Programs in 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

Shelley Isaacson, Assistant Teaching Professor

Katherine Magyarody, Assistant Teaching Professor

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 degrees:

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)

Study in Boston or in Amherst

Children's Literature courses are offered on the Boston campus of Simmons University as well as in Amherst, Massachusetts. 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 / MS in Library Science dual degree at the Carle Museum in Western Massachusetts. 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 at the Carle Museum. Students in the MA/MS, may take their Children's Literature courses at the SLIS-West program in person in Western Massachusetts 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)

Full-time students in the MA, MFA, and MA/MFA typically enroll in eight - 10 credits per semester; in the MA/MS program, full-time students typically take 7 - 10 (MA/MS) 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 MA/MFA 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) 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 Western Massachusetts, or online.

General Electives for Children's Literature programs

The Children's Literature graduate degree programs offer four-credit and two-credit courses. Students must complete two-credit courses in multiples of two; a student's total number of elective credits must be divisible by 4.

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 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	A Whole Book Approach to Picturebook Art & Design	2
CHL 419B	Genre study: Humor (g)	2
CHL 420	Project Thesis/Tutorial	4
CHL 421	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	Verse Novels, Narrative Poetry (h)(g)	2
CHL 424C	Series Fiction for Children (h) (g)	2
CHL 427	Special Topics: Folk & Fairy Tales (h) (g)	2
CHL 427B	The Americanization of Fairy Tales (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	Youth Literature for Social Justice (h)	4
CHL 429D	The Girl Reader II,1900-1950 (h)	2
CHL 430	Writing for Children I	4
CHL 434	The Child and the Book	4
CHL 435B	The Creator: Art, Reception, and Influence	2
CHL 436A	Nonfiction-Narrative (g)	2
CHL 436C	Metafiction and Self-Reflexivity (h) (g)	2
CHL 437	Critical 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

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.