The MA Portfolio serves as the culminating experience for your work in the MA in English program. Completed in your final semester, the Portfolio showcases your strongest scholarly and professional work while inviting you to reflect on your intellectual development and future goals. You will prepare for the portfolio by enrolling in ENG 675: Reading and Research during your penultimate semester, where you will revise a prior seminar paper into a scholarly essay of journal-article length, quality, and substance. In your final semester, you will have the option to underload by one course to give yourself time to complete final revisions and prepare your remaining portfolio materials, including an abstract, professional statement, professional artifacts, and CV. 

Your capstone experience concludes with a public presentation and oral defense at the Graduate Symposium, held every spring. Alternative deadlines and presentation opportunities will be scheduled in the fall as needed for students completing the program on an adjusted timeline.

The MA Portfolio is designed to: 

• demonstrate your ability to produce polished, graduate‑level scholarly writing 

• highlight your intellectual and professional development throughout the program 

• help you connect your coursework, research interests, and professional artifacts into a coherent narrative 

• prepare you for academic or professional next steps, including job materials and PhD applications 

You must submit your complete MA Portfolio to the Director of Graduate Studies via email by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately following Spring Break.  

A complete portfolio includes the following: 

A professional statement that: 

• explains your intellectual and professional trajectory--how your interests and goals have developed over time, what you’ve learned, and how your work is situated within broader fields, methods, communities, or conversations 

• highlights the strengths and experiences that distinguish you as a scholar, teacher, or emerging professional 

• reflects on major projects—especially your scholarly article and professional artifacts—and the key revisions, skills, and insights gained through that work 
• articulates your future goals and demonstrates how your coursework, research, and selected portfolio pieces prepared you for your next steps, whether in further graduate study or other professional pathways 

2. Abstract (150-250 words)

A one-paragraph summary of your scholarly article that concisely provides: 

• the broader context for your research, including what previous scholarship has shown about the issue 

• how your project intervenes in that conversation, including the central research question or problem your project addresses and the methods and evidence you will use to address it 

• your main claims and argument 
• the stakes of your argument, including why these questions matter, what gap or debate you address, and the significance or consequences of your work  

3. Scholarly Article (7,500-8,000 words)

A scholarly essay of journal article length, quality, and substance, demonstrating: 

• sophisticated engagement with relevant scholarly conversations 

• a sound, compelling, and significant argument 

• careful use of evidence, interpretive analysis, and methodology 
• clear, polished, and well-structured academic prose 

4. Professional Artifact(s)

One substantial or several smaller professional artifact(s), demonstrating your professional skills. These may include: 

• a syllabus, series of lesson plans, or instructional design materials 

• self-designed pedagogical workshops or documentation of pedagogical work for the Writing Center, LAB School, or Honors College 

• digital or public humanities project(s), or documentation of project support 

• curated digital or archival exhibits, or documentation of archival work 

• documentation of arts and culture or academic event programming work 

• grant proposals or documentation of grant editing work 

• documentation of work as a faculty research assistant 

• published magazine writing, web design, or social media campaigns  

• documentation of professional editorial work 
• etc. 

You are encouraged to consult with the Director of Graduate Studies and your graduate assistantship supervisors for guidance in selecting and presenting your artifact(s). 

5. Curriculum Vitae

An updated CV documenting your academic achievements, professional experience, and relevant skills. 

All graduating MA students are required to present and defend their MA Portfolio at the Graduate Symposium held in early April of their final year, with alternative accommodations made for any students graduating in the fall. All Graduate Symposiums will be recorded, and recordings of successful presentations and defenses will be made available for future students on the English MA Student Resources page on Canvas. This required presentation will consist of the following components: 

1. Presentation (15 minutes)

You will share a 15-minute presentation that includes: 

a) an introduction to your work (3-5 minutes), addressing: 

• the strengths and experiences that distinguish you as a scholar, teacher, or emerging professional  

• the place of your major projects—especially your scholarly article and professional artifact(s)—in your professional development 

• your future goals and how your MA training positions you to pursue them 

 b) a conference-length version of your scholarly article (10-12 minutes), demonstrating: 

• sophisticated engagement with relevant scholarly conversations 

• a sound, compelling, and significant argument 

• careful use of evidence, methodology, and interpretive analysis 

• clear, polished, and well-structured presentation of ideas 
• appropriate visuals or slides and effective communication and engagement with a general scholarly audience 

Note: Because you must condense a full article into a conference-length presentation, it is appropriate to gesture briefly to material you cannot include and invite questions during the Q&A. 

2. Defense (10-12 minutes) 

After the presentation, the Graduate Committee will conduct a brief oral defense, with the goal of assessing: 

• your ability to discuss and defend the key claims in your scholarly project 

• your ability to explain and contextualize your professional artifact(s), including what they demonstrate about your skills, how they were developed, and how they reflect your growth and experience in the MA program 

• your ability to connect your scholarly project to your professional development 

• your ability to respond to graduate committee and faculty questions 

The complete MA Portfolio—including the scholarly article, abstract, professional statement, professional artifacts, and CV—will be evaluated by the Graduate Committee following the Graduate Symposium presentation and oral defense. The portfolio, presentation, and defense together constitute the MA capstone experience, and each component contributes to the final evaluation. 

Students will receive an overall designation of High Pass, Pass, or No Pass.  

Evaluation Process 

After portfolios are submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), the DGS will distribute materials to all members of the Graduate Committee. Graduate Committee members will have approximately two weeks to review the portfolio materials in full before the Graduate Symposium. 

You will present and defend your work at the Graduate Symposium in early April (official date to be confirmed at the beginning of Spring semester). During the week following the Graduate Symposium, the Graduate Committee will meet to assess your portfolio, presentation, and oral defense.  

Revision & Resubmission Policy 

If you receive a No Pass designation, you will receive written feedback outlining the areas requiring revision or a second attempt. You will have two weeks to revise your materials before resubmitting them. Makeup presentations or defenses (if required) will take place in late April or early May. 

MA Portfolio assessment will focus on three major areas, with a full rubric made available in Fall 2026. The areas of assessment will be: 

1. Scholarly Project 

• engagement with and contribution to relevant scholarly conversations 

• argumentation, research complexity, and interpretive sophistication 
• clarity, organization, and style 

2. Professional Development and Reflection

• ability to articulate professional skills and trajectory  

• quality, relevance, and professional rigor of the selected artifact(s) 
• integration of professional artifacts and scholarly article into a coherent professional narrative 

3. Presentation and Defense

• clarity and professionalism in the public presentation, including quality of visuals and delivery 

• ability to engage thoughtfully, confidently, and effectively with committee and faculty questions about the scholarly project 
• skill in answering committee and faculty questions about the professional statement and professional artifact(s) 

To earn a High Pass or Pass, you must earn that designation in a majority of sub-components within each area of the rubric, and in a majority of areas overall. 

Fall Semester, first year: At the graduate student orientation, new students will be briefed on the portfolio, presentation, and defense requirements, procedures, and goals. 

Spring Semester, first year: Director of Graduate Studies will schedule a required meeting in late April of the spring semester for all students intending to complete the portfolio, presentation, and defense during the following academic year. 
           
Fall Semester, second year: Students intending to complete the portfolio enroll in ENG 675: Reading and Research to revise a prior seminar paper into a scholarly essay of journal article length, quality, and substance. 
 
Spring Semester, second year: Students have the option of underloading by one course to devote time to preparing their portfolios; the portfolio is due to the Director of Graduate Studies by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday after Spring Break. Students present and defend their work at the Graduate Symposium in early April; presentation materials (conference paper and slides) are due to the Director of Graduate Studies at least two hours before the Graduate Symposium begins.  

Results will be communicated to students by April 15. Students whose portfolio receives a No Pass designation will have two weeks to revise their materials. If required, makeup presentations or defenses will take place in late April or early May, with final results issued by May 15.  

Note: Students who miss any of these required meetings or deadlines will be automatically ineligible to receive a High Pass and may also be deemed ineligible to participate in the Graduate Symposium and graduate with their cohort in May.