Degree Requirements

English Studies

Three principles guide the four majors (English, English-Secondary Education, Creative Writing, and Creative Writing-Secondary Education) in the Department of English and Creative Writing: practice, theory, and history. Foundational courses taken by all tracks in the freshman and sophomore years teach skills and knowledge in literary practice, history and theory and provide a common learning experience. After the foundational courses, majors in the Literature track (English and English-Secondary Education majors) elect advanced seminars in literary history and theory, while majors in the Creative Writing track take advanced writing workshops. English and English-Secondary majors complete their coursework in a capstone experience pursuing their own independent research projects; Creative Writing majors complete their coursework in a writing portfolio experience.

The English Major will learn excellent communication skills, a broad understanding of literary form, and a historical sense of literature, while developing a familiarity with a diversity of literatures and discourses about literature.

Requirements for the English Major. 48 semester hours with grades of C- or better.

The English-Secondary Education Major is designed to prepare students to teach English in a middle or high school and be successful on standard exams required of teaching candidates. This major is offered by the Department of English and Creative Writing in conjunction with the Department of Education. It is designed to be a program leading to teacher certification, and students formally apply to the teacher education program after completing at least 46 hours. At the time of application, the candidate must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 English GPA. Students should apply to the Committee of Teacher Education in the Department of Education by February of their sophomore year or as soon after that as possible.

Requirements for the English-Secondary Education Major. 48 hours with grades of C- or better.

Required courses are the same as for the English major, but English-secondary education majors are encouraged to take ENGL:350 Major Authors, Shakespeare to fulfill their credit hours in Advanced Studies and Themes. Students must also complete the required education courses for secondary education certification as listed in the Department of Education section of the catalog.

Requirements for the Creative Writing Major emphasize literature and writing courses that will be most valuable in preparing students not only for careers in writing, but also for related careers in law, education, publishing and editing. Courses are organized to offer breadth and depth, practical skills, and intensive independent writing, presentation and production experiences.

Requirements for the Creative Writing Major. 44–50 semester hours with grades of C- or better.

The Creative Writing-Secondary Education Major emphasizes literature and creative writing courses that will be most valuable in preparing students for a career in teaching. Courses are organized to develop not only the writing skills of the student, but also to enhance the ability to teach creative writing and literature. Courses in literature are chosen specifically to enable students to master the core of literature needed to both succeed on standardized examinations required of teaching candidates and to be familiar with secondary school curricula.

This major is offered by the Department of English and Creative Writing in conjunction with the Department of Education. It is designed to be a program leading to teacher certification, and students formally apply to the teacher education program after completing at least 46 hours. At the time of application, the candidate must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 English GPA. Students should apply to the Committee of Teacher Education in the Department of Education by February of their sophomore year or as soon after that as possible

Requirements for the Creative Writing-Secondary Education Major. 48 - 52 semester hours in Department of English and Creative Writing courses with grades of C- or better.

Note: The Department of Education requires a cumulative grade point of 3.0 overall and in the major.

Minor in English. English minors complete, with grades of C- or better, at least 20 semester hours beyond ENGL:100 and one 200-level course satisfying the Central Curriculum literature requirement. The minor consists of 4 semester hours in ENGL:265 Forms of Writing, 4 semester hours from Surveys in Traditions of Literatures courses, and 12 semester hours from Advanced Studies and Themes courses. Courses are chosen by the student with the guidance of a departmental advisor.

Minor in Creative Writing. Creative writing minors complete, with grades of C- or better, at least 20 semester hours beyond ENGL:100 and including WRIT:350. The remaining courses are chosen with guidance and approval of the departmental minor advisor from departmental offerings in writing: WRIT:250, WRIT:270, WRIT:350, WRIT:450 and WRIT:550, all of which may be taken more than once for credit provided that the subtitle and content of the course are changed. COMM:131 Introduction to Journalism also satisfies requirements of the minor. The creative writing minor is not open to students pursuing the creative writing major.