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Postgraduate Masters Master of Philosophy Comprehensive

MPhil English Language

Department of English 1 year – 2 years Regular Sandwich
How to Apply

About This Programme

The Master of Philosophy in English Language is a regular-mode graduate programme of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts. It trains prospective faculty for the University and for other tertiary institutions, and produces researchers able to publish in English Studies.

The programme runs over two years. The first year is taught: each semester combines three core courses with at least two electives, for fifteen (15) credits a semester. The first-semester core is Phonology, Grammar and Research Methods; the second-semester core is Semantics, Data Analysis, and Teaching English as a Second Language. The electives span genre 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.

The second year is the research year, made up of Seminar I and Seminar II and a twelve-credit Thesis carried in both semesters. A student who successfully completes the first year with at least a CGPA of 2.0 may apply to step down for an MA.

Although the programme is in the regular mode, lecturers have since COVID-19 been allowed to deliver in a blended mode comprising both online and face-to-face sessions. 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 who can teach the English Language in higher education institutions and conduct publishable research in English Studies to contribute to knowledge and communicative practices.

Programme Objectives

Objective(s)

Critically analyse English language use in various contexts using appropriate tools in the language sciences.

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. Following the transition of the university college into an autonomous degree awarding institution, the department introduced an MPhil (English) programme to train prospective faculty both for the department and for other educational institutions in Ghana. The MPhil (English) programme comprised two streams, namely English Language and Literature-in-English. Since 2012, however, each stream has been developed into a separate programme.

In July 2021 the MPhil in English Language was re-accredited by G-TEC. A notable innovation following suggestions from the G-TEC assessment panel was the addition of courses related to English Language pedagogy, since many of the target applicants to the programme were essentially English Language teachers. The revised programme also added courses related to English for Specific Purposes to expand the professional reach of the programme and increase the employability of graduates in sectors other than education.

The programme has produced many graduates for different sectors of the economy, both locally and internationally, including education, law and governance, security and the business professions. 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.

Graduation Requirements

  1. Course Requirements: A candidate for the BCom (Accounting) degree must pass all courses taken, meet Inter-Faculty course requirements.
  2. Credit Requirements: A candidate must accumulate a minimum of 140 credits (including Advance Credits).
  3. 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.

Employment Prospects of Graduates

Graduates of the programme have been employed in the following sectors:

  1. Secondary and higher education institutions.
  2. The media industry.
  3. Corporate institutions such as telecommunications and insurance companies.
1 year – 2 years

Depending on entry pathway

Post First Degree Entry

2 years

Level 800

MBA/MSC/MPHIL/MED/MA/MN/etc Entry

1 year

Level 800

Related Programmes

BA Arts

Bachelor of Arts

MA English Language

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MA Literature in English

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MPhil Literature in English

Master of Philosophy

PhD English Language

Doctor of Philosophy

PhD Literature in English

Doctor of Philosophy