Graduate Program Degree Requirements

ESL M.A. Requirements

The M.A. program in ESL normally takes at least two years to complete. Usually 20 to 25 graduate students are in the program at any given time. The Graduate School's Plan A option requires a thesis demonstrating original work in areas related to the field, familiarity with research methodology, and knowledge of how to effectively present results of an investigative study. The Plan B option usually requires two qualifying  papers where a single Plan B paper consists of a course paper which has been rewritten under the supervision of a faculty member. A teaching portfolio may be substituted for one of the Plan B papers. The decision regarding whether to follow the Plan A or Plan B option is made in consultation with a faculty advisor. The same standards of excellence are applied to both Plan A and Plan B versions of this M.A. program.

Credit Distribution for the M.A. in ESL

28 major + 9 elective = 37 (Plan B)
28 major + 6 elective + 10 thesis = 44 (Plan A)

The Graduate School at the University of Minnesota requires a minimum of 30 credits for a Master of Arts for which ESL offers two options, Plan A and Plan B. For both options students must complete 28 credits in required coursework listed below and 6 credits of elective coursework in related fields, totaling 34 credits. Plan B students must complete an additional 3 credits in elective coursework for a total of 37 semester credits; Plan A students must complete an additional 10 thesis credits for a total of 44 credits. Elective and related field courses are selected with the guidance of an advisor to ensure the relevance of courses to students' goals. A list of some possible elective courses (updated annually) is available from Professor Anne Lazaraton.

Students must fulfill a language requirement before being awarded the M.A.-ESL degree. Proficiency in a language not native to the student, as demonstrated by exam, such as the Language Proficiency Test (LPT), is required upon completion of the program. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that all holders of the degree know from their own experience what it is like to learn a language in a classroom at more than a beginning level. It is felt that this experience will help ESL teachers to understand what their own students are going through in learning English in a formal setting.

Each candidate for the degree must pass a final oral examination.