Graduate Program: Master of Arts Specialization in Children's Literature

Admission deadline: December 15, 2011 for admission in Fall of 2012. There is no spring admission. Missed the application deadline? Start classes next semester through Open University.

There are only a handful of places in North America where one can pursue graduate study in Children's and Adolescent Literature. In fact, SDSU is the only university west of the Rocky Mountains where this course of study is possible. With more than a dozen faculty teaching in these areas, and with undergraduate and graduate enrollments in these classes reaching up to 1200 students a year, we believe that SDSU is the best place in the country to do advanced study in Children's and Adolescent Literature.

The "Graduate Specialization in Children's Literature" exists within the Master's Program of the Department of English and Comparative Literature; in other words, students earn a conventional M.A. in English and also do intensive work in Children's and Adolescent Literature. In general, students take 9 literature classes and, near the end of their studies, write a thesis or create a portfolio of relevant work. (For specifics, read the graduate program guidelines at the Department of English and Comparative Literature.) Typically, courses in the Specialization are offered once a week in the late afternoon or evening in order to accommodate working students.

It is important to understand that the Specialization in Children's Literature involves advanced courses in literary studies and literary criticism. Ours in not a program in writing for children; if your interest is in Creative Writing, you might consider the Department's Master's of Fine Arts program. It is also not a course of study in pedagogy or "methods"; this is not a program to prepare educators for work with children in schools, a subject taught in SDSU's graduate programs in the College of Education. Instead, the Specialization in Children's Literature involves advanced work in that genre and in a manner no different from specialized literary study in, for example, Women's Literature or British Literature. For more information, click on the links below.

• Requirements
• FAQ's
• Courses

How to Apply. Those interested in the Specialization in Children's Literature must apply to the Graduate School at SDSU and submit an application packet to the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Details about application materials and deadlines can be found at the websites for the Department of English and Comparative Literature and the Graduate School. Questions about admissions and applications to the M.A. program can be sent to the Director of the Graduate Program by emailing the English Department. Questions about the Specialization in Children's Literature, within the M.A. Program, can be sent to the Director (childLit@mail.sdsu.edu). Inquiries can also be made by mail:

Children's Literature Program
Dept. of English & Comp. Lit.
San Diego State University
San Diego, California 92182-6020 U.S.
Tel +619-594-5443; Fax: +619-594-4998

There are two ways to do advanced or graduate-student work in Children's and Adolescent Literature at San Diego State University (SDSU). The first is to enroll in the graduate program in English and specialize in Children's Literature; in this way, students earn the M.A. by completing 9 classes over a wide range of literary subjects (including 3 or more classes in the field of Children's Literature) and then writing a thesis or creating a portfolio. The other option is to take 4 graduate classes exclusively in the field of Children's Literature to earn the Graduate Certificate in Children's Literature.

Financial Support. The Department and the University have a modest number of scholarships to support graduate students; in addition, some graduate students work as graduate teaching assistants (teaching their own  lower-division classes or assisting faculty with their classes). In the coming months, we will be seeking funds and donors to offer fellowships to those especially pursuing graduate study in this specialization.