The English Major

The English major consists of ten courses and a Capstone Experience. Among those ten must be:

• One course numbered in the 100s, other than 120; these courses introduce students to the criticism and analysis of literary texts.
• One course focused on British literature before 1700, and another course on British literature before 1900.
• One course focused on American literature before 1900 .
• One course focused on literature by U.S. writers of color, or an approved course in postcolonial or diasporic literature.
• One course numbered in the 400s (generally taken junior or senior year). These higher-level courses offer a chance for more focused and independent work.

The rest of the courses can include anything the English Department offers, with certain exceptions as listed in the course catalog. They may also include one course in the literature of another language.

The Capstone Experience must take place during the senior year . It can be an Honors Project; an independent creative or research project supervised by a faculty member; or simply a course numbered in the 400s, taken senior year.

Technically the English major includes two plans, Plan A (most majors) and Plan B (focused on creative writing ); the only difference is that in plan B, five of the ten courses that count towards the major are creative writing courses. Note that English 120, Introduction to Creative Writing, is a prerequisite for all our higher-level creative writing course, and that Plan B majors must therefore take two 100-level courses (120 plus something else) during their college career.

For more detail, see this year's college course catalog—or ask an English professor.