Ball State University, M.A. in English?

[southofeverywhere]

Hello. I'm interested in apply to Ball State University's MA in English (dual concentration in TESOL and linguistics). Anyone out there able to let me know about the atmosphere of the campus and the quality of the English program? Any insights would be helpful. Thanks!

[toasterazzi]

Oh hi! I did my undergrad at BSU in English Education. While the town of Muncie can leave a lot to be desired, the campus is pretty nice. It's a mid-sized school with basically one main road down the middle that makes it pretty easy to get wherever you need to go. For a mid-sized school, the campus has a lot going on pretty much always. The success of our athletic teams varied from year-to-year, but admission is free for students. The theatre department, which I was also part of for a good portion of my undergrad career, regularly puts on fantastic shows. In addition, the university works very hard to bring in touring companies, dance troupes, etc. to the big campus theater. I got to see the touring company for Hairspray while I was there and I loved. They also do this weekly event called Late Nite, which some consider childish, but I always had fun with. Basically, they choose a theme and set up all sorts of games and activities for people to do on Saturday nights. The best part is that you get free food . The English department is pretty great in my opinion. There are some really knowledgeable profs (my favorite being Peterson) who teach the norms as well as interesting classes that you might not expect. Amongst the many classes I took, some of my faves were Queer Lit/Queer theory, Holocaust Lit (though this isn't for the lighthearted), and Ethnic American Lit. I only took a couple Linguisitics classes (with Kuha) and I found those mostly enjoyable as well. I found that most of my English professors were easy to engage both in and outside of the classroom, which I always appreciated.

So that's a general overview. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Incidentally, I probably would've gone to BSU for grad school if I had decided to do it immediately following undergrad. Since I took off a couple years to work, circumstances put me at Indiana State. I'm excited to experience something new, but I still have mad love for BSU.

Edited August 8, 2012 by reluctantmidwesterner