Major Requirements
Major Requirements: Ten courses as follows:
1. English 220
2. Three historical survey courses:
English 240. British Literature through 18
th century
English 260 or English 290
(English 260: British Literature, 19
th through 20
th century, including colonial and post-colonial literature; English 290: World Literatures, a historical survey of selected texts outside the British and American literary traditions.)
English 280. American literature through 20
th century
3. A course in writing, creative writing, or creative practice (at 200 or 300 level)
4. Five electives, three of them forming a coherent self-designed “cluster” by interest, period, or genre and at least two of the five at the 400-495 level.
Note: Students who declare a major in English should complete 220 and 240 by the end of the sophomore year. The remaining two historical survey courses should be completed by the end of the junior year. Those who cannot meet these deadlines must make prior arrangements with the Chair.
Honors Requirements
The Honors Program requires a 3.5 GPA in English courses by the time of graduation and 3.2 overall GPA at the point of application to the program. It normally comprises twelve courses. These twelve include two in addition to the ten required of all majors: English 498, in which the student researches a thesis and presents plans to a thesis committee; and English 499, in which the student writes the thesis and, at the end, is examined by the thesis committee. Exceptions to the requirement of twelve courses may include the following:
1. Students who apply to the honors program may ask the department to substitute English 498 for an elective.
2. With the Department’s permission, two courses required of the honors student may come from other departments related to the student’s thesis.
A more detailed description of the Honors Program may be found on the Departmental Web page. To be awarded honors, students must achieve at least a grade of B+ in both English 498 and English 499.
Transfer Courses
The English Department accepts up to five courses from other colleges and universities as credit toward the major. To be granted transfer credit toward the major, students, after receiving College credit from the Registrar, should make their requests to the English Department Chair and submit for evaluation all relevant course materials.
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