Prospective Graduate Students
Why Choose APSU to complete your MA degree?
Diverse Curriculum Options
Our course work provides three different options: a traditional MA in English and American literature, an MA with a concentration in Creative Writing, and an MA with a concentration in Linguistics. These different options help students tailor their courses to meet their interests and future career paths. Each of these paths can also be completed with or without a thesis, again an option that allows prospective students to tailor their graduate program to their interests and future career paths. Our course work also includes opportunities for internships in creative and professional writing fields.
Engaged and Engaging Faculty
Our faculty work one-on-one with graduate students to pursue their research and help them professionalize. Faculty partner with graduate students and offer mentoring and guidance in preparing seminar papers for conference presentations. Graduate students regularly attend the locally hosted Tennessee Philological Association Conference to participate in conference attendance and as presenters. Faculty also actively encourage students to participate in graduate-student friendly conferences such as the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference and the Sigma Tau Delta Conference. Dr. Andrea Spofford is the sponsor for our local chapter.
Tutoring, Teaching, Editing, & Administrative Opportunities
Graduate students who apply for and earn a GTA position with us can work in the campus Writing Center as tutors and administrators, teach English 1010 Enhanced labs in partnership with a full-time faculty member who teaches the lecture portion of the course, and advanced students can teach their own section of English 1010 or English 1020, pending departmental need. Some GTAs have the opportunity to work on the department’s literary magazine Zone 3 or with one of the other centers on campus, such as the Women’s & Gender Studies Center.
Clarksville, TN
Our campus is located in a growing city that is roughly an hour outside of Nashville, TN. Clarksville is adjacent to the nearby military base in Ft. Campbell, KY, offers a variety of parks, nature walks, and civic events, while also boasting a relatively low cost of living. In 2019, Money magazine named Clarksville one of the best places to live particularly because of its local events and affordability.