Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. To earn the M.A., students must successfully complete the equivalent of 10 units; the M.A. is usually earned in four or five summers. No thesis is required. A grade of B- or better is required in order to receive course credit. Students must complete work leading to the M.A. within 10 years of their initial enrollment. At least one summer must be spent at the Vermont campus.
The normal summer program of study consists of two courses (two units) in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Vermont, and one course (two units) at Oxford. In New Mexico, North Carolina, and Vermont each course meets five hours a week.
Each one-unit course at Bread Loaf receives three semester hours (the equivalent of four and one-half quarter hours) of graduate credit. After the first summer, exceptional students may, with permission, take a third course for credit in New Mexico, North Carolina, or Vermont or an additional tutorial (one unit of credit) at Oxford. The curriculum is divided into six groups:
(I) Writing and the Teaching of Writing
(II) English Literature through the Seventeenth Century
(III) English Literature since the Seventeenth Century
(IV) American Literature
(V) World Literature
(VI) Theater Arts
Ordinarily the M.A. program includes a minimum of two courses each from Groups II and III, and one course each from Groups IV and V. Upon the student's request, any one of these six distribution requirements may be waived.