Position: Fiction Writer

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Major Requirements

MAJOR

A major in English leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree requires 36 credits, exclusive of English 101, 105, 201, 203, and 204. The credits must include:

1. English 299 (should be completed in the sophomore year)
2. Three to nine credits from English 230, 232, 234, 235, 236, 250, 251, 252, 253, 260, 261, 262, 291, 292, and 293.
3. 24-30 additional credits from courses numbered at the 300 level or above
4. Completion of the capstone writing requirement with either English 413 (3) or 493 (3-3)
5. At least nine credits must be chosen from each of the following areas, with no more than one 200-level course counting in each. English 236 and 370 can be used in any area, but both cannot be used in the same area.

a. Early British Literature—English 250, 251, 252, 312, 313, 314, 316, 318, 319, 320, 326, 330, 333, 334, 335, 358, and when the topic is appropriate, 230, 235, 261, 291, 292, 299, 380, 403, 413, and 493
b. Later British Literature and World Literature in English—English 251, 333, 334, 335, 341, 345, 347, 348, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 359, and when the topic is appropriate, 230, 232, 234, 235, 261, 262, 291, 292, 29 , 380, 403, 413, and 493
c. American Literature—English 253, 293, 354, 359, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, and when the topic is appropriate, 230, 232, 234, 260, 261, 262, 291, 299, 380, 403, 413, and 493

The English faculty urges majors to craft their courses of study to include lyric poetry, narrative, nonfiction prose, and drama.

Teacher Certification: The English Department offers to students wishing to teach English in high school the opportunity for certification from the State of Virginia, reciprocal in 35 additional states. Students who are considering teaching English after graduation should consult the department head by the beginning of the fall term of their junior year. In general, fulfillment of general education requirements and requirements for the major in English make up the core of the certification requirement. In addition, students must take up to 15 credits in education courses as well as additional credits in student teaching. These credits will be received through the Consortium EXCHANGE Program during a student’s junior and senior years. Additional information can be obtained from the Director of Teacher Education, Nannette Partlett.

HONORS: An Honors Program in English is offered for qualified students; see department head for details.

FAQs

Do English 105 and 101 count towards the major? NO.

Do 300-level creative writing courses count towards the major? YES. In addition, 200-level creative writing courses can be used to fulfill FDR HA.

How many courses must I take in English? A major must take a total of 36 credits or 12 courses, with 2-4 200-level courses. All majors must take, as one of their 200-level courses a gateway seminar for prospective majors (English 299), to be offered in fall, winter, and spring, and a senior capstone writing requirement, English 413 (or the Senior Honors Thesis), offered in fall and winter of the senior year. The remaining credits (adding up to 36) are earned in 300-level literature courses.

How do those distributions work?

Three courses (totalling 9 credits) must be used in each of the following distribution areas:

Early British literature
Later British literature and World Literature in English
American literature.

Any 200-level literature courses may be used toward the major. Maximum: 4 courses, including English 299. One 200-level course may be counted towards distribution in each category.

Do you enforce this recommendation: "The English faculty urges majors to craft their courses of study to include lyric poetry, narrative, nonfictional prose, and drama."? NO.

Do you count courses from study abroad to the major? YES, with preapproval. Summer courses require a petition to C&D.

Do you count courses from other departments towards the major? NO, not unless they are cross-listed as English courses.

Do you count LIT courses towards the English major? NO, these courses feature works originally written in other languages translated into English. English courses predominantly feature works originally authored in English.

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