Undergraduate programs

The study of English has long been considered one of the best ways to obtain a liberal education. Courses are designed to develop students’ critical capabilities, to deepen their understanding of diverse cultural issues, and to improve their abilities to analyze and produce complex texts. The department prepares its majors for careers in writing and teaching, as well as for a variety of professions in which high levels of literacy and critical thought are required. Indeed, the breadth of knowledge and the communication skills that English majors typically acquire make them attractive to many potential employers and prepare them for graduate work leading to professions in fields such as law, public policy, administration, and business. For those who wish to teach, the English Department prepares majors for graduate work leading to teaching certification or for entry into graduate master’s or doctoral programs in English.

Degree Maps and Learning Outcomes

Admission requirements

English B.A./B.S.

Creative Writing B.F.A.

English Minor

Writing Minor

Film Studies Minor

English B.A./B.S.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the general University degree requirements, the English major must meet the following departmental requirements:

I. Critical Approaches and Methods: (8 credits)

These courses reinforce foundational training in close reading, formal and rhetorical analysis, evidence-based argument construction, and research methods that are indispensable for higher-level work in English.

Students must take both Eng 300 and Wr 301.

Eng 300 is a prerequisite for 400-level courses. Wr 301 may be taken concurrently with 400-level courses.

Eng 300	Literary Form and Analysis	4
Wr 301	Critical Writing in English	4
Total Credit Hours:		8

II. Historical Literacy: (8 credits)

These courses provide students with the opportunity to explore different historical periods, regions, and genres, thus enabling them to find connections between multiple topics and cultural moments.

Take two courses from the following list.

Eng 301U	Topics in Shakespearean Genre	4
Eng 320U	The English Novel I	4
Eng 340U	Medieval Literature	4
Eng 341U	Renaissance Literature	4
Eng 342U	Eighteenth Century Literature	4
Eng 343U	Romanticism	4
Eng 351U/BSt 351U	African American Literature I	4
Eng 360U	American Literature and Culture I	4
Eng 416	History of Rhetoric	4
Eng 426	Advanced Topics in Medieval Literature	4
Eng 441	Advanced Topics in Renaissance Literature	4
Eng 450	Advanced Topics in Eighteenth-Century Literature	4
Eng 458	Advanced Topics in Romanticism	4
Eng 460	Advanced Topics in American Literature to 1800	4
Eng 491	History of Literary Criticism and Theory I	4
Total Credit Hours:		8

III. Culture, Difference, and Representation: (4 credits)

These courses explore the politics of representation in the contexts of identity and subject formation, cultural encounter and domination, and canon formation and contestation.

Take one course from the following list.

Eng 326	Literature, Community, and Difference	4
Eng 327	Culture, Imperialism, and Globalization	4
Eng 428	Canons and Canonicity	4
Total Credit Hours:		4

IV. Electives: (40 credits)

These courses provide students with the opportunity to pursue their own interests and design a purposeful course of study.

Take ten Eng or Wr courses. At least seven courses (28 credits) must be at the 300 or 400 level. Three ENG courses (12 credits) may be at the 200-level; 200-level WR courses do not apply to the English major. Please read the “Notes and restrictions” section below for more information.

Total Credit Hours:

40

Total Credit Hours: 60

Notes and restrictions

• Eng 300 Literary Form and Analysis is a prerequisite for 400-level courses in the English major.
• Wr 301 is expected preparation for 400-level courses in the English major but may be taken at the same time as 400-level courses.
• Students must take at least 3 courses (12 credits) at the 400 level. Eng 404, Wr 404, and Wr 411 Internship credits may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
• Only courses taken under the differentiated grading option (i.e., a letter grade instead of pass/no pass) can be used to fulfill the requirements of the English major and the minimum grade required is C.
• A minimum of 28 credits in English and/or Writing must be taken at PSU to graduate from PSU with a major in English.
• In the case of topics courses that may be taken more than once, no more than 8 credits of the same course number will count toward the English major.
• One upper-division literature course (4 credits) in the Department of World Languages and Literatures may be used as an elective in the English major with adviser approval.
• Ling 390 Introduction to Linguistics may be used as an elective in the English major.
• Wr 200, Wr 210, Wr 211, Wr 222, and Wr 323 will not count toward the English major.
• No more than 8 credits total from the following may be applied to the English major: Eng 401, Eng 402, Eng 404, Eng 405, Eng 408, Eng 409 and Wr 404, and Wr 405.
• No more than 12 credits taken for the minor in Writing may be applied to the English major.
• No more than 8 credits taken for the minor in Film Studies may be applied to the English major.
• Chiron Studies courses will not count toward the English major or the minors in English, Writing, and Film Studies.