Requirements for the English Major

The English major consists of 33 upper-division credits; all major courses must be passed with a grade of C or better; a grade of C- does not count toward the major. ENG 100 and two ENG 270-273 courses are prerequisite to the major; the second 270-273 course may be taken concurrently with 300-level courses.

300 Level Requirements:
A. ENG 320, Introduction to English Studies; 3 credits; should be taken in the first two semesters of the major.

B. 5 courses in addition to ENG 320; 15 credits. Several of these courses should be in areas prerequisite to/preparatory for specific courses at the 400 level.

400 Level Requirements
(ENG 320 & one 300-level course are prerequisite to “Studies” courses):

C. Single Author (Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton or approved 440 author); 3 credits. If a course is used to fulfill the Single Author requirement, it may not be used to fulfill an Historical Breadth requirement.

D. 2 additional elective courses exclusive of 495 and 499; 6 credits. At least one 400-level course must be a “Studies” course.

300 or 400 Level:
E. 2 courses; 6 credits. 495 and/or 499 count here, if applicable.

Total: 33 credits.

Note: No more than two 300 or 400-level courses designated as “large enrollment” (maximum enrollment of 60) may count toward the major. If you take more than two, the additional course(s) will count toward your graduation credit total of 124, but not your major total of 33 credits.

Breadth Requirements

Breadth of Field: the five 300-level courses in addition to Introduction to English Studies must come from at least three different categories:

Composition/Language/Rhetoric (300-308, 311)
Creative Writing (313)
Literary History (321-56)
Genre (360-65)
Literature & Culture (370-84)

Historical Breadth: of the ten courses in addition to Introduction to English Studies, one must be Pre-1700, one 1700-1900, and one from 1900-Present. 400-level Studies courses count for Historical Breadth, but not Breadth of Field.

Non-English Department Course: With the consent of the student's advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies, one appropriate three-credit upper-division course from outside English may be counted as a major elective.