BA in English

Credit Hours of College-Level Courses Required for Graduation:  120, 121

The Bachelor of Arts in English broadens and deepens students’ understand of language and literature and develops skills in analysis, research, and writing.  To meet these objectives, the Department offers a variety of courses in language and in literature (arranged by area, period, genre, movement, or special topic).

Career opportunities for English majors vary and are outlined in a booklet available in the departmental office.   The English major prepares students for teaching (at the secondary level) and has long been regarded as appropriate baccalaureate preparation for careers in law, medicine, business, and government.

Students interested in becoming English majors should contact the English Department to be assigned an adviser.  Thereafter, students are required to meet with advisers each semester before registration and to have the appropriate adviser’s signature on the registration form.  Students become majors upon completion of 1133 213 with a grade of “B” or higher.

Core Required Courses for Both Options:

Highly Recommended Courses:  3

*Satisfies University-wide Requirements

Teacher Education (Secondary)

In addition to courses in the major, the following courses are required for students seeking teacher certification in English. Students must have their assigned English Department adviser’s permission to enter the program and must meet regularly with their adviser, who plans with them and monitors their program of study.  The program in English Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Note:  Students must earn a “C” or better in all required education courses, except Observation and Behavior Student Teaching, which requires a “B” or higher.

Additional Comments or Requirements:  Prospective majors are expected to earn grades of “B” or higher in composition and literature courses 1133 111-112 and should declare a major in English before taking 1133 213.  The Department encourages English majors to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0; the required minimum GPA is 2.5.  A grade of “B” is required in 1133 213, and the course may be repeated once.  A minimum grade of “C” is required in other English courses.  A course may be retaken only once.  On the recommendation of an English adviser, a student may be required to take additional courses.  Entry into the Teacher Education Program requires permission of and written recommendation from the assigned adviser.  English 1133 212 is a prerequisite for all non-English majors who take advanced English courses.

Sequencing:  Students must have passed 1133 213, Introduction to Critical Writing, with a “B” or higher before taking 300- or 400-level literature courses, but they may take 200-level writing courses and 300-level range courses concurrently with 213.  At least some literature courses at the 300-400 level are to be taken before Principles of Literary Criticism I, 1133 467, preferably 1133 330 and 1133 331.