Majoring and Minoring

For complete information about majoring and minoring, see the online catalog.

---

Majoring

The major requires 40 credits, including:

• English 205 and English 206. A two-semester survey of literature in English from the medieval period through the present.
• Two 300-level courses in earlier literature. Options include Chaucer; Shakespeare: Later Works; Satire and Sentiment, 1660-1780; and The Early English Novel. For a complete list of courses that will fulfill this requirement (Category I) see the online catalog.
• Two 300-level courses in more recent literature. Options include The Romantics; National Sins and National Dreams: American Literature 1830-1865; African American Literature; Modern British and Irish Literature; and Fiction Writing II. Students may fulfill this requirement with two literature courses OR one literature course and one creative writing course. For a complete list of courses that will fulfill this requirement (Category II) see the online catalog.
• Three electives at any level. Options include Films Adapting Fiction; Literature and Animal Rights; From Scroll to Codex: Working with Medieval Manuscripts; Gender and Aesthetic Expression; and Creative Writing: Poetry I. For a complete list of courses that will fulfill the electives requirements, see the online catalog.
• English 450. A one-semester senior seminar. Recent topics have included Mary Shelley; Virginia Woolf; Medieval Romance; and the Literature of American Slavery.

Minoring 

The minor requires 24 credits, including:

• English 205 or English 206.
• Two literature courses, one at the 300-level.
• Three electives at any level.

For a complete list of the categories and corresponding courses that satisfy them, see the online catalog.

Concentration in Creative Writing (optional)

Majors and minors may add a concentration in creative writing to the degree in English. In order to earn the concentration, students must complete the structured sequence in either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

• We offer structured sequences of courses in both fiction and poetry as well as a class in creative nonfiction.
• You may count up to four creative writing courses towards the major and/or add a concentration in creative writing to your degree.

Fiction

• English 200 Creative Writing: Fiction 1.
• English 300 Creative Writing: Fiction 2.
• English 400 Creative Writing: Fiction 3.

Nonfiction

• English 203 Creative Writing: Nonfiction 1, or English 210 Writing and Illness.
• English 303 Creative Writing: Nonfiction 2.
• English 403 Creative Writing: Nonfiction 3.

Poetry

• English 201 Creative Writing: Poetry 1.
• English 301 Creative Writing: Poetry 2.
• English 401 Creative Writing: Poetry 3.