English

Master of Arts (MA)



Meet Mariana Chajon Oliveros, MA candidate in English

“The faculty is extremely successful in their field and I can tell that they want us to be just as successful.”

Why did you come to Western for your graduate degree?
I had the privilege of being offered a SSHRC CGS-M to come study at Western, so the decision was a no-brainer. However, many factors worked in as an added bonus: the MA in English is a one-year program, all students have a guaranteed TAship, and we also have free public transport and gym.

What are you most passionate about?
Most definitely books. Used books, new books, pretty books, books from the 1800s, from the 1900s, books that came out today, great books, terrible books... etc.

Describe your research.
My Independent Research Project examines gender dynamics, specifically within marital relations and the character trope of the Tecuna, in Miguel Ángel Asturias’ novel, Men of Maize (1949). I approach the topic through postcolonial theory and gender theory.

What’s the best advice you could give to someone considering applying to your graduate program?
I would encourage anyone applying to grad school or starting grad school to seize every possible opportunity (within reasonable bounds). I have benefitted so much from just putting myself out there, even as an undergrad. The experience I’ve gotten from taking on different projects has gotten me to where I am today.

Have you worked as a TA or RA?
I worked as a TA for the department’s Introduction to Film course. I am very grateful for this first post-secondary teaching experience, since it helped me understand my teaching style, but also immersed me in the context of university teaching.

Program Websites


Program Contact

Leanne Trask (genglish@uwo.ca)
Graduate Affairs Assistant

Department of English

Western University
University College 2401
London, Ontario N6A 3K7

t. 519-661-2111 ext. 85793
f. 519-661-3776

The Department's graduate program ranks as one of the strongest and most diversified graduate programs in Canada. Its central attraction is the Department's distinguished faculty and its considerable accomplishments in all areas of criticism and scholarship. The faculty's range of expertise provides the advantages of traditional scholarship and an array of historical approaches to the major literary periods and genres, as well as diverse theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives that include discourse analysis, cultural studies, postcolonial literature and theory, feminist and gender studies, gay studies and theories of masculinity, ecological criticism, film, hypertext, theories of race, and the intersection between literature and the discourses of science, medicine, music, art, and law.

Program Length

  • 3 Terms

Program Design

  • Full-time study
  • Course-based or project-based

Funding Information

Applicants are encouraged to apply for the following scholarships (if eligible):

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fee schedules (per term) are posted on the Office of the Registrar's website at http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/fees_refunds/fee_schedules.html

Graduate Student Affordability Calculator

Use this helpful tool to estimate how much money you will need to pay for your tuition, fees, housing, food, and other necessities for a 12-month (three term) academic year.

Admission Requirements

  • Honours B.A. in English or in English combined with another subject.
  • Achieved at least an A minus average in the Honours English courses of their B.A. program.

English Language Proficiency

Applicants whose first language is not English must furnish evidence of their proficiency in the use of the English language:

Application Deadline

  • January 15

Fields of Research

  • American Literature
  • Canadian Literature
  • Cultural Studies
  • Indigenous Literature and Literary Criticism/Theory
  • Literary Criticism and Theory
  • Nineteenth-Century British Literature
  • Old and Middle English Language and Literature
  • Postcolonial Literature
  • Renaissance (Includes separate Qualifying examinations in English Drama to the Restoration and Renaissance Non-Dramatic Literature)
  • Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature
  • Textual Studies
  • Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
  • Women’s Literature and Gender Studies