The English major introduces students to literature across history and cultures, encouraging critical engagement with issues of race, gender, and class, as well as formal and textual analysis, through genres like film, drama, fiction, and poetry.
A Combined Degree program enables undergraduate students to enroll in graduate courses in their senior year, which can be counted towards the completion of both their Bachelor's and Master's degree requirements. The ability to take these "swing courses" allows students to earn both their Bachelor's and Master's degrees in a shortened period of time, typically within five years. Undergraduate students interested in this option can find more information regarding program requirements on the University's Combined Programs website.
The Combined Degree with Dual Certification program is a 5-year program that leads to teacher certification in English (grades P-12), teacher certification in Teacher of Students with Disabilities, a baccalaureate degree and a master’s degree. Interested students must apply to and be admitted to the Teacher Education Program as an undergraduate. Students must successfully complete the undergraduate portion of the program in order to be admitted to the Graduate School and complete the one-year master’s portion of the program.
Please visit the Teacher Education Program website for the required undergraduate professional sequence of courses, overall course outline, and other important Program requirements, guidelines, and procedures. Students also are strongly advised to review the Teacher Education Program Handbook.
120 credits of coursework is required for the baccalaureate degree with a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. Major GPA requirements differ depending on field of study. Consult the Teacher Education Program Handbook for more information.Program Requirements Overview
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| SEEDS General Education Requirements | 21-24 | |
| New Student Seminar | 1 | |
| Major Requirements | 39 | |
| Teacher Education Program Requirements (including Graduate swing courses) | 36 | |
| Free Electives | 23-20 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
Major Requirements
Requirements for the graduate portion of this combined program can be found here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Core | ||
| ENGL 300 | Critical Approaches to English | 3 |
| ENGL 305 | Young Adult Literature | 3 |
| ENFL 208 | Introduction to the Film | 3 |
| Introduction to Literature | ||
| ENGL 110 | Introduction to Literature: The Analytic Essay | 3 |
| or ENGL 111 | Introduction to Literature: The Short Story | |
| or ENGL 114 | Introduction to Literature: Utopian and Dystopian Fiction | |
| World Literature | ||
| ENGL 116 | World Literature: The Coming of Age Theme | 3 |
| or ENGL 117 | World Literature: Voices of Tradition and Challenge | |
| Multicultural Literature | ||
| Complete one course from the list below. | 3 | |
| Poetry | ||
| Complete one course from the list below. | 3 | |
| Shakespeare | ||
| ENGL 353 | Shakespeare: Comedies-Histories | 3 |
| or ENGL 354 | Shakespeare: Tragedies-Romances | |
| Study of American English | ||
| Complete one course from the list below. | 3 | |
| Pre-1800 | ||
| Complete one course from the list below. | 3 | |
| Pre-1900 American Literature | ||
| Complete one course from the list below. | 3 | |
| Major Elective | ||
| Complete one additional 3 credit major elective selected from ENGL 100-499 (excluding ENGL 471), ENFL 200-499 (excluding ENFL 310 and ENFL 410), ENWR 200-499 or LNGN 200, LNGN 230, or LNGN 284. A course may satisfy multiple categories but may be counted only once toward the major. | 3 | |
| Graduate Content Course | ||
| Complete one graduate course from ENGL 501-597 (excluding ENGL 506, ENGL 507, or ENGL 571) or ENLT 502-578. | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 39 | |
Multicultural Literature
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AMSD 225 | Afrofuturism and Its Histories | 3 |
| AMSD 235 | Caribbean Diasporas | 3 |
| ENGL 229 | American Literature II: 1890 to Present | 3 |
| ENGL 237 | Black Women Writers: US | 3 |
| ENGL 238 | Black Writers in the United States: A Survey | 3 |
| ENGL 274 | Contemporary U.S. Literature of Immigration | 3 |
| ENGL 279 | Latinx Writers in the United States | 3 |
| ENGL 301 | The Novels of Toni Morrison | 3 |
| ENGL/GSWS 308 | Gender and Sexuality in Asian American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 390 | The Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ENGL 565 | Black American Women Writers | 3 |
Poetry
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 240 | English Literature I: Beginnings to 1660 | 3 |
| ENGL 241 | English Literature II: 1660 to Present | 3 |
| ENGL 243 | King Arthur and Arthurian Literature in Medieval England | 3 |
| ENGL 260 | Art of Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 294 | Women Poets | 3 |
| ENGL 324 | American Poetry to 1940 | 3 |
| ENGL 325 | American Poetry: World War II to Present | 3 |
| ENGL 343 | Milton | 3 |
| ENGL 344 | Chaucer | 3 |
| ENGL 345 | Medieval English Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 346 | 19th Century English Romantic Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 347 | Victorian Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 348 | Renaissance Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 363 | Modern Poetry to T.S. Eliot | 3 |
| ENGL 364 | Contemporary Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 505 | Chaucer | 3 |
| ENGL 515 | Seventeenth Century Literature: Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 518 | Milton | 3 |
| ENGL 529 | British Romanticism I: Wordsworth and Coleridge | 3 |
| ENGL 533 | Victorian Studies III: Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 541 | Modern British and Irish Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 561 | Modern American Poetry | 3 |
Study of American English
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 284 | The English Language | 3 |
| ENGL 384 | The Grammars of English | 3 |
| ENWR 371 | Teaching Writing in the Public Schools | 3 |
| ENWR/WRIT 385 | Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing | 3 |
| LNGN 220 | Structure of American English | 3 |
| LNGN 230 | Language in Society | 3 |
| LNGN 284 | History of the English Language | 3 |
Pre-1800
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 210 | Myth and Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 228 | American Literature I: Beginnings to 1890 | 3 |
| ENGL 240 | English Literature I: Beginnings to 1660 | 3 |
| ENGL 243 | King Arthur and Arthurian Literature in Medieval England | 3 |
| ENGL 315 | Introduction to Native American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 326 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 330 | Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 340 | Literature of the Enlightenment Era | 3 |
| ENGL 341 | Literature of the Long Eighteenth Century | 3 |
| ENGL 342 | From Sensibility to Romanticism | 3 |
| ENGL 343 | Milton | 3 |
| ENGL 344 | Chaucer | 3 |
| ENGL 345 | Medieval English Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 348 | Renaissance Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 352 | English Drama: Beginnings to 1642 | 3 |
| ENGL 353 | Shakespeare: Comedies-Histories | 3 |
| ENGL 354 | Shakespeare: Tragedies-Romances | 3 |
| ENGL 381 | Satire in the Long Eighteenth Century | 3 |
| ENGL 444 | 17th Century English Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 455 | Restoration and 18th Century Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 513 | The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as Literature | 3 |
| ENLT 535 | The Enlightenment in Europe | 3 |
Pre-1900 American Literature
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AMSD 340 | Representing the American West | 3 |
| AMSD 380 | Shakespeare and American Identity | 3 |
| ENGL 228 | American Literature I: Beginnings to 1890 | 3 |
| ENGL 315 | Introduction to Native American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 326 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 333 | Literature of American Renaissance | 3 |
| ENGL 336 | American Literary Realism | 3 |
| ENGL 550 | Studies in Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 555 | American Romanticism | 3 |
| ENGL 556 | Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville | 3 |
| ENGL 557 | American Realism | 3 |
Teacher Education Program Requirements
New Student Seminar
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students in the Adult Learner program must take GNED 100. | ||
| Complete one course from the following. Some courses may be restricted by major. Consult with an academic advisor. | 1 | |
| Pathways to Success | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Chemistry | ||
| First Year Seminar | ||
| Adult Academic Success Seminar | ||
| New Student Seminar | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Health and Physical Education | ||
| Pathways to Adult Learning | ||
| New Student Seminar | ||
| New Student Experience for Mathematical Sciences | ||
| Freshman Seminar for Music Majors | ||
| Introduction to Nursing | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Political Science and Law | ||
SEEDS General Education Requirements
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill the SEEDS requirements.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | ||
| Effective Writing I | ||
| Fulfilled by ENGL 110, ENGL 111, or ENGL 114 in the major. | ||
| Effective Writing II | ||
| Complete one Effective Writing II course. | 3 | |
| Interactive Communication | ||
| Complete one Interactive Communication course. | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Complete one Quantitative Reasoning course. | 3 | |
| Political and Civic Life | ||
| Fulfilled by SASE 210 in the Teacher Education requirements. | ||
| World Languages | ||
| Complete two sequential classes in one World Language when starting at the Beginner I or Beginner II level. Complete one class when starting at the Intermediate/Advanced Level. | 3-6 | |
| Exploration | ||
| Complete one course from four different Exploration Categories. | 9 | |
| Analyzing Cultures and Societies | ||
| Creative Expression | ||
| Ethical Inquiry | ||
| Historical Thinking | ||
| Literary and Artistic Analysis | ||
| Fulfilled by ENGL 116 or ENGL 117 in the major. | ||
| Scientific Reasoning | ||
| Total Credits | 21-24 | |