BA in English
Our interdisciplinary BA English program allows you to curate the emphasis of your studies by choosing a combination of literature, language, and creative writing classes.
The variety of English courses that may be taken as Liberal Arts and Science (LAS) electives is a core contributor to a well-rounded undergraduate education.
What Will I Learn?
Teaching and research in our program cover the entire history of literature in English from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day, along with language, literature in translation, and creative writing studies. The language and writing tracks are structured to have more functional and experiential emphases – to offer you an enhanced and a better focused education.
More recent growth areas in the department – reflected in new course offerings, faculty research, and award-winning student capstone projects – include literary and cultural theory, life writing, postcolonial and world literature, gender and sexuality, corpus linguistics, narrative medicine, English studies of the Arabic novel and discourse and power. We also offer full-fledged undergraduate courses in narrative medicine and the Arabic novel in translation.
Your Career
You can go for careers in professional writing, media, television, international organizations, the arts, publishing, business, translation, consulting, information technology, journalism, and public relations.
Upon graduation, you can pursue a teaching career (if you also get the Teaching Diploma), or opt for graduate studies in a wide variety of fields related to literature, language, creative writing and the humanities and social sciences.
Related Diplomas
Regardless of your chosen emphasis, if you are enrolled in this program you can obtain a Teaching Diploma by taking six designated Education courses (18 credits), including EDU418 Practice Teaching.
Research
Faculty research strengths lie in the sheer variety of outputs, from representations of aging in the Arabic novel, queer readings of home in the diaspora, language and the law, media and politics, Victorian studies, Renaissance criticisms, and ethnographic life writing research.
Curriculum
The BA in English requires 92 credits.
The program:
- Includes 48 credits in the major: 24 credits are core requirements, and 24 credits distributed among the 3 options: literature, language, and writing
- Offers courses from all 3 emphases, but you will choose one to specialize in, either in Professional Creative Writing, Literature, or Language
- Allows 13 credits as free electives, or you may target courses in translation, communication arts, design, or fashion, to enrich your specific field of study
A senior research thesis is a core requirement for graduation. If you specialize in professional creative writing, you will complete an internship during your final year.
Major Core Requirements (24 credits)
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG213 | Introduction to Language | 3 |
| ENG216 | Introduction to Literature | 3 |
| ENG303 | Literary Linguistics | 3 |
| ENG366 | Creative Writing | 3 |
| ENG372 | Comparative and World Literature | 3 |
| ENG381 | Corpus Linguistics | 3 |
| ENG354 | Theories of Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ENG499 | Senior Study | 3 |
Other Major Requirements (24 credits)
You can choose one of the 6 options below:
- Option 1: Literature: 15 Cr., Language: 6 Cr., Writing: 3 Cr.
- Option 2: Literature: 6 Cr., Language: 15 Cr., Writing: 3 Cr.
- Option 3: Literature: 3 Cr., Language: 6 Cr., Writing: 15 Cr.
- Option 4: Literature: 15 Cr., Language: 3 Cr., Writing: 6 Cr
- Option 5: Literature: 3 Cr., Language: 15 Cr., Writing: 6 Cr.
- Option 6: Literature: 6 Cr., Language: 3 Cr., Writing: 15 Cr.
Literature
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG323 | Renaissance Drama | 3 |
| ENG324 | Medieval Literature | 3 |
| ENG325 | Renaissance Poetry | 3 |
| ENG326 | Restoration and Neoclassical Literature | 3 |
| ENG328 | Early Novel | 3 |
| ENG336 | Romantic and Victorian Poetry | 3 |
| ENG339 | Nineteenth-century British Novel | 3 |
| ENG342 | Modernism and Beyond | 3 |
| ENG345 | Twentieth-century British Novel | 3 |
| ENG346 | Contemporary Culture | 3 |
| ENG348 | Post-colonial Anglophone Literature | 3 |
| ENG351 | Early American Literature | 3 |
| ENG352 | Twentieth-century American Novel | 3 |
| ENG479 | Topics in Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ENG376 | Gender in Literature | 3 |
| ENG487 | Topics in Drama and Theatre* | 3 |
*ENG487 can be taken more than once for extra credits if the topics differ.
Language
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG281 | Language and Change: Past, Present and Future | 3 |
| ENG282 | Language and the Media | 3 |
| ENG283 | Language and Gender | 3 |
| ENG308 | Semantics and Pragmatics | 3 |
| ENG380 | Language and the Law | 3 |
| ENG480 | Discourse and Power | 3 |
Writing
| Number | Course | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| ENG301 | Food and Travel Writing | 3 |
| ENG331 | Poetry Writing | 3 |
| ENG332 | Life Writing | 3 |
| ENG333 | Fiction Writing | 3 |
| ENG334 | Illness Writing | 3 |
| ENG335 | Playwriting | 3 |
Liberal Arts Curriculum requirements (24 credits)