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Department of Children's Literature

Faculty

Cathryn M. Mercier, Professor, Children’s Literature and Director of the Graduate Degree Programs in Children’s Literature, and Director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature

Marilisa Jiménez Garcia, Associate Professor of Children’s Literature

Nicholl Montgomery, Instructor, Children’s Literature

Amy Pattee, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science and Children's Literature, Chair of the Children’s Literature Department

Degree Programs

The Department of Children’s Literature offers two Masters degrees

  • the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature (MA) and
  • the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children (MFA)

Dual Degree Programs

The Department of Children’s Literature offers three dual degree programs:

  • The MA/MFA combines the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature (MA) and the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children (MFA)
  • The MA/MS combines the Master of Arts Children's Literature (MA) with the Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MS)
  • The MA/MAT combines the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature (MA) with the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT).

Study in Boston or in Amherst

In collaboration with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Simmons offers the MA in Children's Literature, the MFA in Writing for Children, the MA in Children's Literature/MFA dual degree, and the MA in Children's Literature / MS in Library Science dual degree. Although most students will elect to take their courses in one location, all students have the option to move between sites and to take courses in Boston or the Carle Museum. In the MAMS, students may take their Children's Literature courses at the Carle and their LIS courses in the SLIS-West program on the Mount Holyoke campus in South Hadley and/or via the LIS online program.

Internships and Experiential Learning

Children’s Literature students take advantage of paid internships in Boston and beyond to build their skills and resumes. Learning in professional sites proves invaluable to one’s career choice and advancement. Students have interned at publishing houses such as Barefoot Books, Delacorte, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (now part of HarperCollins) Charlesbridge, Candlewick, Scholastic, Page Street, Penguin, David Godine, and St. Martin's. In addition, students intern at a variety of literary agencies in Boston, New York, and online. The Horn Book, Inc. guarantees two internships per year to Simmons students and students report that this engagement in children’s book publishing and reviewing fortifies their coursework in critical application. Students also find experiential opportunities at advocacy groups, such as the Boston Book Festival, Reach Out and Read, and 826 Boston. Some students also seek professional internships with local schools and libraries. Internships often carry a stipend or hourly wage; they do not earn academic credit.

The MFA in Writing for Children features two opportunities to work closely with publishing professionals on original creative work through the mentorship course sequence for academic credit. These mentorships provide focused engagement on manuscript development.

Delivery Mode or Modes Available (full-time, part-time, and locations)

Students in the MA, MFA, and MA/MFA typically enroll in eight - 10 credits per semester; in the MA/MS or MA/MAT programs, students typically take 10 (MA/MS) - 12 (MA/MAT) credits per term. This scheduling leaves graduate students time for employment and internship and employment opportunities.

Simmons offers the MA in Children's Literature, the MFA in Writing for Children, and the dual degree MAMF on the Boston campus and at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Students in any dual degree program (MA/MS or MA/MAT) may elect to take their MA (CHL) courses at the Carle. In addition, students are free to register across campuses, taking a course in Boston or in Amherst as their schedule and interests allow. MA/MS students may also choose to take their LIS courses in Boston, at SLIS-West in South Hadley, or online.

Weekend and Intensive Courses: Children’s Literature courses may be scheduled to occur during a weekend or otherwise intensive course formatting, during which students may meet up to eight (8) hours daily to engage in coursework. While most weekend or intensive courses are two (2) credit courses and often fall in the summer term, occasional four (4) credit courses will follow an intensive schedule.

General Electives for Children’s Literature programs

The Children’s Literature graduate degree programs offers four-credit and two-credit courses.


Below, please find the list of electives for all graduate degree programs in Children’s Literature and Writing for Children. For a list of Core Courses, please see the individual degree programs. In some cases, a core course in one program (e.g., CHL 430-Writing for Children I is a requirement in the MFA program) counts as an elective in another program (e.g., ChL 430-Writing for Children I counts as an elective in the MA program).

 

 

Course  Title Credits
CHL 404A  Poetry for Young Readers: You be the Judge (h) (g)  2
CHL 411  Victorian Children’s Literature (h)  4
CHL 413  Contemporary Realistic Fiction for Young Adults (g) for MFA only; required MA) 4
CHL 414  Fantasy and Science Fiction (g for MFA only; required MA) 4
CHL 415 The Whole Book Approach 2
CHL 419B Humor (g) 2
CHL 420 Thesis 4
CHL 421 History of Children's Book Publishing (h for MFA only) 4
CHL 422 Editing the Children's Book Manuscript 2
CHL 423 19th Century American Children’s Literature (h) 4
CHL 424B  Nonsense and Subversive Rhymes (h)(g) 2
CHL 424C  Series Fiction (h) (g)  2
CHL 427  Special Topics: Folk & Fairy Tales (h) (g)  2
CHL 427B  The Americanization of Fairy Tales (h) (g)  2
CHL 428A  A Single Text: The Graphic Novel and The Wizard of Oz (h) (g)  2
CHL 429A  Re-Reading Race in Classic Children’s Literature (h)  2
CHL 429B  The Girl Reader 1868 – 1908 2
CHL 429C  Culture Matters (h)  4

 

CHL 429D		  The Girl Reader 1908-1934 (h)  2
CHL 430  Writing for Children I  4
CHL 434  The Child and the Book  4
CHL 435A  Creators and Aesthetics: Focus on an Artist  2
CHL 435B  Creators and Aesthetics: Focus on a Writer  2
CHL 436A  Nonfiction-Narrative (g)  2
CHL 436B  Nonfiction-Expository (g)  2
CHL 436C  Metafiction and Self-Reflexivity (h) (g)  2
CHL 437  Special Topics :  Positionality  4
CHL 450  Independent Study  1 - 4
CHL 451  The Reviewer  2
CHL 50X  Summer Symposium and Institute  4

 

(h) indicates that the course counts toward the required four credits of history for the MA degree
(g) indicates that the course counts toward the required four credits of genre elective for the MFA degree. A course can count toward one category only. For example, ChL 427 can count two credits toward the MFA student’s history elective or genre elective; however, it cannot count in both categories.
Please note that not every course is offered every semester, or even every year.


Weekend and Intensive Courses

Two (2) credit courses may be scheduled to occur during a weekend, during which students may meet up to eight hours daily to engage in coursework. Similarly, some four (4) credit courses in summers, weekends, or other times of year may follow an intensive, immersive format.