|
Description and Goals
The English department of Youngstown State University offers a four-course certificate (12 semester hours total) in the study of children’s and young adult literature. The certificate is designed to increase students’ knowledge of children’s and young adult literature while helping them achieve certain career goals.
For students who intend to pursue doctoral work, concentrated study in children's and young adult literature will help to prepare them to specialize in these fields at the doctoral level.
For those who teach at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels, such study will enhance their teaching careers by increasing their knowledge of literature for young people and helping to satisfy certain professional development requirements of local school districts.
For prospective or practicing librarians, the certificate will provide further expertise in establishing and maintaining library collections for young readers.
Requirements
- Students must complete the following three courses:
 |
ENGL 6918 Studies in Children’s Literature: Contemporary children’s literature. Emphasis may be on trends, critical standards, cultural context, classroom selection and use. May be repeated once with a different topic. 3 s.h. |
|
ENGL 6919 Studies in Young Adult Literature: Contemporary young adult literature. Emphasis may be on trends, critical standards, cultural context, classroom selection and use. May be repeated once with a different topic. 3 s.h. |
| ENGL 6927 Historical Survey of Literature for Young People: A survey of historical developments in British and American literature for young people from the eighteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. 3 s.h. |
- Students must complete one of the following courses, if the topic relates to children’s or young adult literature (with permission of the certificate director):
| ENGL 6906 Teaching of Literature |
| ENGL 6918 or 6919 (with a different topic) |
| ENGL 6975 English Education Seminar |
| ENGL 6976 Studies in English Education |
| ENGL 6990 Special Topics |
- Instead of a course in #2 above, students may take a course in a related discipline when content is appropriate (e.g., History, Education, Psychology, Art) with permission of the certificate director.
Eligibility |
To be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Literature for Children and Young Adults, students need not have an undergraduate degree in English, but they must have a B.A. or B.S. degree and have been admitted to the School of Graduate Studies at YSU.
To earn the certificate, students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 in the certificate courses.
Timeline for Completion |
Depending on course rotation, completion of the Graduate Certificate in Literature for Children and Young Adults may be possible in one year, definitely in two years.