Nov 21, 2024  
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

English, B.A.


English  prepares students for success through the cultivation of valuable, transferable skills in reading, writing, research, and critical engagement with diverse ideas. The department trains students to communicate persuasively, creatively, and effectively for a rapidly changing and complex world of information. Students gain expertise in producing and interpreting texts for the classroom, on social media, and in the workplace. Graduates enter careers in such fields as publishing, library science, education, business, content creation, law, journalism, and public relations.

To prepare students for success, the English Department offers two tracks: the Communication and Technology Track, which fosters the rhetorical ability to produce various kinds of texts through the use of a wide range of technologies, and the Literature Track, which examines the broad range and diverse traditions of literature written in English, including its cultural and historical contexts. In addition, English, in collaboration with Education , offers curriculum and advising which prepares students to teach literature and informational texts at the high-school level and to earn Maryland teacher certification.

University Requirements


Completion of Minimum University Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree .

  • Minimum 120 credits and minimum GPA of 2.0
  • Completion of 45 upper-level credits, residence requirement, Writing Intensive requirement, and General Education requirement

Major Requirements


Course Requirements


Track (33 credits)


Complete one of the following tracks. Students complete one required or elective course that addresses issues of diversity relating to experiences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, ability, or other markers of identity.

Communication and Technology Track


Required Course

Complete the following:

Advanced Courses

Complete two 400-level Communication and Technology courses, including one seminar.

Electives

Complete 12 credits of electives from English courses at the 300- or 400-level. Students may, with their advisor’s permission, include one 200-level course as part of this requirement. Students may use creative writing courses to satisfy elective requirements.

Literature Track


Students pursuing secondary education certification through Education  complete literature courses and courses that prepare them to teach English. In addition to the English, B.A., they complete the Education Certification , which leads to Maryland teacher certification.

Required Course

Complete the following:

Historical Period Courses

Complete one 300- or 400-level course from four of the five following historical periods:

  • Medieval and Early Modern
  • Restoration to Romantic
  • Victorian and Modern
  • American Literature to the Civil War
  • American Literature from the Civil War to Present
Advanced Courses

Complete two 400-level Literature courses, including one seminar.

Electives

Complete four 300- or 400-level ENGL courses, including one Literature/Creative Writing course and one CT/Expository Writing course. Students may, with their advisor’s permission, include one 200-level course as part of the requirement.

Students pursuing the Education Certification  for secondary education have fewer electives and additional requirements.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs


Qualified students may apply to an accelerated program, which allows them to share courses between a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Students take graduate courses as undergraduate students and later apply those courses to master’s degrees. An undergraduate may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which the student is majoring. More information is available from the Accelerated Program page of the Graduate School website.