English Requirements

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The major in English requires 36 credit hours of coursework, at least half of which must be taken at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. English majors may choose from four specializations: Literature, Creative Writing, Preprofessional, and Teacher Education.

Students who wish to declare English as a major should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English early in their college careers.

Only English courses completed with at least a C will fulfill a major requirement. Deviations from regular programs must have prior written school approval.

No more than 6 credit hours at the 100- or 200-level can be counted toward the major.

Students who wish to construct an interdisciplinary major in English and certain related fields may do so in consultation and with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English.

English Core Courses

All students majoring in English, regardless of specialization, must take ENGL 301 and ENGL 393. English majors should take ENGL 301 as early as possible in their coursework.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English

B.A. English - Literature Specialization Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements 39
College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Major in English 36
One year college credit in a single foreign language with at least a C (also fulfills College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement) 6
Electives 39
Total 120

In addition to the two English core courses, English majors specializing in Literature will take:

  • 2 Single-Author Courses                                   
    • 1 pre-1700
    • 1 post-1700
  • 2 Genre Courses
  • 2 Literary History Courses
    • 1 pre-1785
    • 1 post-1785
  • 2 Cultural Studies/Multi-Cultural Literature Courses
    • At least one of these must be in multicultural/multi-ethnic literature
  • 2 Electives in English

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and CoLA advising for a list of courses that meet the above distribution requirements.

B.A. English - Creative Writing Specialization Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements 39
College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Major in English 36
One year college credit in a single foreign language with at least a C (also fulfills College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement) 6
Electives 39
Total 120

In addition to the two English core courses, English majors specializing in Creative Writing will take:

  • 1 Single-Author Course
  • 1 Literary History Course
  • 1 Cultural Studies/Multi-Cultural Literature Course
  • 6 Creative Writing Courses:
    • ENGL 381A (Beginning Fiction)
    • ENGL 382A (Beginning Poetry)
    • An additional poetry course (either ENGL 352 [Forms of Poetry] or ENGL 492B [Advanced Poetry])
  • Three more creative writing courses from the following list:
    • ENGL 119 (Introduction to Creative Writing), ENGL 351 (Forms of Fiction), ENGL 384 (Literary Nonfiction), ENGL 492A (Advanced Fiction) [pre-req ENGL 381A, or consent of instructor; can be repeated once for credit], ENGL 492B (Advanced Poetry) [pre-req ENGL 382A, or consent of instructor; can be repeated once for credit], ENGL 492C (Advanced Nonfiction) [pre-req ENGL 384, or consent of instructor; can be repeated once for credit], and ENGL 493 (Special Topics) (can be repeated once for credit depending on topic)
  • 1 English Elective

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and CoLA advising for a list of courses that meet the above distribution requirements.

B.A. English - Preprofessional Specialization Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements 39
College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Major in English 36
One year college credit in a single foreign language with at least a C (also fulfills College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement) 6
Electives 39
Total 120

In addition to the two English core courses, English majors specializing in Professional will take:

  • 1 Single-Author Course
  • 2 Genre Courses
    • At least one must be non-narrative
  • 1 Literary History Course
  • 2 Cultural Studies/Multi-Cultural Literature Courses
    • At least one of these must be in multicultural/multi-ethnic literature
  • ENGL 290, ENGL 292, ENGL 390, ENGL 391, or ENGL 392
  • ENGL 490 or ENGL 491
  • 2 English Electives

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and CoLA advising for a list of courses that meet the above distribution requirements.

Teacher Education (B.A. CoLA or B.S. SOE)

Students majoring in English and pursuing teacher licensure may choose to earn a B.A. in English from the College of Liberal Arts or a B.S. in English from the School of Education. Students completing either degree will acquire the necessary training and licensure to pursue a career in English/Language Arts education at the secondary level. Whichever degree they pursue, students must work closely with advisors in both the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and the Teacher Education Program (TEP) to ensure that they are meeting all degree and teaching licensure requirements in a timely manner.

Teacher Education (B.A. CoLA or B.S. SOE) Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements

Students pursuing teaching licensure must take EDUC 211 (multicultural) and EDUC 214 (3 credit hours of 6 credit hours required for social sciences) 		39
College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Major in English (including English methods courses) 36
One year college credit in a single foreign language with at least a C (also fulfills College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement) 6
Professional Education Requirements: EDUC 313, EDUC 308, EDUC 319, EDUC 301, EDUC 302, EDUC 303, EDUC 401A 24
Electives 15
Total 120

In addition to the two English core courses (ENGL 301 & ENGL 393), English majors specializing in Teacher Education will take:

  • ENGL 300 or ENGL 401
  • ENGL 365
  • ENGL 484
  • ENGL 485A
  • ENGL 485B
  • 1 Genre Course
  • 2 Literary History Courses
    • 1 pre-1785
    • 1 post-1785
  • 2 Cultural Studies/Multi-Cultural Literature Courses
    • At least one of these must be in multicultural/multi-ethnic literature

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and CoLA advising for current listings of courses that meet the above distribution requirements.

In addition to these English courses, English majors specializing in Teacher Education must take: EDUC 313, EDUC 308, EDUC 319, EDUC 301, 24 EDUC 302, EDUC 303, and EDUC 401A.

B.A. English – Digital Narrative and Gamification Specialization Degree Requirements

Degree RequirementsCredit Hours
University Core Curriculum Requirements 39
College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Major in English 36
One year college credit in a single foreign language with at least a C (also fulfills College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement) 6
Electives 39
Total 120

In addition to the two English core courses, English majors specializing in Digital Narrative and Gamification will take:

3 Core Digital Narrative classes:

  • ENGL 208 Introduction to Digital Narrative
  • ENGL 308 Intermediate Digital Narrative
  • ENGL 408 Advanced Digital Narrative

2 Creative Writing classes from the below list:

  • ENGL 381A
  • ENGL 381B
  • ENGL 492A
  • ENGL 492B

3 Area Classes from English Major offerrings (see below):

  • 1 Genre Course
  • 1 Literary History Course
  • 1 Cultural Studies/Multi-Cultural Literature Course

1 Programming Course from the below list:

  • ITEC 209 Introduction to Programming
  • ITEC 209G Introduction to Game Programming
  • ITEC 340 Introduction to Video Game Design and Industry

1 Capstone Project Course:

  • ENGL 497 Digital Narrative Internship with SIU Press

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Literature, Writing, and Digital Humanities and CoLA advising for a list of courses that meet the above distribution requirements.

English Minor

The minor in English is a minimum of 18 semester hours at least half of which must be taken at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Only English courses which are completed with at least a C fulfill a minor requirement.

No more than 6 credit hours at the 100- or 200-level can be counted toward the minor.

Minors are available in three specializations: Professional Writing, Creative Writing, and Literature. Students interested in English as a minor are asked to confer with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English or the academic advisor for English majors to determine their specific course of study.

English Minor - Professional Specialization (18 Hours)

ENGL 290 or ENGL 291; ENGL 300; ENGL 301; ENGL 365 or ENGL 471 or ENGL 472; ENGL 390 or ENGL 391 or ENGL 392; and ENGL 490 or ENGL 491.

English Minor - Creative Writing Specialization (18 Hours)

Creative Writing minors must take ENGL 382A (Beginning Poetry).

They must also take at least 3 more courses in creative writing from the following list of courses: ENGL 119 (Introduction to Creative Writing), ENGL 351 (Forms of Fiction), ENGL 352 (Forms of Poetry), ENGL 381A (Beginning Fiction), ENGL 384 (Literary Nonfiction), ENGL 492A (Advanced Fiction), ENGL 492B (Advanced Poetry), ENGL 492C (Advanced Nonfiction), and ENGL 493 (Special Topics Lit/Language). [ENGL 492A, ENGL 492B, ENGL 492C, and ENGL 493 can each be repeated once for credit toward Creative Writing minor specialization.] Creative writing minors must also take two additional English courses not listed above.

English Minor - Literature Specialization (18 Hours)

ENGL 301; and 5 more English courses.