rolling admissions. The application deadlines are Jan. 15th Fall admission; Sept. 15th for Winter; and Nov. 1st for Spring.
Please note that Graduate Assistantship applications can only be accepted from fall term applicants, who must meet the January 15 deadline.
Admission Requirements
Admission to graduate study is granted on the basis of evidence of suitable preparation and the probability of success in the intended field of study; strong writing skills are considered central. Applicants do not need to have a previous degree in English or Writing, but must hold a B.A. or B.S. degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants must also submit the following:
- A letter of introduction.
- A complete set of transcripts. A transcript from each post‐secondary institution at which you received a degree is required. Unofficial transcripts or photocopies are acceptable. You will be asked to upload a transcript for each institution in one of the following supported file types: PDF, JPG, PNG, GIF, or TIF.
- A minimum of three letters of recommendation.
- A writing sample of fifteen to thirty pages of writing that demonstrates your potential as a publishing professional. Previously published work is welcome, and your sample can consist of multiple pieces, so long as they do not exceed the page limit. Your sample can be of a professional, academic, or artistic nature (or a mixture of the three). Indeed, a diversity of materials is often most effective at demonstrating your strengths as a prospective student for the graduate program in Book Publishing. If you have editing or design experience, samples of this work are welcome, but in these instances, please be sure to include a brief cover letter that details your role in these projects. With editing samples, it’s particularly important that we can actually see the editing you’ve done; one way to achieve this is to submit both pre- and post-editing versions, another is to submit a document with your copyediting marks handwritten on it, and yet another is to submit a document with track changes.
You will be asked to upload your writing samples and optional material such as a C.V. or resume in one of the following supported file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, or TXT.
Note: Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not required for admission.
Requirements
Students will complete 24 core credits (6 courses), 8 Ooligan credits, 4 elective credits (1 course) in writing, and 12 elective credits that may involve coursework in another discipline.
In addition to completing coursework, students in the graduate program in Book Publishing are required to complete a final project. This final project is composed of three parts: a portfolio of work demonstrating competence at a professional level, a final research paper of 4000-5000 words, and an oral exam in defense of the portfolio and research paper.
Core Courses (24 credits)
Students choose 6 out of 7 available core courses to satisfy the 24-credit requirement.
Electives (24 credits)
8 credits of Ooligan Press-related coursework, which can be completed through any combination of Publishing Studio (WR 574) and Publishing Lab (WR 575). Students earn these 8 elective credits by participating in the work of Ooligan Press, a small trade publishing house. Students work in groups to review, accept, and edit manuscripts; design the interior and the exterior of books; send books to press; and market the books to booksellers, libraries, and other outlets.
4 credits (i.e. 1 course) of electives designated with the prefix WR, which includes all Book Publishing courses;
12 credits (i.e. 3 courses) that may involve coursework in another discipline
Note: the M.S. option does not require students to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. In cases where a student does opt to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English, the M.A. in Writing: Book Publishing will be awarded.
Total Credit Hours: 48