2003-04 MA Guidelines for TESL Option

The Department of English at Oklahoma State University offers a comprehensive program leading to an MA in English with an option in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). The TESL program is designed to provide students with the skills necessary to teach English to non-native speakers in a variety of situations, e.g., teaching English as a foreign language in an overseas school, college, or university; teaching English as a second language to international students studying in intensive English programs in the U.S.; or teaching English to bilingual/bicultural students in American public school systems and adult education programs.

The TESL curriculum is designed to provide professional training in theoretical and applied linguistics, methods of teaching English as a second language, materials development, and second language testing. Students also participate in a supervised internship program in ESL. The elective courses are interdisciplinary in nature and are chosen by students and their advisory committees in accordance with their particular interests and needs.

The MA in English with an option in TESL consists of 30 credit hours (thesis option) or 34 credit hours (non-thesis option). In addition to these hours, students must fulfill the foreign language requirement and pass the MA Qualifying Examination in TESL. A description of the degree requirements and regulations appears on the following pages.

Summary Checklist

By the end of the second full semester of enrollment, you should

• have chosen an adviser in your major area of study
• have chosen your advisory committee
• have met with your committee and discussed your Plan of Study
• have filed your Plan of Study
• taken ENGL 5013: Introduction to Graduate Studies

Before taking your MA Qualifying Examination, you must

• have fulfilled the foreign language requirement
• have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or above on all graduate course work
• have filed an approved Plan of Study with the Graduate College and English Graduate Office
• have submitted an "Intent to Take Qualifying Examination" form to the English Graduate Office at least three weeks before the examination

Before you are eligible to graduate, you must

• have filed a diploma application
• have submitted a revised Plan of Study, initialed by your adviser
• have submitted the defense copy (Final Draft-thesis option) of your thesis by the Graduate College deadline
• have passed your oral defense (Final Examination-thesis option) and turned in the signed form to the Graduate College
• have submitted four copies of your thesis (Final Copy-thesis option) and six copies of your abstract by the Graduate College deadline

Teacher Certification Disclaimer

The MA in English with an option in TESL does not carry with it certification for public school employment. Students wishing such certification must meet special state and university requirements.

Graduate College Rules and Regulations

There are many rules and regulations affecting graduate enrollment, tenure, examinations, theses, and dissertations that are made by the Graduate Faculty of the university rather than the English Department. Among the rules students should familiarize themselves with are those governing academic dishonesty or misconduct, especially those dealing with plagiarism. It is the student's responsibility to become informed about all English Department, Graduate College, and University regulations.

The Oklahoma State University Catalog should be read closely by all those who are thinking about, or participating in, graduate studies in English at Oklahoma State University. Free copies are available free to all incoming graduate students at 202 Whitehurst.

Adviser and Advisory Committee

All graduate students select an individual adviser and an advisory committee to guide them in completing their degrees.

Adviser. Students should choose an adviser by the end of their first semester of course work, but if this is not possible, students should select an adviser by the end of their first year of graduate study. The adviser may be any associate or full member of the English Department graduate faculty who specializes in TESL. At the Tulsa campus, the coordinator of the TESL program at OSU-Tulsa normally serves as the adviser.

Advisory Committee. The advisory committee will normally consist of the student's major adviser as committee chair and at least two associate or full members of the English Department's graduate faculty.

Changes. To change an adviser or advisory committee, a student must request the change in writing to the English Graduate Director and provide reasons for the change. The Graduate Director will forward the request to the Graduate College for final approval.

Plan of Study

MA students must file a Plan of Study with the Graduate College before completing the 17th hour of graduate credit.

Planning Meeting. No later than the second full semester of enrollment and prior to enrolling for the third semester, students should schedule a meeting with their advisory committee. (This meeting may be conducted by conference call for Tulsa students.) During that meeting, the student and advisory committee will discuss the student's preparation, professional goals, and plans for graduate study. The student and committee should agree upon a Plan of Study, the foreign language requirement, and tentative plans for the MA Qualifying Exam as well as the thesis or creative component.

Submitting the Plan of Study. Students may download a Plan of Study form from the Graduate College web site. The form also appears in the Appendix to the English Graduate Guidelines. Soon after the planning meeting, the student should complete the form and submit it to the English Graduate Office. The Unit Assistant will prepare a final copy of this form and return it to the student, who will then obtain signatures from all members of the advisory committee. The student returns the signed form to the English Graduate Office for the Department Head's signature. The Graduate Office returns it to the student, who then delivers the completed and signed form to 202 Whitehurst. Students should make a copy of this document for themselves.

Creative Component. The course used as a creative component must be designated with an asterisk on the Plan of Study.

Changes. Changes to the Plan of Study can be made with the approval of the advisory committee and initialed by the adviser. A final, updated Plan of Study must be filed at the beginning of the semester in which the degree is to be conferred.

Ten-Year Rule. A final Plan of Study may not include any course more than ten years old at the time of actual graduation.

Checklist for Submitting a Plan of Study

• Minimum of 30 hours for thesis option, or 34 hours for non-thesis option, beyond baccalaureate degree
• At least 21 hours of course work at the 5000 or 6000 level at OSU
• Minimum of 16 hours in English
• No more than 9 hours of course work taken as special student or transferred from another institution
• All courses, including 4000 level, must be taken for graduate credit
• No course work may be used to complete requirements for another degree
• The Plan of Study must be signed by the adviser, committee members, and the Department Head

Course Requirements

The MA in English with an option in TESL offers two course requirement options: thesis and nonthesis. The following requirements govern these options.

Thesis Option: Students take 30 semester hours, including six credit hours of thesis.

Nonthesis Option: Students take 34 semester hours, including a one-credit-hour independent study course. They write a creative component, an article-length paper or research project, as part of this course.

Required Courses. Regardless of whether they opt for the thesis or non-thesis approach, TESL students are expected to complete 18 semester hours of required course work and to fulfill total hour requirements from among the elective courses available. The proposed program of work is planned in consultation with the student's advisory committee.

Required Courses (18 hours)

Creative Component or Thesis

Sample Electives

Courses other than those listed may be taken as electives if approved by the advisory committee.

Methods Course for Teaching Assistants. Teaching assistants must take an appropriate methodology course or courses in their first semester of teaching at Oklahoma State University. These hours may be counted as part of the total hours of course work.

Required Hours at 5000/6000 Level. All MA students must complete at least 21 hours of course work at the 5000/6000 level; this 21 hours of course work may include six hours of credit for work on the thesis.

4000-Level Courses. All graduate course work should include a research paper or other appropriate project. In the instance of a 4000-level course that may not require such a paper or project, the student should, with the consent of the instructor involved, arrange for such a paper or project to supplement the assigned work. The Department strongly suggests that all graduate courses be at the 5000/6000 level.

Transfer Hours. Students may transfer up to nine graduate hours from another university granting a Master's degree in English. A student's advisory committee shall determine the number of hours of transfer credit to be awarded. If a student uses the hours for a degree at the previous institution, the hours are not applicable to the MA degree at OSU.

Independent Study. Independent Study courses may be occasionally arranged with an instructor when no regular graduate course on the desired topic is available during the student's expected tenure. Each of the two course numbers (5210 and 6210) may be used for up to six hours credit per semester, and no more than nine hours total per course number. All students requesting an Independent Study course must hold a meeting with their advisory committee and receive approval by the members of the committee. Special forms must be used by those who wish to enroll in such courses. Available from the English Graduate Office, these forms must be submitted no later than the end of the first week of graduate enrollment prior to the semester in which the independent study class is taken. A student who has completed the 17 th graduate credit hour in a degree program but who does not have an approved plan of study on file in the Graduate College may not arrange an Independent Study course.

End-of-Semester Evaluations. All graduate students will be evaluated in writing at the end of each semester by the professors with whom they have taken courses. These evaluations are kept on file in the Graduate Office and are available for students to read.

Grade of "Incomplete." The following regulations apply to students who receive the grade of "Incomplete" ("I") for any of their course work within the English Department:

• Students must make up the “I” within one calendar year, after which time, in accordance with University policy, the grade of “I” may not be changed. Individual faculty members, however, may establish a shorter time limit for making up the “I.” This shorter time period should be indicated on the back of the grade sheet along with the requirements for making up the incomplete.
• Teaching assistants or associates having more than three "I's" on their records will not be recommended for reappointment.
• Teaching assistants or associates having any "I's" on their records will not be recommended for summer employment.

The following appears in the current OSU Catalog: "This grade [I] is given to a student who satisfactorily completed the majority of the course work and whose work averaged “D” or better, but who has been unavoidably prevented from completing the remaining work of the course. The conditions, including appropriate time limits, for the removal of the “I” are indicated on the official class roll by the instructor. A condition that the student must repeat the course in order to remove the “I” is not permitted. The maximum time allowed for a student to remove an “I” is one calendar year. The dean of the student's college may recommend to the Office of the Registrar the adjustment of this period in exceptional circumstances. It is the responsibility of the student to satisfy the requirements stipulated by the instructor at the time the “I” is assigned; it is the responsibility of the instructor to initiate action to have the new grade entered as soon as possible after the student fulfills the requirement. The new grade does not result in the deletion of the “I” symbol from the transcript. Upon completion of the course requirements, a second entry is posted beside the original “I” on the transcript to show the final grade for the course. The incomplete grade which is not removed within the allotted period becomes a permanent incomplete."

Foreign Language Requirement

TESL students must complete six credit hours of course work in a foreign language with grades of "B" or better. Students who have not met this requirement at the time of admission must complete two semesters of foreign language course work, receiving grades of "B" or better, prior to taking the MA Qualifying Exam. Non-native speakers of English are exempt from this requirement but may be required to take an advanced-level ESL course, depending on the results of the University's Test of English Language Proficiency for international students.

MA Qualifying Examination in TESL

MA students in TESL take one five-hour qualifying examination that is administered on a single day. It is given each September and February on the fourth Saturday of the semester. Students must submit a signed notice of intent to take the examination by the end of the first week of classes and must take the exams on the Stillwater campus. No exams are offered during the summer.

Prerequisites. In order to take the exam, students must

• have fulfilled the foreign language requirement.
• have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on all graduate work taken beyond the baccalaureate degree. Grades received for courses used to satisfy the foreign language requirement are not included in computing the minimum grade point average. All courses carrying graduate credit, including transfer hours on the approved Plan of Study, will be calculated in this grade point average.
• have an approved Plan of Study on file with the Graduate College and with the English Department Graduate Office.
• submit an "Intent to Take Qualifying Examinations" form to the English Department Graduate office three weeks before the examinations begin.

Exam Areas. The MA Qualifying Exam in TESL contains two questions in each of the following five areas.

• Second Language Acquisition
• Pedagogy
• Applied Linguistics
• Grammar
• ESL Testing

Students must respond to one question in each of the five areas.

Copies of past exams and reading lists covering the five areas are available from the English Graduate Office.

Evaluation. Each question will be evaluated by three readers from the specific subject area covered by that section of the exam. Student anonymity will be maintained. If a student answers two questions in a single area, the readers in that area will evaluate each question separately. All readers evaluate exam questions individually before meeting as a committee to discuss student performances and provide a rating of "Pass with Distinction," "Pass," "Pass/Terminal MA," or "Fail" for each question. To be eligible for the MA in English with an option in TESL, students must pass all five areas.

Notification of Results. The Graduate Director will notify students of the results of their exams no later than five weeks after they were taken. The Graduate Office will mail the results to the student's home address with a copy sent to the student's adviser.

Retakes. Students may take the exams only twice. Students who fail one or more questions will retake only the areas that they failed.

Appeals. Normally, a second failure on any TESL exam will result in termination of the student's work toward the degree. However, when course work has been of exceptionally high quality, a student may, after a second failure, petition the Graduate Studies Committee for permission to take the exam a third and final time. In order to petition, the student must have a grade point average of 3.50 or higher in graduate courses taken at OSU. In addition, the student's petition must be supported by favorable end-of-semester evaluations from at least three professors.

Thesis (optional)

Should the student choose to write a thesis, the thesis is expected to be a substantial research project on a topic related to teaching English as a second language, bilingual education, second language acquisition, second language testing or applied linguistics; it may be based on experimental research, may deal with a theoretical problem, or may have a pedagogical thrust. The thesis director should be a member of the TESL graduate faculty of the Department of English.

Thesis Committee. Unless a student requests a change, the advisory committee serves as the thesis committee. Once constituted, a thesis committee may not be changed except for serious reasons stated in writing to the Graduate Director and then approved by the Graduate College.

Prospectus. MA candidates writing a thesis should submit a prospectus (approximately 1000 words) no later than the beginning of the first semester they register for thesis hours. The prospectus must be approved by the candidate's committee. Committee members must be notified in writing if an approved prospectus differs significantly from the submitted thesis (if, for example, the topic of the thesis changes, the authors or texts to be treated are altered, or the number or character of the chapters changes). Students must provide a copy of the approved prospectus to the English Department Graduate Director.

Reading Procedure. At the time that the prospectus is approved, the candidate and the committee members should agree upon the reading procedure for the individual chapters. Matters to be discussed in reaching this agreement might include which chapters each member of the committee needs to see as they are completed by the candidate; whether individual committee members wish to see the chapters serially or all at once; and how much time committee members will need to finish reading a chapter or the entire thesis. Under no circumstances should a completed thesisbe submitted to any committee member for reading less than two weeks before the defense.

Deadlines. Students submitting theses must adhere to deadlines established by the Graduate College and by the Department of English.

Style. The student must write the thesis according to the guidelines in the current Graduate College Style Manual. The Style Manual is available from the Graduate College or at http://www.osu-ours.okstate.edu/gradcoll/download/. A Graduate College staff member will be available for advice on formatting for binding and microfilming. In addition, students should follow the guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Defense Copy (Final Draft). The defense copy of the thesis that is defended should contain all of the chapters in a completed form and full documentation.

Thesis Defense (optional)

A thesis defense will consist of a public, oral examination by the thesis committee. It will be no less than 45 minutes, but in many instances, it will be longer. The thesis defense occurs after the student has submitted a complete draft of the thesis to all committee members.

Intent to Defend Form. Candidates will file a nonbinding Intent to Defend form with the Graduate Director within the first two weeks of the semester in which they expect to defend the thesis. Each member of the committee will sign this form before it is filed with the Graduate Director. If a student does not defend in the semester when the Intent to Defend form is filed, he or she should resubmit the form when he or she is prepared to defend.

Scheduling of Oral Defense. Under no circumstances should a completed thesisbe submitted to any committee member for reading less than two weeks before the defense. The English Graduate Office must be notified one week before the oral defense of the day and time of the defense, and the title of the thesis. No thesis defense will be held during the summer.

Student Tenure

Students must complete all requirements within seven years from their first enrollment in classes for the MA program.

Length of Financial Support For Teaching Assistants

A teaching assistant who has not been placed on strict academic probation and who is making satisfactory progress toward the degree is eligible for financial support for a maximum of three years. A student who obtains an MA in English at OSU and then enters the PhD program is eligible for an additional four years of support.

If exceptional circumstances warrant, a student in the final year of financial support may petition the Head of the English Department for an additional year's support. Such exceptional cases will be judged on an individual basis and in light of Departmental policies and staffing needs.

Ineligibility for the MA Degree

The Graduate Director may upon proper cause declare that a student is ineligible for a degree from the English Department at Oklahoma State University. Upon determining that such cause exists, the Graduate Director will immediately notify the student's adviser, who will discuss the matter with the student and respond to the Graduate Director within fifteen working days. Should the Graduate Director still believe that proper cause exists, he or she will write a letter to the student indicating the reasons for the decision. The student may then appeal to the Graduate Studies Committee within ten working days for a hearing.

The Graduate Studies Committee will review the appeal and report its findings to the Graduate Director, who will notify the student. The student may then appeal that decision to the full Graduate Faculty of the English Department. The decision of that group shall end Departmental appeals.

Appeals and Petitions

All appeals involving grades or charges of academic dishonesty or misconduct must be directed to the OSU Academic Appeals Board. Contact the Executive Vice President's office (101 Whitehurst) for information and forms.

Petitions involving teaching assistantships must be directed to the Department Head.

All other petitions or appeals must be directed in writing to the Graduate Director, who will then forward the petition to the appropriate body, usually one of the following: the Graduate Studies Committee (for special requests as described within the English Graduate Guidelines), the English Graduate Faculty (for exceptions to English Department policy), or the Graduate Faculty Council (for exceptions to OSU policy). Students are urged to discuss matters with their advisers and with the Graduate Director before making a formal petition or appeal.

If the Graduate Director does not act upon the student's written request within a reasonable amount of time, the student and/or adviser may appeal directly to the Department Head. If a student has exhausted all appeals procedures within the Department and is still not able to resolve the problem, he or she may appeal to the Graduate College.

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu

Summary Checklist
Teacher Certification Disclaimer
Graduate College Rules and Regulations
Adviser and Advisory Committee
Plan of Study
Course Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement
MA Qualifying Examination in TESL
Thesis (optional)
Thesis Defense (optional)
Student Tenure
Length of Financial Support For Teaching Assistants
Ineligibility for the MA Degree
Appeals and Petitions
MA Reading Lists