Good Results

Skills learned in the English Studies courses enabled teacher Lori Sommars to better help her students.
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For Graduate Students

Information Session

Join us on January 15 to learn about graduate programs at Elmhurst and find out how a master's degree can advance your career.

This innovative master's program is ideal for teachers who wish to further develop their skills in the teaching of English; it also is designed for professionals in fields that specialize in the written word such as library science and public affairs. In this program, you’ll deepen your knowledge of literature by reading and critically assessing a variety of written texts. You also will increase your understanding of rhetoric and writing theory and its application to teaching and the workplace.

Teachers in our program develop knowledge in all of the areas they teach. And you won’t separate what you are learning from how to practice it; pedagogy is incorporated into every course. Similarly, every course addresses the ways in which technology advances academic research and classroom practice.

This is an 8-course, 32-hour program, with three courses in literature, three in writing and a two-semester capstone. You’ll examine the theory of contemporary literary and composition studies, and explore the ways in which you can apply theory to the classroom. You’ll deepen your knowledge of literary study, explore challenges in the practice and teaching of writing, and examine the literature of cultural diversity. You’ll select research topics that reflect your own interests in and concerns about the study and teaching of English, and you’ll conduct independent scholarly research. 

Our program respects the realities of the teacher’s life: we offer a flexible course format, and all courses are taught at night.