Department of English

The Writing Center Associates Program is a concentration within the English Department's MA degree, offering all graduate students interested in the teaching of writing the opportunity to give some focus to their graduate studies without sacrificing the breadth of inquiry that should rightly mark a Master's degree. The program is designed for educators at all levels, but especially those planning or already in careers in secondary and collegiate education. The program is directed by Dr. Norma Tilden and is connected to both the Georgetown University Writing Program and the University Writing Center. Those who wish to be considered for this program should specify their interest in the statement of purpose.

All Writing Center Associates enroll in the graduate seminar, Approaches to Teaching Writing; they are also encouraged to develop an oral examination project that incorporates some aspect of the theory and practice of writing. Associates have considerable freedom to choose their other courses and develop their MA thesis according to their individual needs and long-term plans. The department offers a range of seminars in literary history, cultural studies, and literary and cultural theory, and Department advisors work closely with students to develop a coherent program of studies suited to students' intellectual interests and professional goals.

Four Writing Center Associate Fellowships are available exclusively to students who concentrate in this program. Graduate Fellows team with department faculty members to teach a first year, intensive-writing seminar. The course's workshop format makes it possible for undergraduate students to have their written work read regularly by several audiences, including the team of instructors, small groups of classmates, and a tutor who is available to meet weekly with each student. Students read different kinds of texts (both literary and non-literary), organized around a particular intellectual and cultural problem. These readings introduce students to various writing strategies and to the different uses to which writing is put—in different eras perhaps, or in different cultures, or in different generic forms. Graduate Fellows participate actively in the course and use the experience to enrich their formal study.

The Department also works with all Writing Center Associates individually to help them, if they choose, to arrange for teaching experiences that might interest them, including work in neighboring schools, community colleges, and literacy projects. Graduate students are also given the opportunity to participate in any of the other initiatives sponsored by the Writing Program, including work with the Writing Center.