Language and Literature

Are you a high school or community college teacher looking to boost your qualifications to teach dual credit courses in English language arts?

The Graduate Certificate in Language and Literature explores the core principles of writing and literature. You will learn to teach students to craft sound arguments using close attention to logic, context and audience. You will also develop a fluency with the current debates, schools and theories of writing instruction.

Specific areas of focus include:

  • Contemporary theory on the pedagogy of composition and literature
  • Linguistic structures and history of the English language
  • Reading strategies and literary analysis, with attention to close reading, style, form, genre, and rhetorical practices
  • Approaches to composition and writing instruction, including the identification and evaluation of sources, use of evidence, generation of ideas, and development and organization of argument
  • Fostering discussion and developing presentation skills in a seminar setting
  • Developing archival research skills and facility with electronic resources
  • Developments, trends, and frontiers in the digital humanities

The certificate requires five classes for a total of 20 credit hours.

The stand-alone Certificate in Language and Literature provides the requisite number of discipline-specific graduate credits for those who already hold a master’s degree. Students who need both the discipline-specific coursework and a master’s degree may take the additional English graduate classes required to earn a master’s in English.

Core Courses (16 credit hours)
DEPT./COURSETITLECREDIT HOURS
ENG-W 509Writing and Literacy Studies4
or
ENG-W 500Teaching Composition: Issues & Approaches4
ENG-W 503Teaching Literature in College4
ENG-D 600History of the English Language4
or
ENG-G 655History of the English Language4
ENG-W 600Topics in Rhetoric & Composition4
or
ENG-W 682Special Topics: Rhetoric & Composition4
or
ENG-W 508Creative Writing for Teachers4
or
ENG-W 554Practicum: Teaching of Creative Writing4
Elective Courses
DEPT./COURSETITLECREDIT HOURS
ENG-L500/600Any ENG-L or advisor-approved course4

To enroll in this program, you must either possess a BA in English (or related bachelor's degree in education with an English specialization, concentration, or outside area) or two years of secondary teaching experience in literature or composition classes.

NOTE: If you choose to pursue the IU Online MA in English, these certificate courses may apply to ("stack into") your degree requirements. Admission to the Graduate Certificate in Literature does not constitute admission into any the face-to-face graduate programs in English at the participating campuses.

Apply for admission online

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