Graduate Program: The Commuter's M.A. at UMaine
As
we offer the only M.A. in English in the state, we are
committed to helping citizens from around Maine who would
like to do graduate study but face difficulties of location.
A 30-credit degree at Orono certainly seems a daunting
prospect to one who lives in another corner of the state.
But there are several ways to reduce the number of credits
that must be completed on-campus during the regular academic
session:
Summer Session
Two to three graduate courses are offered in a typical summer. Students transferring the allowable maximum of six hours of graduate credit or 400-level courses may be able to complete the coursework for the thesis degree in as few as three summers and the non-thesis degree in four.
Transfer Credit
The Graduate School permits up to six credits of appropriate
graduate-level work at another institution to be applied toward
a master's degree at the University of Maine. This must be an
institution that offers graduate degrees, and the courses taken
must be considered graduate-level work at that institution. If
you are hoping to take credits elsewhere to apply toward a University
of Maine degree, please check in advance with the Graduate School
and the Department's Graduate Coordinator to assure that the
courses you have in mind will be approved.
Thesis Credit
Students writing theses normally devote six credits of their
program to the thesis. These credits are essentially a form of
independent study, in which the student may set his or her own
schedule for research visits to campus and consultations with
the thesis advisor. E-mail and expanding interlibrary loan services
have certainly made the "distance thesis" more convenient.
Distance Learning
Occasionally we have been able to offer graduate courses in
a distance-learning format at learning centers around the state,
or to offer summer courses at locations other than the Orono
campus. More information on distance learning through the Continuing
Education Division (CED) can be found here.
By combining these measures above, a student in a thesis program
could feasibly complete the 30-credit degree while taking only
15-18 credits (five or six courses) in regular classroom courses
at the Orono campus.
Furthermore, nearly all of our graduate courses during the regular
school year are scheduled in the evenings, Monday through Thursday,
and meet once a week. We admire the determination of our dedicated
commuters, who travel in all kinds of weather from as far away
as Topsham, Farmington, Deer Isle, Machias, or Caribou to take
these evening classes. Some commuting students also arrange to
spend one night a week in Orono and take classes on successive
evenings, using the day for library time.
Please contact the English Department's Graduate
Coordinator via email if you would like to talk about planning your strategy
for completing an M.A. as a commuting student. We're happy to
consult at any time.
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