Postgraduate Masters Master of Arts Comprehensive

MA English Language

College of Distance Education 1 year Sandwich

How to Apply

Getting In

The Programme

The People

Programme Details

Post First Degree Entry

Level 800

About This Programme

The Master of Arts in English Language is a Sandwich-mode graduate programme of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts. It produces graduates with the knowledge and skills to teach the English language or to address effectively the communicative needs of corporate institutions.

The programme runs over two semesters and carries a minimum credit load of thirty (30) credits. Each semester combines three core courses with at least two electives. The first-semester core is Phonology, Grammar and Research Methods; the second-semester core is Semantics and Pragmatics, Data Analysis, and Teaching English as a Second Language. The electives span register studies, literary stylistics, English for specific purposes, corpus linguistics, English in forensic contexts, language and literacies, sociolinguistics, studies in the New Englishes, discourse studies, language, identity and ideology, English grammar and discourse, diachronic studies of English, and artificial intelligence in English studies.

Courses are delivered through a combination of online and face-to-face lectures and seminar presentations. This revision of the programme introduces Diachronic Studies of English and Artificial Intelligence in English Studies as new courses.

Programme Aim

Aim(s)

To produce graduates with knowledge and skills to teach the English Language or effectively address the communicative needs of corporate institutions.

Programme Objectives

Objective(s)

Guide students to analyse the structure of the English language and discourses produced in various contexts of language use.

The Department of English evolved from the Department of Arts, which was one of the three departments of the then University College of Cape Coast. The department has continued to innovate and expand its programmes at the postgraduate level to meet both national and global needs in a fast-changing world.

The current MA (English Language) programme was introduced in the 2011/2012 academic year, as part of redesigning the MA/MPhil (English) programme which was previously run in the Department during the regular semesters. The redesigned MA (English Language) programme became restricted to the Sandwich Semester as part of a general regulation by the School of Graduate Studies, UCC, to run MA programmes on Sandwich mode only. The MPhil (English) component was also redesigned as MPhil (English Language) and has continued to run in the regular semesters. In 2017 the Department was given approval to also run a Top-Up MPhil programme for MA graduates who desired to enrol in the MPhil programmes. Another development since 2011 is that the School of Graduate Studies has introduced a Step-Up, Step-Down Policy, where students admitted into MPhil programmes could upgrade to the PhD level or be downgraded to the MA level, depending on their performance in the course work.

Under these developments the Department has produced many graduates for different sectors of the economy, both locally and internationally, including education, law and governance, security and the business professions. These graduates have been in high demand in the education sector, providing evidence that the programme has high employability prospects. Intake for the programme has also risen considerably over the years. This revised programme incorporates perspectives in diachronic linguistics and the new demands of Artificial Intelligence in language studies.

Entry Requirements

A first degree with at least Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in English or a related discipline such as Ghanaian Language, Linguistics, Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language, Communication Studies, Translation Studies, or an Education Studies discipline with courses in at least Grammar, Phonology, and Semantics or Pragmatics.
Applicants with a Third Class degree in English and at least two years working experience after graduation may be considered for admission after passing an interview and/or a written examination.

Grade	Numerical Value
A1	1
B2	2
B3	3
C4	4
C5	5
C6	6

Grade	Numerical Value
A	1
B	2
C	3
D	4

Code	Title	Credits
ENG801S	English Phonology	3
ENG802S	Grammar	3
ENG818S	Research Methods	3
ENG808S	Register Studies	3
ENG812S	Literary Stylistics	3
ENG814S	English for Specific Purposes	3
ENG817S	Corpus Linguistics	3
ENG819S	English in Forensic Contexts	3
ENG828S	Language and Literacies	3
Total credit hours	27

Code	Title	Credits
ENG826S	Semantics and Pragmatics	3
ENG869S	Data Analysis	3
ENG815S	Teaching English as a Second Language	3
ENG804S	Sociolinguistics	3
ENG805S	Studies in the New Englishes	3
ENG806S	Discourse Studies	3
ENG809S	Literary Perspective on Autobiography	3
ENG816S	English Grammar and Discourse	3
ENG822S	Diachronic Studies in English	3
ENG823S	Contemporary Ghanaian Literature	3
ENG828S	Language and Literacies	3
Total credit hours	33

Code	Title	Credits
ENG801S	English Phonology	3
ENG802S	Grammar	3
ENG818S	Research Methods	3
ENG826S	Semantics and Pragmatics	3
ENG869S	Data Analysis	3
ENG815S	Teaching English as a Second Language	3
Total credit hours	18

Code	Title	Credits
ENG808S	Register Studies	3
ENG812S	Literary Stylistics	3
ENG814S	English for Specific Purposes	3
ENG817S	Corpus Linguistics	3
ENG819S	English in Forensic Contexts	3
ENG828S	Language and Literacies	3
ENG804S	Sociolinguistics	3
ENG805S	Studies in the New Englishes	3
ENG806S	Discourse Studies	3
ENG809S	Literary Perspective on Autobiography	3
ENG816S	English Grammar and Discourse	3
ENG822S	Diachronic Studies in English	3
ENG823S	Contemporary Ghanaian Literature	3
Total credit hours	39

Graduation Requirements

Course Requirements: A candidate for the BCom (Accounting) degree must pass all courses taken, meet Inter-Faculty course requirements.
Credit Requirements: A candidate must accumulate a minimum of 140 credits (including Advance Credits).
Additional Requirements: The candidate must attain a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.0. In addition, the candidate must have settled financial and other obligations to the university.