Some people are born to play with code and go on to earn advanced IT degrees. Others love playing with words and feeding their endless appetite for learning. If you fall into the second category and see a masters in your future, SNHUs online Master of Arts (MA) in English may be your degree. Aside from the personal goals a master's in English might fulfill, its focus on enduring skills will appeal to potential employers. The degree expands analytical, creative thinking, and communication skills, all highly valued and highly versatile in the workplace. The same skill set, for example, can be applied to complicated administrative or operational challenges. It comes down to those analytical and communication skills, as they immediately translate in an employer's mind to transferable, applicable skills, according to author and Forbes contributor Martin John Yate. A groundbreaking 2019 study by the Strada Institute for the Future of Work backs this up. The study notes that human skills are in high demand across many industries.

What are human skills and which matter most? The Strada report lists the top skills, in this order:

- Leadership

- Collaboration

- Creativity and critical thinking

- Communication

- Emotional intelligence

- Judgment

- Ethics

- Cognitive flexibility

"Human skills are the very capabilities that define us as human beings, the Strada report goes on to explain. They're also those least likely to become automated by robots vital human skills that this master in English only enhances. A master's in English builds on the very skills a bachelor introduces. A master's provides the same transferable core skills of critical thinking, research, analysis, reading comprehension, empathy, and others, said SNHU Associate Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. Christopher Lee. Graduate students learn those skills at a higher level of qualification for higher-level positions," said Lee. Whether you work or aspire to work, in education, marketing, human resources, public policy, or any number of other fields where problem-solving skills are in high demand, an MA in English goes well beyond reading the works of famous authors and analyzing layers of meaning. It can help you master critical thinking, enrich your subject matter expertise and multiply your earning potential."

Learn how to:

- Use theoretical arguments in an original interpretation of literary texts

- Demonstrate expertise in a literary subject

- Draw connections between literature and social/cultural history

- Compose essays of depth that contribute to the field of study

- Produce scholarship that promotes an appreciation for literature

The online master in English curriculum is designed to strengthen your skills in the critical analysis of literature and provide a broad understanding of literary traditions. Our courses are taught by highly credentialed and accomplished instructors with deep insights into the field and a passion for literary pursuits. The program provides a strong, in-depth foundation in British and American literary works.

Traditional and nontraditional course topics include:

- Graduate Studies in Victorian Literature: Nineteenth-century Britain brought industrialization, empire-building, new discoveries, and social revolution. This course explores the social, political, and intellectual changes reflected in the literature of the Victorian period. Featured authors include Tennyson, the Brownings, Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Wilde.

- Graduate Studies in Shakespeare: Study selected Shakespearian comedies, tragedies, and history plays, as well as the Elizabethan era in which Shakespeare lived.

- Graduate Studies in the American Renaissance: Examine literature from the early 1800s to the end of the Civil War in 1865. During this period, American literature developed a home-grown Romanticism influenced by European intellectual and aesthetic movements. Featured authors include Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Douglass, Dickinson, and Whitman.

- American Modernism: Explore important aspects of literary modernism in the context of American history, social, technological, intellectual, and political experience from the end of World War I to the 1950s. Study fiction, poetry, and critical essays by major American authors and poets of the period.

- Graduate Studies in Postcolonial Encounters: This course focuses on the interdisciplinary aspects of literature silenced by the colonial powers, voices known as subalterns. Students delve into notions of power and powerlessness, margin and periphery, first and third world, nationality, race, identity, and globalization.

- The Black Literary Tradition: An overview of African-American literature, with glimpses into African and Caribbean literature. Literary genres include slave narratives, poetry, short stories, novels, and plays. Featured authors may include Booker T. Washington, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Chinua Achebe, and Toni Morrison.

Yvonne Pierre 17 said, "the knowledge gained from her MA in English courses has been invaluable to her. I'm not only stronger as a storyteller; I know who I am as a writer, she said. I couldn't define that before I started."

Danielle Kaheaku '17 credits her education at SNHU with giving her a new set of tools to pass on to her own students. It also made her more aware of the nuances of thematic elements and devices in literature. Literary Theory was both Kaheaku's favorite and most challenging course. "I realized that some of the theories were methods I was already using in my writing but had never before put labels on to organize my writing process, and then everything fell into place, she said. Your online master's degree in English culminates in a capstone course. Students satisfy this requirement by completing a thesis, submitting a portfolio, or passing an examination on English and American Literature. "

"By far the best experience I had at SNHU was in my MA in English capstone course," said Carolyn Jameson '21. "My professor was amazing, informative, and made the entire process of completing my graduate thesis less intimidating by breaking it down into smaller, achievable steps."

Beyond her instructor, Jameson leaned on the support of peers and mentors. "I was grouped with classmates writing about a topic similar enough to mine that we were able to bounce ideas off one another, provide very valuable feedback, and encourage one another in the process," she said. "There were mentors available to us, as well; these were former students of my professor, and they were such an incredible resource in the writing process."

With a network behind her, Jameson felt empowered to reach the finish line. "I felt completely supported in this journey, and not once did I feel as though I was unsure of what needed to be done. It was hands down the greatest experience I have had as a student," she said.

Expanding access to quality higher education means removing the barriers that may stand between you and your degree. That's why you can apply at any time and get a decision within days of submitting all required materials:

- Completed Application

- Undergraduate transcripts, which we can retrieve for you by submitting a Transcript Request Form Acceptance decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year for our 5 graduate terms.

$150 Graduation Fee, Course Materials ($ varies by course)