The M.A. in Irish and Irish-American Studies has been structured to offer students both a comprehensive grounding in the Irish Studies field, and the opportunity for in-depth course work and research in the new forms of inter- and trans-disciplinary scholarship characteristic of the best recent work in the field. Courses are offered in History, Literature, Music, Language, and Cultural Studies. The curriculum is structured in three tiers: Core Courses (8 credits, or two courses), Field Specialization Requirements (8 credits), and Electives (16 credits).
University requirements for GSAS
Core Courses
Two courses or 8 credits.
All students enrolled in the M.A. are required to take two compulsory courses in their first year, the Irish Studies Seminar I (Fall) and the Irish Studies Seminar II: An Teanga Bheo - The Irish Language (Spring). The Irish Studies Seminar I is the core course of the M.A. It is designed to engage participants with the ideas and debates that animate all the component disciplines of Irish Studies, and to prepare students for the topics-oriented classes that form the bulk of the M.A. curriculum. The Irish Studies Seminar II is required of all students entering the M.A. program without prior Irish language study. Because the Irish language forms so integral a part of Irish political and cultural history and contemporary intellectual life, yet very few universities offer coursework, this Seminar is designed to give students an accelerated introduction to conversational Irish and to the grammar, structure, and history of the language. The course will allow students better to comprehend the influence of Irish language place names, folklore, and Gaelic customs in modern Ireland. Students who demonstrate prior study of the language may be exempted from this requirement with permission of the Director of the MA.
Electives and Individual Specialization
Four courses or 16 credits.
General elective courses are offered in Irish Music, Irish History, Irish-American History, and Irish Literature, and Special Topics courses in Irish Literature and in Irish and Irish-American Studies; a third tier for the Masters allows students to complete the 8 courses required for the M.A. degree and to develop their own particular areas of specialization. Students enrolled in the M.A. may, with permission of the Director of the M.A., enroll in relevant courses offered within other programs and areas of scholarship within the University, including the Departments of English, Music, and History (including the graduate Atlantic History Program), American Studies (including Urban and Suburban Studies), the Tisch Performance Studies Department, and the Draper Program.
Thesis or Final Project
All students are required to complete a final project or thesis. This requirement may be met in either of two ways:
With permission of their faculty advisor, students have the option of enrolling, in their final semester, in a Guided Research class (IRISH-GA 1099), in order to prepare an M.A. research thesis. This is recommended for students who wish to go on to pursue a Ph.D. degree. Students are required to submit a proposal with description of proposedresearch, an abstract of the thesis, and a schedule of meetingsto their supervisor for approval before registration for the semesterin which the Guided Research will be conducted. The proposal must beapproved by the supervisor and by the Director of the MA. 4 credits. Counts toward elective credit.
Students not approved to write a thesis must designate, with the approval of their faculty advisor, their final project in the form of one research essay submitted on a course within their field of specialization. This essay must be revised to meet standards of publication in the field, and must be approved by one additional faculty member in addition to the student’s faculty advisor. Students must obtain approval for the project from the faculty advisor before the start of their final semester. Non-credit, but required for graduation for students not writing a thesis.
An M.A. thesis formatting guide can be found here