The Curriculum
Four survey courses required of all majors, two in American and two in English Literature (a one credit research course (Engl. 233) is required and elected once during survey work)

Also required: a course in Shakespeare and a capstone "Senior Seminar"

Recommended courses include: Russian, classical, and modern foreign language literatures

Undergraduate majors may concentrate on writing (taking classes in Advanced Composition, Argumentation, and Creative Writing), literature (advanced courses in literature and independent studies) or a combination of the two. Students interested in teaching writing may become Writing Fellows working with composition classes, the English faculty and tutoring in the Teaching Learning Center. A capstone "Senior Seminar" is expected of all majors. Departmental awards honor distinction and the department gives annually the Rosanna Webster Graham Award in Creative Writing and the Lloyd Arthur Prize in Expository Writing.

Equipment/Facilities
The Teaching Learning Center is staffed by the departmental faculty and by students who have trained as "Writing Fellows". The facility includes space for writing instruction and peer tutoring, computers for word processing, library research and informal discussion.

A computerized classroom in Wallace Hall is also used by the department to instruct students in English 110 and as an "after hours" word processing center.

Off-Campus Programs
The A.C.M. "Newberry Library" program, as well as the "London/Florence" and "Chicago in the Arts" programs are recommended for English majors.

Career Opportunities
An English degree provides a solid foundation for careers in law, public relations, business, business writing, library science, publishing and editing, teaching and many other communication-related fields.

Graduate School Opportunities
Many department graduates have pursued advanced degrees in Law, English, Fine Arts, Business Administration, Public Policy, English as a Second Language, etc.

English Major 
The English major requires at least 11 courses: English 220; 221; 224; 225; 361 or 362; 400; plus four additional courses which might substantially follow one of these three tracks or reflect a combination of them: 

• Literature: English 240; 260; 343; 347; 348; 349; plus 250 and 350 as offered
   
• Teaching: English 201; 314
   
• Writing: English 210; 299; 301; 310.

In addition, all English majors are required to: (a) take a one-hour research methods course (English 233) in conjunction with enrollment in one of the four required surveys, and (b) submit in the senior year a completed English studies portfolio (see departmental Web site for description). 

The English senior seminar (English 400) is the culminating experience for majors, whose candidacy for departmental honors is based upon their GPA in the major and their performance in the seminar. 

English Minor
A minor in English consists of six courses: English 220 or 221; 224 or 225; 361 or 362 and three other courses at the 200 or 300 level. Students whose major is elementary education and who wish to minor in English should take in addition English 201; 220 or 221; 224 or 225; 210 or 361 or 362; 301; and 314.

The Nineteenth-Century Studies Minor
The Nineteenth-Century Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program designed to help students understand people, events, ideas, and cultural artifacts of the period from 1789-1914 (the long nineteenth century). Students will take courses in an array of disciplines to synthesize an understanding of the nineteenth century and to determine larger patterns of meaning but also question how different disciplines construct and value knowledge.

Faculty in anthropology, art, English, history, humanities, modern foreign languages, music, philosophy, religious studies, and theatre will enable students to explore the period in a variety of ways and to enrich their understanding of the period. In the course of the Nineteenth-Century Studies Minor students will develop a fundamental understanding of human experience during the period from at least three disciplinary perspectives; integrate concepts across program courses to improve understanding of core issues, ideas, events, and cultural artifacts of the period; understand how disciplines construct knowledge similarly and differently. 

Teacher Certification
Those students seeking secondary certification are required to complete the course work for a major in English and must include English 201 and 314. English 110 may be counted toward the 32-semester-hour certification requirement in the field. The additional requirements for certification are cited in the Education Department section and must include English 430. A second teaching area in speech is also recommended.