The English department is aware that there are many constraints on a student’s ability to plan and secure a coherent major, most especially when courses are available. However, planning in advance helps to make your undergraduate experience more successful, interesting, and hassle-free. In planning your major, try to keep in mind the following:

In general, it is wise to complete required classes early on in your program. Classes specified as requirements mean that the department considers them to be fundamental to your major and therefore useful in providing you with important foundational material. You may want to take a course in literary or cultural theory early in your progress so you can apply it to your later courses. Think, as well, about taking courses that make a coherent and interesting quarter (and, ideally, year). That is, try to combine courses in a particular period of English literature with a course in history on the same period, with a course in art history on the same period, and/or with a course in another language (in translation or not) on the same period. For example, a course on Renaissance drama might be combined with a history course on the English Renaissance (or Italian, or French Renaissance), with a course on Renaissance painting, and/or a literature course on the Harlem Renaissance. Alternatively, try to take courses that vary historically but address similar questions, genres, styles. For example, a course on English romantic poetry might be paired with a course on revolutions (in history or political science), and/or with a class on feminist approaches to social change.

If you are considering studying abroad and are concerned about how to petition for EAP courses to count towards the major, click here.

Where possible, give some thought to the kinds of course you are taking in a given quarter in terms of workload. In terms of courses within the major, you can assume that any course will be writing intensive, but different courses require different amounts and kinds of reading. When balancing English classes with classes outside your major, try not to take 4 reading/writing-intensive courses at once. Where possible, balance large lecture courses with smaller discussion classes. Think, too, about getting to know as wide a range of English professors as possible and as early on as possible. This helps you identify the kinds of professor with whom you might wish to study in a more concentrated fashion later on.

Below is a what a schedule of courses required for the English major might look like for a student who plans to graduate in four years. Other courses taken to satisfy General Education and University requirements would be taken in addition to these courses.

Qualified students may take advantage of special seminar courses that are often offered in conjunction with large lecture courses (i.e English 10 and 10S, English 101 and 101S, etc). These one-unit supplementary seminars provide an opportunity for motivated students to work closely with faculty instructors while enriching their large lecture experience. The requirements of the seminar will include reading and/or writing beyond that already assigned in the lecture course. The seminar is a supplement to the main course and as such does not take the place of the regular discussion section for the lecture, which is conducted by a teaching assistant.

If a special seminar will be offered, the faculty member will announce the course on the first day of lecture, along with his or her criteria for admitting students. Students in the Letters & Science Honors Program usually receive priority for admission into the seminar, as the seminars are part of the requirements to complete the College Honors Program, but other students may be admitted based on available space. If you are admitted to the seminar, the instructor will give you a course approval code that will allow you to add the course to your schedule.

The English major specializations offer a way for undergraduates in the English Department to optionally focus their elective coursework towards a specialized field of literary study.  Four courses are required to complete a specialization, typically taken as part of the student’s normal English upper division elective course load, although some specializations allow the use of a limited number of out-of-Department courses. Visit the specializations page for more details, applicable courses, and necessary forms.

English 195I: Internship Credit for Majors

This course provides qualified students the opportunity to earn unit credit for training in a real working situation.

Majors who have upper division standing and a GPA of 3.0 may apply for the internship credit course. The application requires a form available from the Department office, a written explanation of work to be performed, a faculty sponsor signature, a Company Supervisor signature and the Department chair signature.

Under supervision of English Department faculty, English majors may obtain credit for work with/without pay in publishing, editing, journalism, or other employment related to English literature. Before the beginning of the quarter, the student and supervising faculty member must submit a course description (form available from the Undergraduate Advisor) detailing the internship site and the kind of work expected there, the supplemental reading and writing for the course, and the contact hours with the supervisor. The Undergraduate Staff advisor will notify you after the Undergraduate Committee has reviewed and approved the application.

Credit for an Internship can range from 1 to 4 units. This course may be repeated for credit to a maximum of 8 units, but only 4 units may count for the major.

English 195I may be taken for a letter grade or pass/not pass, but may only qualify for elective credit with a letter grade.

English 199: Independent Study

An English 199 Independent Studies Course offers qualified students an opportunity to pursue a directed and advanced study of a particular subject in British or American literature. English 199 may not be used for internships, general interest reading, fulfillment of any part of the Option 2 language requirement, the exclusive study of any foreign literature in translation, or subject study normally available in regular classes. In special cases a creative writing project may be accepted usually under the direction of a department creative writing instructor.

An English 199 is likely to be the closest experience to individual, original research at the graduate level an undergraduate can have. Because this is partly a directed-reading course, it is recommended that applicants first complete an upper-division course relevant to the subject to be studied. Before applying students should focus on an area of study, problems to solve within it, and a methodology to solve them. For a 4-unit course, the departmental norm for the writing requirement is 15 pages (approximately 4,000 words) of sustained writing.

Requirements for enrolling in English 199:

• Overall Grade Point Average (GPA) must be at least 3.0 for the preceding three quarters.
• At least 84 units must have been completed overall.
• At least two upper-division English courses must have been completed, one of which should be relevant to the subject to be studied.

Approval for a 199 cannot be rushed and is to be completed in the quarter before the project is begun. Do not start the project without full approval and an add-code so you can register for the course!!!

Students are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total for all 98/99 and 198/199/199RA courses combined. A maximum of 8 units of 199/199RA may apply toward the English major.

To find regular faculty members’ area of specialization, visit the undergraduate adviser, or see the Faculty Research Interests link under People. Talk to instructors whose interests correspond with the proposed project and, upon agreement, discuss pertinent readings and writing requirements. During the quarter for which the 199 is undertaken, meetings with the instructor will be once a week for 1-2 hours to direct the research, reading, and writing.

To apply, please fill out the application link at the top or obtain a paper copy in the South Hall Student Service Center in South Hall room 3432.

English 199RA: Undergraduate Independent Research Assistance

The English 199RA Independent Research Assistance Course gives qualified undergraduates a chance to assist in a faculty research project. The 199RA is designed not only to forward participating instructors’ interests, but also to give students significant research experience beyond what would be received in an ordinary undergraduate course.

For each four-unit 199RA course expect to do 10-12 hours of work per week, including a one-hour meeting with the instructor and a significant amount of reading and writing. Professors actively seeking assistants will include a description of their projects with the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) office. Announcements will be made on the English Undergraduate Listserv also.

If there is a faculty member who has not advertised, but whose area of interest corresponds to yours, ask if an assistant is needed. To find regular faculty members’ areas of specializations, visit the undergraduate adviser or see the Faculty Research Interests link under People.

Requirements for enrolling in English 199RA:

1. Overall Grade Point Average (GPA) must be at least 3.0 for the preceding three quarters.
2. At least 84 units must have been completed overall.
3. At least two upper-division English courses must have been completed, one of which should be relevant to the subject to be studied.

Students are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total for all 98/99 and 198/199/199RA courses combined. A maximum of 8 units of 199/199RA may apply toward the English major.

Approval for a 199 cannot be rushed and is to be completed in the quarter before the project is begun. Do not start the project without full approval and an add-code so you can register for the course!!!

To apply, please fill out the form on top or obtain a paper copy by visiting the South Hall Student Service Center in South Hall room 3432.