B.A. in English

Curriculum

Curriculum Sheets
Course Descriptions Learning Outcomes
  • 120 total credits are required to graduate
  • 36 to 52 credits in English courses, depending on whether you choose to double major or include a minor and/or internships in your program of study
  • at least 20 credits of English must be completed at the 300 level or above (we recommend taking five or more courses in English at the 300 and 400 levels)

Required Course

ENG 201: Principles of Literary Study – An introduction to the study of literature through reading and discussion of major methodologies, analytical approaches, and perspectives in literary study. Available only to declared English majors, who are required to take it in the first or second year.

Historical Periods

You’ll take at least one course in each of the five historical periods listed below:

  • Pre-1500: ENG 251 British Literature I; ENG 367 The Epic; ENG 368 The Bible; ENG 381 Topics in Medieval Literature; ENG 478 Medieval Authors
  • 1500-1660: ENG 251 British Literature I; ENG 280 Introduction to Shakespeare; ENG 345 Topics in American Colonial Literatures; ENG 382 Topics in Renaissance Literature; ENG 472 Shakespeare; ENG 479 Renaissance Authors.
  • 1660-1800: ENG 241 U.S. Literature I; ENG 251 British Literature I; ENG 345 Topics in American Colonial Literatures; ENG 374 British Literature: 1660-1800; ENG 377 Topics in Romanticism; ENG 480 British restoration and Enlightenment Authors; ENG 482 American Enlightenment Authors.
  • 1800-1900: ENG 241 U.S. Literature I; ENG 242 U.S. Literature II; ENG 252 British Literature II; ENG 347 Antebellum U.S. Literature and Culture; ENG 348 U.S. Literature and Culture from 1865 to 1914; ENG 376 Topics in Victorian Literature and Culture; ENG 377 Topics in Romanticism; ENG 448 Traditions of the Novel in the Americas; ENG 486 British Authors: 19th Century.
  • 1900-present: ENG 242 U.S. Literature II; ENG 248 African-American Literature from 1900 to the Present; ENG 252 British Literature II; ENG 317 Contemporary Women Novelists of the Americas; ENG 348 U.S. Literature and Culture from 1865 to 1914; ENG 362 African-American Literary Genres (Other than Short Story and Novel); ENG 363 African-American Fiction; ENG 364 Contemporary African Literature; ENG 378 Aspects of Postmodernism; ENG 379 Contemporary Literature; ENG 383 Modernist Literature, 1900-1945; ENG 387 Foundational Texts in Modern Gay and Lesbian Culture; ENG 485 U.S. Authors After 1900.

Other courses may be available for historical period coverage. Review the course descriptions and see your advisor for a curriculum modification.

Electives

Choose 12 additional credits of electives (200 level and above) from among the department’s offerings

  • English majors cannot take ENG courses to satisfy General Education requirements in the Literature or Letters categories. Majors may take approved General Education courses cross-listed with English, e.g., ENG/AAF 248 or ENG/CLS 160, or appropriate courses in other departments.
  • This restriction does not pertain to most double majors. Please check with an advisor to be sure of your status.