English Major (BA)

English Department | College of Liberal Arts

Program Declaration

At time of admission to the University or by completion of an Undergraduate Program Add/Change form .

Degree Requirements

If this is the student’s only or primary major, the degree requirements below must be completed for graduation. See graduation requirements for more information.

University Requirements

College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Bachelor of Arts

Major Requirements

Complete 33 credits from eleven courses including three foundational English courses, six advanced electives, and two additional electives.

Students may also choose to add a concentration to the major which will add additional requirements that can be used to fulfill major electives.

Grade: No courses with a grade below C- may be applied toward the major
Pass/fail: No courses taken pass/fail may be applied toward the major.
Residency: At least six courses for the major must be completed at UMass Boston.

Course Requirements

Foundational English Courses (9 Credits)

ENGL 200 - Introduction to Literary Studies 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 201 - Five British Authors 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 202 - Six American Authors 3 Credit(s)

Advanced Electives (18 Credits)

Take a total six advanced English electives at the 300-level or higher including the following categories.

Pre-1660 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

ENGL 326 - Stage and Page: Drama Before 1642 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 331 - Satire 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 381 - Geoffrey Chaucer 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 382 - William Shakespeare’s Early Works 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 383 - William Shakespeare’s Later Works 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 385 - John Milton 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 401 - The Medieval Period 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 402 - The Renaissance in England 3 Credit(s)

1660 to 1900 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

ENGL 320 - Memoir and Autobiography 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 327 - Stage and Page: Drama, 1660-1900 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 332 - Comedy 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 351 - Early African-American Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 354 - Race in American Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 365 - The British Novel and the Nineteenth Century 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 366 - Women and Men in Nineteenth-Century Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 375 - Literature of the American Civil War 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 396 - Jane Austen 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 403 - The 18th Century: Satire to Sensibility 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 405 - British Romanticism 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 406 - The Victorian Age 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 408 - American Romanticism 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 409 - American Realism 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 437 - Reading the Gothic: Transatlantic Terrors 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 440 - History of the English Language 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 470L - New England Literature and Culture 3 Credit(s)

Post-1900 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

ENGL 328 - Stage and Page: Drama, 1900-Today 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 329 - Narrative in the Novel and Film 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 334 - Science Fiction 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 335 - Children’s Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 341L - Gender and Film: Multidisciplinary Perspectives 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 343 - Literature, Culture and Environment 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 345 - Literature of the American South 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 348 - Native American Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 352L - Harlem Renaissance 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 353 - Multiethnic American Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 358 - Critical Race Studies in Literature 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 368 - Modern American Fiction 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 369 - Post-1945 American Fiction 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 391 - James Joyce 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 410 - The Modern Period 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 411 - Postcolonial Literary Studies 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 412 - Contemporary British Fiction and Film 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 418 - The Modern Irish Novel 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 419 - Recent Irish Writing 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 438 - Reading the Graphic: Texts and Images 3 Credit(s)
ENGL 489 - Terrorism and the Novel 3 Credit(s)

Capstone

Take one course from English 461 to 499 as a capstone course. English majors in the Teacher Licensure Program may count their practicum semester as a capstone experience. Students completing the creative writing concentration in English may use their required writing portfolio as the capstone experience. English majors who have an internship approved by the English Department’s internship supervisor may count their semester as an intern as a capstone experience if they enroll in either ENGL 475 or 476.

Additional Electives (6 Credits)

Take two additional English electives. At least one course must be at the 200-level or higher.

Concentrations

Creative Writing Concentration

Professional Writing Concentration

English Teaching Concentration

Irish Studies Concentration

Literary History Concentration

Transnational and Multicultural Literatures Concentration