Our Statement of Purpose:

What is literature? What is interpretation? What is the text? What is an author? The Department of English seeks to answer these questions by examining and utilizing the latest tools of critical theory and bringing them to bear on a variety of English-language texts. We introduce our students to cutting-edge developments in the humanities, including cultural studies, multiculturalism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, aesthetics, feminist and queer theory, semiotics, narrative theory, American studies and many more. At the same time, we teach the history and significance of English, American, and other English-language literatures. We bring the variety of methodologies to bear on a linguistically-definite corpus which includes the most recent works of English-speaking writers across the globe in the context of post-modern culture and extends back to the early Middle Ages, requiring of our students dexterity in the knowledge and analytical use of the English language.

The graduate program in English at Tel Aviv is meant to appeal to the best and the brightest of our student body as well as to the best graduates of other leading research universities, in the humanities but also in other disciplines and to provide these with a superior education in critical and theoretical thinking about literature, language, and the arts in what has become the common language of our times. For our student body, we are looking for exceptionally talented persons who have distinguished themselves as highly-motivated and independent thinkers with a strong interest in literature and language and a complex understanding of culture in its historical, political, and conceptual dimensions. In line with our commitment to foster intellectual excellence and creative thinking, we offer an intensive and streamlined MA program, tailored to the needs and research interests of each student. In the course of this program, each of you will be exposed to a range of exciting and innovative approaches to the study of literature and culture. Each of you will be challenged to find and/or create your own place in the changing world of the humanities today.

Admission Requirements:

1. BA in English with an average of above 80. Applicants may be invited for an interview with the Head of Department and/or Graduate Advisor.
2. Candidates who have a BA in fields other than English may be required to take up to 32 hours of supplementary courses in the English Department's BA program and to earn a grade of at least 80 in each course before they can officially begin their MA studies. The number and nature of these courses will be determined by the Head of Department and Graduate Advisor. Applicants with undergraduate degrees in other fields may be invited for an interview with the Head of Department and/or Graduate Advisor.
3. No student will be admitted to the MA program or to supplementary courses towards MA studies before obtaining an exemption (ptor) in English language.
4. Students who did not graduate from an Israeli high school must pass a University test in Hebrew.

Admission to the Thesis Track

The English Department offers two graduate tracks, one with a thesis and one without a thesis. Admission to the thesis track is conditional upon achieving an average of 90 or above in at least 12 hours of coursework. Students who have been accepted to the graduate program but not to the thesis track, or who elect not to write a thesis, will complete the non-thesis track.

Requirements of the Thesis Track

1. 28 hours of graduate seminars. Students may not take more than 2 seminars with the same instructor.

2. The composition of studies is determined in individual consultation with the graduate advisor, so as to make the program of study tailor-made to the intellectual interests of each student.

3. At least 4 hours of graduate-level courses must be taken outside the department. The choice of courses must be approved by the graduate advisor.

4. A written paper (referat) of at least 10 pages at the end of each seminar. Referat papers are due no later than the date stipulated by the Faculty of Humanities.

5. A seminar paper of at least 25 pages based on advanced and independent research beyond the course work of a chosen seminar, on a topic acceptable to the student and the seminar instructor. In the seminar paper, students are expected to demonstrate a high level of competence in writing in English, ability to conduct independent research, creative thinking, critical and analytical aptitude, and theoretical acumen.
6. Certified competence in a language other than English and Hebrew. Choice of language must receive the approval of the graduate advisor.
7. Once a student has been accepted to the thesis track, s/he may seek the approval of a senior faculty member to serve as thesis supervisor on a mutually accepted topic.

8. Thesis:

   • The Graduate Advisor, in consultation with the thesis advisor, selects a second reader for the thesis.
   • The recommended length of the thesis is 60-80 pages.
   • After the student has completed a full draft of the thesis to the satisfaction of the supervisor, the thesis is submitted to the second reader. The thesis supervisor and the second reader jointly evaluate the thesis and submit a grade.
   • Students who demonstrate excellence in their MA studies are encouraged to go onto PhD studies. In order to register for PhD studies, students must have achieved a grade of 85 or above in their MA thesis and an average of 85 or above for the degree.

   Requirements of the Non-Thesis Track

   1. 32 hours of graduate seminars in the English Department. Not more than 2 courses should be taken with the same instructor.
   2. The composition of studies is determined in individual consultation with the graduate advisor, so as to make the program of study tailor-made to the intellectual interests of each student.
   3. At least 8 hours of graduate-level courses must be taken outside the department. The choice of courses must be approved by the graduate advisor.
   4. A written paper (referat) of at least 10 pages at the end of each seminar, in addition to up to 15 pages of written work submitted in the course of the semester or together with the referat (at the instructor's discretion). Referat papers are due no later than the date stipulated by the Faculty of Humanities.

   1.      2 seminar papers of at least 25 pages based on advanced and independent research beyond the course work of a chosen seminar, on a topic acceptable to the student and the seminar instructor. In the seminar paper, students are expected to demonstrate a high level of competence in writing in English, ability to conduct independent research, creative thinking, critical and analytical aptitude, and theoretical acumen. Each seminar should be written for a different instructor.

   2.      Students who earned an MA without thesis may apply to write a thesis. All regulations and procedures pertaining to the writing of the thesis as specified above will apply.

   3.       A final exam on primary and secondary bibliography, constituiting 10 percent of the final grade for the MA. Students in the non-thesis track who are in te final stages of their MA studies should contact a graduate faculty member who will serve as their advisor for the exam. The contents of the exam will be determined by the advisor. The exam itself will be written on campus. The exam is graded by the advisor and one other graduate faculty member.

Extra-Curricular Activity

Graduate students are very strongly encouraged to attend the graduate-student organized MA Forum, lectures and events organized by the Department, and other advanced-level intellectual activities on campus.




Frequently Asked Questions


Supplementary Courses (השלמות)


1.    In order to transition to MA, the student must have 80 or above in every supplementary course.
2.    The student may take an MA seminar in conjunction with the supplementary courses only if his/her grades in the first 8 hours of supplementary courses are above 85 each.

Non-thesis Track

1.    The student may not take more than 8 hours of BA seminars as MA seminars and only with the special permission of Graduate Advisor. BA courses may not be taken as MA seminars.
2.    The final exam is to be undertaken with the faculty member of the student's choice (junior faculty excluded). The student and the examiner will jointly agree on the topic for examination (theory and/or corpus). The examiner will provide the student with a bibliography of no less than 200 pages (in addition to primary texts), which has to be approved by the examiner. On the date of the exam, the examiner will provide the student with an essay question (either in person or by email). The student will submit the essay (of approximately 15-20 pages) to the examiner no later than 10 days after the reception of the question, either in hard copy or by email. An additional hard copy has to be submitted to the department's secretary. The exam will be graded by the examiner and an additional faculty member.
3.    The exam has to be submitted no later than a month after the end of the semester.

Thesis Track


1.    The choice of third language must have some connection to the research undertaken for the thesis (i.e., French is the thesis is on continental theory; Chinese if it is on Asian-American literature; Latin if it is in medieval studies, etc). 
2.    Graduate Advisor and Department Head must be informed about every change in the student's status (choice of supervisor, acceptance of proposal, and completion of thesis) by the student and/or supervisor.

Students in both thesis and non-thesis tracks are allowed to take 2 hours of Directed Reading with a senior faculty member of their choice on a subject related to their research. This is not connected to the directed readings given by junior faculty. The same faculty member may subsequently serve as their supervisor or examiner in non-thesis track.