ORDINANCE FOR MA IN ENGLISH PROGRAM
English Discipline
Khulna University
Khulna-9208
ORDINANCE FOR THE PROGRAMS OF
MA IN ENGLISH WITH THESIS & MA IN ENGLISH (Effective from the academic session 2019-2020)
1. Preamble:
Master’s degree in English Discipline of Arts and Humanities School shall be offered by Khulna University to a candidate subject to the fulfilment of the rules and regulations as described hereunder and also of other relevant rules and regulations to be promulgated by the competent authorities of Khulna University from time to time.
2. Vision:
Master’s degree offered by English Discipline aspires to be a specialized study program producing leaders in the field of English Studies. The program aims at fostering creative and analytical minds capable of responding to issues related to literature, language, culture, and the inherent politics on a global scale. The program intends to produce postgraduates with necessary literary, linguistic, and communicative skills who will perform successfully as teachers and researchers as well as will take up challenging jobs in government and non-government organizations.
3. Mission:
The program promotes effectiveness in graduate studies for nurturing critical, creative, and competent learners who would implement and develop the pedagogy of language, literature, and culture. State-of-the-art knowledge in English Studies as well as an interdisciplinary approach is the strength of the program. Research in the fields of literature, language, and culture is a major component of the program. English Discipline at Khulna University upholds a congenial teaching-learning atmosphere to ensure the students’ achievement of educational and professional skills together with fostering their ethical values so that the postgraduates can positively contribute to the society, nation, and the world.
4. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):
(i) appreciate, enrich, and circulate language and literature around the globe (ii) analyze intercultural relationships that mark the contemporary world (iii) be adept in different research skills and methodologies
(iv) interpret the characteristics and trends of British and American literature
(v) explain recent developments in different branches of literary theory and successfully apply these theories in textual analyses
(vi) examine the elements of culture and different theoretical approaches to cultural studies
(vii) assess writing styles of major South Asian writers writing in English and the variety of indigenous and universal issues in their literary works
(viii) illustrate the literary features of the major Latin American writers
(ix) successfully conduct research on issues of literary and cultural studies, language, linguistics and interdisciplinary fields
(x) become competent in teaching English language and literature
5. Degree Offered:
The Master’s degree in English Discipline of the University shall be conferred and termed as (i) Master of Arts in English with Thesis, abbreviated as MA in English with Thesis and (ii) Master of Arts in English by Coursework, abbreviated as MA in English.
6. Admission Requirements:
(6.1) Candidates seeking admission into Master of Arts program must possess four-year Bachelor (Hon’s) degree from English Discipline of Khulna University or equivalent degrees from other universities/institutions.
(6.2) Applications for admission to the above program shall be invited once a year and shall be received by the Chairman of the Admission Committee.
(6.3) The Admission Committee of the Program will frame rules for admission into this program subject to the approval of BOAS.
(6.4) The Admission Committee for Master of Arts in English shall consist of five members. One member is the Head of English Discipline and other three members will be selected from among the teachers of the Discipline in order of seniority. The BOAS will nominate the fifth member from outside the School who will not be below the rank of Professor. The Head of English Discipline will act as the chairperson of the Admission Committee.
(6.5) Every selected candidate shall get himself/herself registered with the University.
Each student will fill in his/her course registration form. The original copy of the course registration form will have to be submitted to the Registrar’s office. Late registration is, however, permitted during the first week on payment of a registration fee decided by the authority from time to time. Student having outstanding dues to the University shall not be permitted to register.
(6.6) No student(s) will be permitted to register after 15 working days from the beginning of classes.
(6.7) Every student shall have to get the schedule for courses and other prerequisites checked and approved by the Discipline in advance during course registration for a particular term. The student is expected to consult the program coordinator to be appointed by the Discipline Head on all academic matters.
(6.8) The maximum number of students to be admitted to Master of Arts in English in a particular academic year shall be decided by the Admission Committee on the basis of availability of resources and facilities in the Discipline.
7. Duration of Program:
(7.1) An academic year shall consist of two terms. In a term there shall be 14 weeks covering teaching and assignments, 02 weeks for preparatory leave and 04 weeks for examination.
(7.2) (a) The minimum duration for MA in English with Thesis shall be three terms.
(b) The minimum duration for MA in English shall be two terms.
(7.3) A candidate for MA in English with Thesis must complete all the requirements for the degree within four calendar years from the date of his/her first admission whilst a candidate for MA in English must complete all the requirements for the degree within three calendar years from the date of his/her first admission.
(7.4) If any student is unable to complete the term final examinations due to serious illness or serious accident, he/she may apply to the Head of the Discipline for total withdrawal from the term within seven working days after the end of the term final examinations. A medical certificate from the Chief Medical Officer of the University must support the application. The Dean of Arts and Humanities School of Khulna University will take decision on such applications and report the decision(s) to the BOAS.
8. Course Requirements:
(8.1) Master’s degree program shall run on course credit system. One lecture/contact hour per week shall be considered one credit hour; for sessional classes three class hours a week shall be considered one credit hour.
(8.2) (a) Students for MA in English with Thesis specified in 1.2 above shall earn a minimum of 36 credits. The program shall be based on Coursework and Thesis.
The total credits shall be distributed as: Coursework 24 credits and Thesis 12 credits.
(b) Students for MA in English specified in 1.2 above shall have to earn a minimum of 30 credits. The program shall be based on Theory, Sessional course(s) and/or Internship. The distribution of credits will be as: Coursework 27 credits and Sessional 3 credits. For those who will take Internship, the distribution of credits will be as: Coursework 24 credits, Sessional 3 credits and Internship 3 credits.
(c) A student may be assigned a minimum of 09 credits and a maximum of 24 credits per term. For the students of MA in English with Thesis, the Thesis has to be registered in the second term. For the students of MA in English, the Internship has to be registered in the second term, but the student must inform the Discipline of his confirmed internship in an organization at the end of the first term in writing.
(8.3) The Head of English Discipline on recommendation of the coordinator(s) shall send the program of courses for the students, to the Registrar.
(8.4) The students shall be registered with the University each term on payment of necessary fees as per rules.
(8.5) A student will have an option to add course(s) to or drop course(s) from his/her registration within the first two weeks of the term. That can be done with the consent of the concerned coordinator(s) and with the approval of the Discipline Head. Adjustment of initially registered courses in any term can be done by duly completing the course adjustment form.
9. Examination Procedures:
(9.1) Students must attend class tests for each section of the theory course and the section best assessment marks would be averaged. The class tests or continuous assessments in the form of written class exams, quizzes, assignments, homework, etc. shall carry 30 percent, attendance 10 percent, and the term final examinations covering the whole course shall carry 60 percent of the total marks of a particular course. For a sessional course, there will be 10 percent marks for attendance, 30 percent for viva-voce, and 60 percent for the sessional assessment. All theory and sessional examinations will be evaluated out of 100 marks.
Number of credit(s) of the course
Total no. of assessments required
No. of best assessments to be considered for grading
3 3 2
4 4 2
(9.2) The duration of term final examination shall be of 3 hours for all courses.
(9.3) The Controller of Examinations in consultation with the Head of the Discipline shall prepare and circulate the schedule for final examinations of the courses of the program in a particular term at least 1(one) week before the commencement of the examinations.
(9.4) The Examination Committee shall be formed with the following members:
(i) Chairman: The Head of English Discipline (ii) Members: Three teachers of the Discipline in order of seniority
(iii) One external member, not below the rank of Associate Professor from another University.
(9.5) The answer scripts of the final examination will be divided into section A and section B, and two separate scripts will be used for the purpose. Each section will be examined by a separate examiner.
(9.6) The Chairman of the examination committee shall prepare a panel of paper-setters and examiners. The Chairman of examination committee shall send the panel of paper-setters and examiners through the EC to the BOAS, which shall get it approved by the Academic Council. Once approved the panel will be returned to the Chairman of the examination committee. S/he shall prepare the appropriate lists of paper-setters and examiners and send them to the Controller of Examinations. There shall be two paper-setters; one of them must be a course- teacher. In case of any unusual situation the Chairperson of the examination committee in consultation with the Vice-Chancellor shall take appropriate measures.
(9.7) The examiners shall submit the examined answer scripts, marks sheets, reports to the Chairman of the examination committee. The Chairman of the examination committee shall submit all the records to the Controller of Examinations within six months after the publication of results. The Controller of Examinations shall preserve all such records for a period of one year after the award of degree.
(9.8) (a) If a student does not sit for the class test(s) for reasons satisfactory enough to the course teacher, the course teacher may allow the student one more chance to take such examination(s) before the term final examinations. In case the course teacher is not satisfied with the reasons provided by the student, the student may apply to the Head, and the Head’s decision will be final in this regard.
(b) A student having a backlog and repeating theory course(s) is not required to attend classes of that course(s) but s/he must appear at the final examination to improve his/her grade(s). S/he may attend class tests/continuous assessments also on written approval of the Discipline Head for improvement. If s/he does not avail of the opportunity, the marks of class tests will be maintained from his/her
previous records of the respective course(s) and s/he will be given the immediate lower grade. This grade will be shown and maintained on the transcript.
(9.9) Numerical grading shall be made after evaluating all examination scripts, sessional reports, thesis/project reports, class tests, and class attendance record.
The final grading to be reported to the Controller of Examinations shall be in the letter grades as detailed below in the table. Letter grades and corresponding grade points will be awarded in accordance with provision shown below in the table. An F grade in any subject will not be counted towards credit hour requirements and for the calculation of Grade Point Average (GPA).
Numerical Grade Letter Grade Grade Point
80% or above A+ (A plus) 4.00
75% to less than 80% A (A regular) 3.75
70% to less than 75% A- (A minus) 3.50
65% to less than 70% B+ (B plus) 3.25
60% to less than 65% B (B regular) 3.00
55% to less than 60% B- (B minus) 2.75
50% to less than 55% C+ (C plus) 2.50
45% to less than 50% C (C regular) 2.25
40% to less than 45% D 2.00
Less than 40% F 0.0
(9.10) (a) If a student in MA in English with Thesis cannot complete total required credits for his/her degree within three regular terms, he/she may be allowed to register for his/her total incomplete credits in the next relevant terms.
(b) If a student in MA in English cannot complete total required credits for his/her degree within two regular terms, he/she may be allowed to register for his/her total incomplete credits in the next relevant terms.
(9.11) A student who fails in any course(s) in the term final exam or who registered for the course(s) but did not sit for the examination, his/her concerned course(s) will be considered as backlog course(s).
(9.12) A student can have his/her results re-examined by applying to the Controller of Examinations within a week from the date of publication of results. However, s/he
has to pay a fee of Tk. 2000/- (two thousand taka) only per course for the re- examination. The Controller of Examinations will take necessary measures in consultation with the concerned committee.
10. Research Requirements:
(10.1) The examination committee will decide which students will be allowed to enroll in the Thesis group. The examination committee will also set the qualifications fulfilling of which may qualify a student for Thesis.
(10.2) A student of MA in English with Thesis shall undertake a research work under the guidance of a teacher of the Discipline. In extra-ordinary case supervision maybe allowed from professionals from any recognized universities/research institutes. A teacher or a professional to be eligible for providing supervision must have prior approval for taking the assignment from the BOAS through the EC.
(10.3) The Discipline Head shall submit the names of thesis supervisors, co-supervisors together with the titles of the thesis to the BOAS within 06 weeks of the second term.
(10.4) The research work must be carried out in this University or at a place(s) approved by the supervisor in consultation with the Discipline Head.
(10.5) (a) At the end of the second term the students must report their progress in a seminar.
(b) Final evaluation of the thesis will be made at the end of final term.
(10.6) The thesis should demonstrate an evidence of generation of satisfactory knowledge in the field of research.
(10.7) Each student shall certify that the research work is his/her own and that the work was not submitted elsewhere for any other degree or diploma except for publication.
(10.8) The students must submit through the supervisors to the Discipline Head the required number of printed copies of thesis in the approved format on or before a date to be fixed by the Discipline Head in consultation with the supervisors concerned.
(10.9) The Chairman of the examination committee will send the thesis to the examiners for examination.
(10.10) The marks allocated to the thesis shall be distributed as follows for the purpose of grading:
(i) Thesis 60 marks
(ii) Seminar 20 marks
(iii) Defense (Oral examination) 20 marks
11. Thesis Supervision:
The Head of the Discipline in consultation with the academic committee shall nominate supervisors and co-supervisors not below the rank of Assistant Professor with the experience of doing an MA/MPhil/PhD thesis. In case of external supervision, the co- supervisor must be a teacher of English Discipline. If the supervision is provided by a teacher of English Discipline, co-supervision can be given by another teacher of the Discipline or of any other disciplines of Khulna University/other universities or research institutes. If a student has any grievance about a supervisor, or if a supervisor has any complaints against a student, s/he may inform the Discipline Head of the issue in writing within the first month of the issuance of notification of Thesis Supervision Committee.
The academic committee will take decision in such matters.
12. Thesis Evaluation:
(12.1) The Discipline Head in consultation with the supervisor shall suggest to the Chairman, BOAS names of the examiners for thesis and oral examiners (defense) for approval. The thesis will be examined by an internal examiner and an external examiner. The examination committee shall conduct the defense. The examination committee shall be constituted as follows:
(i) Head of the Discipline Chairman
(ii) One member from within the Discipline excluding the
Supervisor and co-supervisor Member
(iii) One external member from outside the Discipline/
University Member (12.2) If the Head of the Discipline supervises any thesis, an internal member from the
Discipline nominated by the examination committee and endorsed by the Discipline Head will act as a member of the examination committee in place of the Head.
(12.3) If any examiner is unable to accept the appointment or has to relinquish his/her appointment before/during the examination, the Discipline Head in consultation
with the concerned supervisor shall select another examiner, get his/her name approved by the Vice-Chancellor and communicate the decision to the Controller of Examinations who shall make arrangements for appointment.
(12.4) Every student submitting a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a degree shall be required to appear at an oral examination (defense) on a date, or dates, fixed by the Head of the Discipline in consultation with the supervisor. The student must satisfy the examiners that he/she is capable of intelligently applying the results of his/her research to the solution of problems, undertaking independent work, and also affording evidence of satisfactory knowledge, related to the theory and technique used in his/her research work.
(12.5) The two examiners will evaluate the Thesis separately and the average marks will be considered for grading. However, if the marks given by the first and second examiners vary 20% or more, a third examiner appointed by the concerned examination committee from the panel of examiners will evaluate the Thesis.
Among these marks, an average of the closest two marks will be considered for grading. However, if the marks given by the third examiner happen to stand in between the marks given by the first two examiners, the average of the three marks will be considered for grading.
13. Internship Supervision:
The Head of the Discipline in consultation with the academic committee shall nominate supervisors and co-supervisors not below the rank of Assistant Professor for conducting internship.
14. Internship Evaluation:
(14.1) The marks allocated to the Internship report for English Discipline shall be distributed as follows for the purpose of grading:
(i) Internship report 60 marks
(ii) Internship Observation 20 marks
(iii) Viva-voce 20 marks
The examination committee in a body or any of its members selected by the Head will visit the institution(s) for observing and evaluating performances of the intern(s). Upon completion of the duration of the Internship, the institutional Head where the internship has been conducted will submit an evaluation report on the performance of the Intern. This evaluation report has to be appended to the internship report. The institutions may include English Discipline or any other
disciplines of Khulna University, and schools, colleges or any other universities/organizations approved by the examination committee.
(14.2) Head of the Discipline in consultation with the supervisors shall send the names of examiners for the BOAS approval through the EC.
The examination committee shall be constituted as follows:
(i) Head of the Discipline Chairman (ii) One member from within the Discipline excluding
the supervisor and co-supervisor Member (iii) One external member from outside the Discipline/University Member
(14.3) If any examiner is unable to accept the appointment or has to relinquish his/her appointment before/during the examination, the Head of the Discipline in consultation with the concerned supervisor shall select another examiner, get his/her name approved by the Vice-Chancellor and communicate the decision to the Controller of Examinations who shall make arrangements for appointment.
(14.4) Every student, submitting an Internship Report in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a degree shall be required to appear at an oral examination (viva voce) on a date, or dates, fixed by the Discipline Head in consultation with the respective supervisor and must satisfy the examiners that he/she has gained satisfactory knowledge related to the work.
(14.5) The two examiners will evaluate the Internship Report separately and the average marks will be considered for grading. However, if the marks given by the first and second examiners vary 20% or more, a third examiner appointed by the concerned examination committee from the panel of examiners will evaluate the Internship Report. Among these marks, an average of the closest two marks will be considered for grading. However, if the marks given by the third examiner happen to stand in between the marks given by the first two examiners, the average of the three marks will be considered for grading.
15. Publication of Results:
After successful completion of the examinations, the Head of the Discipline shall send the results to the Controller of Examinations, who shall publish the same on the recommendation of the Academic Council subject to the approval of the Syndicate.
16. (a) Students of master’s degree program in English Discipline shall have to pay academic fees to be fixed by the University authority.
(b) Additionally, the students will have to pay the seminar library fee to be fixed by the Discipline.
