The Major

Any student can enroll in the English major, but students must complete the following sequence to proceed in the major: first, ENGLWRIT 112 College Writing with a grade of C or better before they can enroll in English 200 Intensive Literary Studies. Exceptions are students who have tested out of College Writing and Talent Advancement Program students who take College Writing and ENGLISH 200 simultaneously.

The English major requirements will change effective fall 2013 and the requirements below reflect the new major requirements.  Students must earn a GPA of 2.00 or higher in all major requirements.  English 200 can be taken concurrently with any 200-level course. 

English 200 Intensive Literary Studies (1 course)

One of the following two in early and early modern British Literature (1 course)
201 Early British Literature and Culture
221 Shakespeare

Two of the following three in British and/or American Literature (2 courses)
202 Later British Literature and Culture
268 American Literature and Culture Before 1865
269 American Literature and Culture After 1865

One course in global Anglophone or ethnic American literature, culture or rhetorics, 200 or higher level (1 course)

Departmental Electives (3 courses)
One elective must be at a 400 or higher level.  One elective must be at a 300 or higher level.  One elective must be at a 200 or higher level.

Writing and Criticism (1 course)
300 Junior Year Writing or 419 Games Thinkers Play. (Topics for these courses change from semester to semester; students should contact the department.)

Integrative Experience (1 course)

Restrictions on acceptance of transfer credit:
A maximum of three courses from other institutions, including other members of the Five College system, may count toward the major. Students should pre-approve these courses before taking them and can do so at the English Undergraduate Office.

Options within the English Major
There is no requirement that students choose a particular focus for their upper-level courses, but they may choose to concentrate on one area of literature. In American literature, for example, specialized courses and work on individual authors (Melville, Dickinson, etc.) are offered. In British literature, a solid curriculum of courses is offered in the literary periods (e.g., the Romantic period, the Middle Ages, the time of Shakespeare) and individual authors (e.g., Chaucer, Dickens, Woolf).

The Department also offers five areas of focus that confer Letters of Specialization: American Studies, Creative Writing, New Media and Digital Humanities, Professional Writing and Technical Communication (PWTC) and the Study and Practice of Writing (SPOW). American Studies offers a concentration that enables students to shape an interdisciplinary course of study in American culture, combining courses in literature with courses from other disciplines, such as history, art or Afro-American studies. Creative Writing involves a series of courses, mostly in the form of workshops, that develop students' craft in the writing of poetry, fiction or drama. New Media and Digital Humanities aims to better prepare interested students for jobs that require both a familiarity with technology and sound written and communication skills. We believe this specialization will also help our students become better critically informed and productive digital citizens. PWTC provides training in professional research and editing, grant writing, software and hardware documentation, report writing, and business communications. SPOW prepares students to rhetorically analyze, effectively participate in, and critically reflect on writing experiences across disciplines, professional workplaces, and community and civic environments.

Majors interested in Letters of Specialization should consult the Department's website for more information.

English majors are urged to consider the possibility of study abroad by taking advantage of the Department’s summer program in Oxford, or by engaging in a semester or year-long program at universities in Great Britain, Ireland, and other countries.

Honors in English
The Departmental Honors track serves the interests of students with the most intense passion for writing and criticism.  To join the program, students must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.200, and should arrange to meet with the English Department Honors Program Director, Janis Greve, as soon as possible after becoming an English major to discuss course scheduling and writing interests. An appointment may be made in the Undergraduate Office, 252 Bartlett, (413) 545-0388, ideally at the end of the sophomore year or early in the junior year, and subsequent meetings should be arranged as the thesis year approaches. Enrolled students must complete six honors courses with a grade of B or better, two of which must be English department courses, and two of which are the Independent Studies supporting the thesis work. All honors students are required to complete either a research-based, critical thesis or a creative writing project, or to take an English department honors capstone class in either creative writing or literature.