English, B.A.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Requirements for the Major:

The English major requires twelve courses: two introductory, seven intermediate, and three advanced. The English major does not require a senior thesis, except for those applying for Honors (see below).

Two Introductory Courses chosen from the following:

EGL 100 - Introduction to the Study of Literature: Poetry
EGL 101 - Introduction to the Study of Literature: Fiction
EGL 102 - Introduction to the Study of Literature: Drama
Note: These three courses emphasize close reading of primary texts and help students acquire the vocabulary to speak and write clearly and intelligently about literature. The texts are chosen by the instructor of each section.

Detailed descriptions of the various sections of EGL 100 , EGL 101 , and EGL 102 are available in print in the English department office the week before pre-enrollment each term and on the English Department website.

Majors must complete their second Introductory Course no later than the winter term of their junior year.

Seven Intermediate Courses:

At least one Introductory Course is a prerequisite to courses at the Intermediate level (see exception for students who received a 5 on their AP exam in either English language or literature). In this group, majors must complete the following required courses:

One course on Shakespeare (200 or 201):

*One course on literature from a period before 1700 (202-215):

EGL 203 - The Age of Heroes
EGL 204 - Plague, Revolt, Religion, and Nation: The Fourteenth Century
EGL 205 - The Road to Canterbury
EGL 210 - British Literature: Seventeenth-Century Literature
EGL 211 - Milton
EGL 212 - The Restoration
EGL 213 - American Literature in Historical Context: Beginnings to 1800
The pre-1700 and the Shakespeare requirements must be fulfilled with two separate courses. A second Shakespeare course may count as an elective, but this practice does not substitute for a pre-1700 course.

One course on eighteenth to nineteenth-century literature (216-236):

Four more intermediate courses of choice (200-299):

In addition to the courses listed above, these include the following:

Three Advanced Courses:

Advanced courses, or Junior and Senior Seminars, are writing intensive and research oriented. Majors must complete three advanced courses, including one Junior and one Senior Seminar, and a third seminar of choice. Students must take at least two Intermediate Courses before enrolling in a Junior Seminar. Students must take at least four Intermediate Courses and both Introductory Courses before enrolling in a Senior Seminar. Students are strongly advised to take Junior Seminar before enrolling in a Senior Seminar.

Junior Seminars (topics change each year, 300-)

Senior Seminars (topics change each year, 400-401; 404-):

Requirements for English Honors: Thesis (402-3):

Fourteen courses are required for honors, which includes the usual twelve plus a two-term honors thesis seminar, EGL 402 and EGL 403 . The two-term thesis does not replace the required senior seminar. Other qualifications to be eligible to apply to write an honors thesis include a 3.3 GPA both cumulatively and in the English major; the Literary Theory seminar; an accepted proposal (submitted during fourth week of Spring Term, students’ junior year). See the English Department website for a more complete description.

In this seminar, students are expected to learn research methods, discuss their subjects and approaches to them, and share ideas and writing, as they work toward completing their individual theses under the direction of the seminar instructor. Prospective Honors thesis writers are required to take the Literary Theory Seminar EGL 302 in Winter of their Junior year, prior to applying to write a thesis, whether proposing a creative or an analytical thesis. Students proposing creative theses are strongly encouraged to have already participated in a creative writing workshop in the proposed genre. Interested students should discuss possible thesis subjects with their advisor and other departmental members in order to develop an appropriate thesis topic. Prospective Honors students are required to submit a two-to three-page thesis proposal and writing sample in Spring of their junior year, for review by the department’s Honors selection committee.