Co-Term Master's Program

Overview

Each year, Stanford undergraduates who are exceptionally well prepared in literature and at least one foreign language and whose undergraduate course work includes a strong interdisciplinary component, may petition to be admitted to the Program for coterminal M.A. degree. Admission to this program is granted only on condition that in the course of working on their Master's degrees, students do not apply to enter the Ph.D. program in Modern Thought and Literature.

This program is open to active Stanford undergraduate students only.  Modern Thought and Literature does not admit students into the University for the purposes of pursuing a Master of Arts degree.

 

Admission

To apply to enter the Co-Term M.A. Program in the fall of 2010, applicants must submit the following documents to the Program Director by February 15 each year, or the first workday following, should the 15th fall on a weekend or holiday:

  • An unofficial grade transcript from Axess.
  • A Petition for Admission to the Coterminal Program from the Registrar's Office.
  • A statement giving the reasons the student wishes to pursue this program and its place in his or her future plans. This statement should pay highlight the reasons why the student could not pursue the studies he/she desires in some other way.
  • A plan of study listing, quarter by quarter, each course by name, units, and instructor, to be taken in order to fulfill the requirements for the degree for a total of 45 units, including at least 20 units of advanced work in one literature, and at least 20 units in a coherent interdisciplinary program of courses taken in non-literature departments.
  • A writing sample of critical or analytical prose. Two letters of recommendation from members of the faculty who know the applicant well and can speak directly to the question of his or her ability to do graduate-level work.

For University coterminal degree program rules and University application forms, see http://registrar.stanford.edu/shared/publications.htm#Coterm.

 

Requirements

The candidate for the M.A. must complete at least 45 units of graduate work, to be divided in the following manner:

  1. One of the two introductory seminars, MTL 334A, Concepts of Modernity 1, or 334B, Concepts of Modernity 2, 5 units.
  2. At least 20 units of advanced course work in literature, to be approved by the director.
  3. At least 20 units of course work in a coherent and individually arranged interdisciplinary program, to be approved by the director.
  4. By the end of the course of study, each candidate must also demonstrate a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language.