Major Requirements

A major requires a minimum of eleven courses (44 units).

COURSEWORK

Historical Surveys

ENGL 287	English Literature 1400-1670	4 units
ENGL 288	English Literature 1660-Present	4 units
ENGL 289	The American Experience in Literature	4 units

Students may substitute one of the corresponding first-year survey courses (ENGL 187, ENGL 188, ENGL 189) for its 200 level counterpart (ENGL 287, ENGL 288, ENGL 289), but may not receive major credit for both (e.g. ENGL 187 and ENGL 287).

Seminars

ENGL 290	Introduction to Literary Methods	4 units
ENGL 390	Junior Seminar in English	4 units
ENGL 490	Senior Seminar: Comprehensive Project	4 units

Group I: Medieval and Renaissance Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

ENGL	210 – 229
	Or
ENGL	310 – 329

Group II: 18th and 19th Century Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

ENGL	230 – 249
	Or
ENGL	330 – 349

Group III: 20th and 21st Century Literature

Students must select one course numbered:

ENGL	250 – 269
	Or
ENGL	350 – 369

Group IV: Emergent Literature

Students must select one course that focuses on literature previously excluded from the canon:

ENGL 142	Joyful Noise! On Black Literature and Musicality	4 units
ENGL 241	The "Deviant"	4 units
ENGL 274	Women Writers	4 units
ENGL 341	Race, Law, and Literature	4 units
ENGL 345	American Literature Before 1900	4 units
ENGL 347	19th Century Novel and Bollywood Cinema	4 units

NOTE: "Emergent Literature" courses will typically fall under the Group II or III categories. However, they cannot count for both a period requirement (such as Group II or III) and the Emergent Literature requirement.

Electives

ENGL

One additional ENGL course

*A maximum of two courses taken at the 200-level can be applied to the Group 1-4 requirement.

Students considering graduate work in literature are strongly encouraged to take additional English courses beyond the minimum of eleven in order to broaden and deepen their knowledge of literary history and their practice of literary interpretation. They should also take ENGL 370. Most graduate programs require proficiency in at least one foreign language.

Concentration in Creative Writing

Students majoring in English may elect to take additional courses in order to complete a concentration in Creative Writing, a special track that provides a strong background in both literary history and creative writing skills. Students choosing this concentration will take a total of 13 courses.

Historical Surveys

ENGL 287	English Literature 1400-1670	4 units
ENGL 288	English Literature 1660-Present	4 units
ENGL 289	The American Experience in Literature	4 units

Students may substitute one of the corresponding first-year survey courses (ENGL 187, ENGL 188, ENGL 189) for its 200 level counterpart (ENGL 287, ENGL 288, ENGL 289), but may not receive major credit for both (e.g. ENGL 187 and ENGL 287).

Seminars

Students must complete the courses listed below:

ENGL 290	Introduction to Literary Methods	4 units
ENGL 390	Junior Seminar in English	4 units
ENGL 490	Senior Seminar: Comprehensive Project	4 units

Three Upper Division Electives

Choose from categories noted above as Groups I, II, III and IV (only one of these may be a 200-level course).

Creative Writing Electives

Students must complete four creative writing electives. At least two of these must be from the English department. Other departments and programs that have offered writing courses include French, Media Arts and Culture, Theater, and Writing and Rhetoric. Students interested in pursuing concentration in creative writing must work out a careful program in consultation with their adviser and the department chair.