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 first and second 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 is designed to prepare students for a successful, fulfilling life and career in the 21st century by training them to understand the theoretical implications and historical context of all forms of writing and become expert writers. A graduate from this program will have superb analytic and problem-solving skills, powerful methods to understand cultural context and meaning, and the ability to perform advanced research in any text-based field, such as law, education, government, libraries, publishing, advertising and public advocacy.

Learning goals:

• Critical thinking: originality and appreciation of nuance
• Interpretation: history, theory and criticism
• Literacy: reading, intertextuality and cosmopolitanism
• Style: rhetoric, genre and audience

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

semester hours

The English-Secondary Education Major is designed to prepare students to teach English in grades 7-12 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 by February of their sophomore year or as soon after that as possible. At the time of application, the candidate must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 English GPA.

Requirements for the English-Secondary Education Major. 48 semester 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 education section.

The creative writing major emphasizes 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.

semester hours

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 in the Department of Education. It is designed to be a program leading to teacher certification, and students formally apply to the teacher education program by February of their sophomore year or as soon after that as possible At the time of application, the candidate must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 English GPA.

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.

semester hours

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

Major GPA Calculation. For the purposes of calculating the required 2.0 minimum GPA in any of the four majors offered by the department, the English and Creative Writing Department uses all of the major courses with the ENGL and WRIT prefixes.

Minor in English. English minors complete, with grades of C- or better, 4 semester hours from ENGL:265 Surveys in Forms of Writing courses, 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 adviser.

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 adviser from departmental offerings in writing: WRIT:240, 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. Declaration of a creative writing minor requires submission of a six- to eight-page creative writing sample to the director of creative writing. Select members of the creative writing faculty will review this sample to ensure that students have the ability to succeed in this minor. Note that approval of a creative writing minor does not guarantee a place in workshop classes. The creative writing minor is not open to students pursuing the creative writing major.

Minor in Editing and Publishing. Students earning the minor in editing and publishing must complete six courses (a total of 18 semester hours) with a grade of C- or above. The required courses are ENGL:190 Introduction to Modern Publishing, WRIT:270 Small Press Editing and Publishing, COMM:331 Editing, ENGL:540 Internship, and ENGL:388 Publishing: Entertainment, Art, Politics, Ethics.