Dear MA Students,
Pre-registration for Fall 2025 courses occurs on April 23, 2025. Below, I’ve pasted information about pre-registration, which I have also included as a pdf file attached to this message. Descriptions for our Fall 2025 course offerings are also attached to this message.
Accelerated BA/MA students who will still be undergrads in the Fall 2025 should set up short advising appointments with me or Professor Mak before registering. Accelerated BA/ MA students who are graduating in Spring 2025 will need to wait to later in the semester to register. For these students, we must wait for the registrar to audit your graduation application and then for your formal admission into the MA program to be processed. This usually happens in early May.
If a class that you are interested in closed, please contact me to be put on the class wait list. We are usually able to accommodate students on the wait lists before the semester starts.
You’ll also find the course descriptions Summer 2025 course descriptions attached. You should be able to register for summer courses on CUNYFirst now. If you plan to take a class during the summer, please enroll soon so that the course isn’t cancelled for low enrollments.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>.
Best,
Bill
Preregistration for English MA Courses
Fall 2025
Preregistration for Fall 2024 English MA courses will take place Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Matriculated MA, MAT, and MS Ed students in good academic standing (i.e., minimum average 3.0 GPA and no outstanding INCs) are eligible for and strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to sign up early for classes.
Accelerated students who will still be undergraduates in Fall 2025 and are in good academic standing are also eligible to preregister for English MA courses. To register for graduate classes in the Fall 2025, accelerated students should schedule an appointment with one of the directors of graduate studies. The appointment can be in-person or over Zoom.
Please carefully read the following preregistration instructions and FAQs, including a breakdown of program requirements for MA, MAT, MS Ed, and Accelerated students. Fall 2025 course descriptions are attached separately. Note: the majority of our graduate English courses in Fall 2025 will be meeting in person, with a few fully online courses (ENGL 636, 781- 01, and 781-02).
If you have any questions or need advising, please email the current Directors of Graduate Studies in English—Bill Orchard (william.orchard(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:william.orchard@qc.cuny.edu>) and Cliff Mak (Clifford.Mak(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:Clifford.Mak@qc.cuny.edu>).
Instructions for Preregistration via Email
During the Fall 2025 preregistration day, April 23, please email MAEnglish(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu> with the following info:
1. Your full name
2. Your program (MA, MAT, MS Ed, or Accelerated)
3. Your 8-digit CUNY ID#
4. The courses you’d like to register for, with their 4- or 5-digit class codes (e.g., ENGL 636, code 25703)
Students may preregister for up to 3 spring courses.
Preregistration requests will be processed within 24 hours and in the order that they are received. You will receive a confirmation email once you’ve been registered, asking you to log onto CUNYfirst and doublecheck your schedule.
Preregistration FAQs
Who is eligible to preregister for English MA classes?
All matriculated MA, MAT, and MS Ed students are eligible to preregister for courses as long as they have an active CUNYfirst account and are in good academic standing. If your GPA has fallen below 3.0 or if you’re carrying incompletes on your record from a previous semester, you should seek advising with one of the Directors of Graduate Studies, Bill Orchard or Cliff Mak, before trying to preregister. Accelerated English BA/MA students who will still be undergraduates in Spring 2025 can also preregister but must schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with one of the directors of graduate studies.
Accelerated students who are planning to graduate with their BAs in Spring 2025 semester will not yet be able to register for fall graduate courses. Only once their BA graduation has been approved and their status in the English MA program has officially been activated on CUNYfirst can they then register for their Fall 2025 MA courses. This will likely occur in early May. Please contact the Directors of Graduate Studies with any questions or for advising.
If you have any holds on your CUNYfirst account for any reason, however unwarranted, CUNYfirst will not allow you to be registered for classes. Please check your account before the start of the preregistration period and make sure that any holds have been resolved.
Non-matriculated/non-degree students are not eligible to preregister and must wait to register themselves during their registration appointment period on CUNYfirst.
Can I take a course with the same number twice for credit?
Some courses may be repeated for credit as long as the specific course topics and texts are substantially different. This term, the classes that can be repeated for credit are: 724.
ENGL 781 (Special Seminars) may also be repeated for credit, as long as the specific course topics and texts are substantially different.
ENGL 636, 642, 664, 701, and 731 cannot be repeated for credit.
What are my English course requirements?
For MA students (30 credits):
• ENGL 701
• ENGL 636
• 7 open electives (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding ENGL 751–
763, which are reserved for MFA students)
• ENGL 791 (thesis essay)
For Accelerated BA/MA students (up to 9 credits):
• ENGL 701
• 2 electives (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students)
For MAT students (9 credits):
• 1 pre-1900 elective
• 1 open elective (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding the creative writing workshops and craft classes, ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) • ENGL 781
For MS Ed students (15 credits):
• ENGL 702 or ENGL 703
• 2 pre-1900 electives
• 1 open elective (any English graduate class offered at the 600 or 700 level, excluding the creative writing workshops and craft classes, ENGL 751–763, which are reserved for MFA students) • ENGL 781
What if the class that I want is full when I pre-register?
You can request to be placed on a wait list. Wait listed students will be able to register for the class when a space becomes available. In past semesters, we have been able to accommodate almost all students who are on wait lists. To be placed on a wait list, contact Bill or Cliff (not the instructor).
For MAT and MS Ed students, what courses fulfill the pre-1900 requirement?
In Fall 2025, English 642, 724 and 731 satisfy the pre-1900 requirement.
Can I preregister for ENGL 791, the thesis course?
English 791 requires additional advising and paperwork, so this is not course for which you can preregister. The Directors of Graduate Studies will announce more information about how to sign up for these courses after the preregistration period has ended.
Can I pre-register for summer courses?
Registration for summer classes is open. You can register on CUNYfirst for these now. We have attached the summer course descriptions to this message.