Believing that literature is one of the most profound expressions of the human experience, the English Department introduces students to literature from a variety of cultural traditions. This approach can give students a sense of the diversity of the human experience and their own place in the world. Close work with literature can give students special insight into the shared resource that is our language and can make them more confident about their ability to express themselves and to evaluate the written expression of others. This close work gives students the practice in critical reading and writing that can prepare them for graduate study, teaching, and the professions; in addition, writing fiction, poetry, and drama can prepare students for careers in those areas.

A note on the core: English majors and minors must take a course to satisfy the university's core literature requirement, and this course is separate from and in addition to the courses taken to fulfill the English major and minor requirements.


Lower Division Requirements

ENGL 201 and either ENGL 200 or 202; ENGL 203 and 204.

A grade of C (2.0) is required in each premajor course before qualifying for upper division status as an English major. Students transferring into the Department after their sophomore year may enroll in upper division courses in the major concurrently with the premajor courses. Students must complete all upper division courses in the major with a minimum grade of C (2.0) in order to maintain status as English majors. Failure to maintain this standard or failure to make sufficient progress toward completion of the major will result in probation or disqualification from the Department.