Undergraduate Degrees
The following Undergraduate Degrees are offered:
PLEASE NOTE: Course requirements may change at any time; please keep in regular contact with your advisor and make sure the department can keep in contact with you by enrolling in the English Major Blackboard website, ensuring your email is current, and checking your email regularly.
- Bachelor of Arts in Literature
- The Bachelor of Arts in LITERATURE provides a broad background in English and American literature; valuable training in the critical skills of reading, interpretation, and analysis; intensive practice in writing; and an understanding of the workings of the language. This extremely versatile degree prepares students for graduate studies and law school, and careers in journalism, radio and television, publishing, public relations, and other professions in which skills in reading, writing, and processing information at a sophisticated level are required.
Intended Outcomes & Objectives:
- Knowledge of English and American Literature. B.A. in Literature graduates will possess a general knowledge of English and American Literature.
- An ability to read critically and analytically, by situating a text in relation to literary tradition, historical period, and cultural identities (class, race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality etc.). B.A. in Literature graduates will have developed into thoughtful and critical readers of texts, having become proficient in analyzing both texts and their relations to diverse contexts.
- An ability to write analytically, critically, and knowledgeably about literature. B.A. in Literature graduates will have developed into proficient writers, who have an understanding of the conventions of literary criticism, as well as a mastery of the elements of good writing.
The portfolio for the B.A. in Literature
Degree Requirements:
- General Education Requirements: (51 semester hours)
- Foreign Language/Culture Requirements: (3-12 semester hours)
- Departmental Preparatory Requirement: (9 semester hours)
LIT 168 (also a General Education requirement if you entered the university before Fall 2002), LIT 295, and LIT 296.
- Departmental Intermediate Requirements: (21 semester hours)
ENG 230; two American literature courses, one before 1860 (A) and one after (B); two British literature courses, one before 1800 (C) and one after (D); and two departmental electives.
- Departmental Advanced Requirements: (9 semester hours)
Three seminars from a selection focusing on topic, author, or theme (LIT 400).
- Professional Electives or Minor: (0-18 semester hours)
- Additional Electives: (to complete 128 semester hours)
- Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature
- The Bachelor of Arts in COMPARATIVE LITERATURE provides a curriculum option for students with an interest in international studies by offering a broad background in European and non-Western culture and literature.
Degree Requirements:
- General Education Requirements: (51 semester hours)
- Foreign Language Requirements: (3-12 semester hours)
- Related Course Requirements: (18 semester hours)
(Second language or minor)
- Cognate Requirements: (12 semester hours)
(Courses related to student's major area of concentration)
- Comparative Literature Core: (15 semester hours)
(CLS 200, 261, 310, 367, and 400)
(A Grade Point Average of 3.00 is required for these courses)
- Comparative Literature Electives: (15 semester hours)
Five electives that reflect a variety of genres, periods, traditions, approaches, and theoretical concerns, from selected courses.
- Literature in the Original Language: (6 semester hours)
Two courses in the literature of a language other than English.
- Bachelor of Science in Education: English
- The Bachelor of Science in EDUCATION in ENGLISH prepares students to teach in the secondary schools in Pennsylvania under an Instructional I Certificate. These students will in large part satisfy the requirements for a B.A. in literature, deriving extensive benefits from participation in a carefully constructed program that emphasizes literature as a cultural product and students as active learners. Before receiving permission to student teach, students in this program must satisfy the prerequisites for student teaching as well as specific Department of English requirements.
PROGRAM GOALS
Students will be well prepared to enter the profession as English teachers.
INTENDED OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES
- Students will engage in rigorous academic writing informed by critical thinking. Student writing will demonstrate sharp focus, substantial content, sophisticated organization, precise style, and evident control of conventions (see attached Writing Assessment Scoring Guide). Students will exhibit these traits over a variety of types of writing for a variety of types of audiences.
- Student teachers will know and demonstrate current pedagogical principles and demonstrate they know how to apply these to obtain employment, as attested to by the professional portfolios they complete during their student teaching experience (EDS 411-412). These portfolios contain resumes, letters of recommendation, employment goals, statements of philosophy, and records of the student teaching experience.
- Student teachers will develop good working relations with their co-op teachers, their students, and other teachers in their schools. This means that they must be judged as well prepared in the content of their discipline, they must exhibit good work habits, and they must exhibit respect for and understanding of diversity.
Degree Requirements:
- Departmental Preparatory Requirements: (6 semester hours)
LIT 168 (Gen. Ed.), LIT 295, and LIT 296.
- Departmental Intermediate Requirements: (27 semester hours)
ENG 230, ENG 331; two American literature courses, one before 1860 (A) and one after (B); two British literature courses, one before 1800 (C) and one after (D); two world literature courses, one through the Renaissance and one after.
- Departmental Advanced Requirements: (9 semester hours)
Three seminars from a selection focusing on topic, author, or theme (LIT 400).
- Professional Ed Requirements: (24 semester hours)
EDF 100, EDP 250, EDM 300, EDP 351, ENG 392, LIT 398, EDS 306, and ENG 390.
- Student Teaching Prerequisites
- Students should apply during their sophomore year for acceptance as candidates for teaching certification. Transfer students should apply as sophomores or after completing a year at West Chester University.
- Grades on Required Courses
- Anyone attempting to qualify for student teaching must pass each of the following courses with a grade of C or higher: CLS 260 and 261; EDF 100; EDM 300; EDP 250 and 351; EDS 306; WRT 120 and 121; ENG 230, 331, 390, and 392; LIT 168, 295, 296 and 398; and PSY 100.
A student receiving a grade of C- or lower for any of these courses should retake the course immediately, before attempting courses in the English or education sequence. A student having difficulty with several of the courses listed above should recognize that he or she may not be able to meet the competency requirements for student teaching and should consider withdrawing from the B.S. program.
Writing Assessment Requirements and Procedures
(For BSEd. and Post-Baccalaureate Certification in English)
Test of Writing Competency
1) All Students must pass the Test of Writing Competency, given each semester. Test dates are posted in the English Department and with English Advisors. The test is not given during the summer.
If you entered the program in or since 1994, take the test no later than your second semester with sophomore status.*
If you entered the program before 1994, this is your only requirement. Take the test no later than your first semester with junior status.
If you are a transfer or graduate students, you must take the test at least two semesters before you plan to student teach.
Procedures
- Students who fail the Test of Writing Compentency must confer with a member of the Teacher Education Committee during the same semester in which the Test was taken. They should retake the Test the following semester.
- Students whose Test of Writing Competency does not meet department standards after two submissions will be required to do additional work in writing before they may take the Test a third time. This work may involve taking an offered course or doing independent study in writing supervised by a faculty member.
Portfolios
Students entering the program after 1994 must submit a writing portfolio--which illustrates their proficiency in writing--in the second semester of their sophomore year.* The portfolio due date will fall within one week of the Test of Writing Competency scheduled date. No summer submissions are accepted.
Transfer students with above-sophomore status and graduate students must submit their portfolios two semesters before they plan to student teach.
Portfolios that do not meet all of the listed requirements will not be read.
- The portfolio must be an 8 ½ X 11 manila folder with the writer's full name on the tab.
- At least one paper must have all preceding notes and drafts. All papers should be in their original form and include grades and comments. These can come from any university or may be written specifically for the portfolio. Ungraded papers written expressly for the portfolio must include all drafts and notes. No more than two ungraded papers (inclusive of the reflective piece) may be submitted.
- The portfolio must include one paper in each of four different modes:
1. Narrative/Imaginative includes personal autobiographical narrative as well as fiction, biography, and oral history. The narrative/imaginative paper tells a story generated by the writer, not gathered from a secondary source.
2a. Informational writingis expository, not narrative. This paper may be an essay, newspaper article, report, or any piece of non-narrative writing intended to share information without the constraints of a research paper.
OR
2b. Persuasive writing differs from informational writing primarily in intent. This paper may take the same form as informational, but its purpose is to move readers to form or to change an opinion or to take a specific action.
3. Research Writing incorporates primary and secondary sources and a recognized citation system.
4. Reflection Writing This takes the form of a self-assessment, 3-4 pages long. It must describe the a) assignment that prompted each piece of writing in the portfolio, b) the process that produced each piece and c) what each reveals about the writer's ability and/or growth as a writer. (It is not necessary to include drafts for this essay.)
Procedures
- Students should submit their portfolios to the Chair of the Teacher Education Committee in the English Department.
- Students whose portfolios do not meet department standards must confer with a member of the Teacher Education Committee during the same semester in which the portfolio was submitted. They should resubmit their portfolios during the following semester.
- Students whose portfolios do not meet department standards after two submissions will be required to do additional work in writing before they may resubmit the portfolio. This may involve taking an offered course or doing independent study in writing supervised by a faculty member.
*Students entering the program in or since Fall 2000 have additional requirements. See The English Majors' Handbook pp. 27-29.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who do not pass the portfolio or Test of Writing Competency must schedule a conference with the readers of their Test or Portfolio. That is, it is the student's responsibility to arrange to meet with the faculty member. Revised November, 2002
(Revised November 2002)
- Minor in African and African-American Literature: (18 semester hours)
- The African and African-American Literature minor is an 18 semester hour program in literary and cultural theory and criticism. The minor can be combined with any undergraduate major.
Degree Requirements:
- Required courses: (6 semester hours)
CLS 351 and LIT 202 or LIT 203
- Elective courses: (12 semester hours)
Any four courses from the following: LIT 204, LIT 205, LIT 206, LIT 309, or CLS 203, CLS 365, CLS/LIT 400
Special Study Opportunities:
Students can undertake individual projects in conjunction with the Frederick Douglass Institute as part of the requirement for a particular course. Students in the minor also can participate in the WCU/University of Ghana, West Africa, exchange program. In addition, the University will offer (subject to resource availability) a summer study and cultural experience in Ghana. Students may earn credits through these programs.
- Minor in Comparative Literature: (18 semester hours)
Select ONE Course in each of the areas lised below:
- Literature and the other arts
CLS 201, 304, 365, 368, or 370
- Theory, intellectual history, or literary criticism
CLS 310 or 352
- Theme, genre, or movement
CLS 258, 259, 361, or 362
- Relationship, influence, or intertextuality
CLS 304, 309, 363, 367, or 400
- Non-western literature or literature in a language other than English
CLS 255, 400, 411
- Women's Literature
CLS 258, 259, or 304
Note: Not all course numbers available for each category above are listed. Please check with the comparative literature studies coordinator in 537 Main Hall (610-436-2915) for other possible substitutions.
- Minor in Creative Writing: (18 semester hours)
- Required Course: 3 semester hours
CRW 201
- Elective Courses: 15 semester hours
Any five courses selected from the following:
CRW 202, 203, 301, 302, 303, 304, 400, 490, and 491.
- Minor in Film Criticism: (18 semester hours)
- Required Course: 3 semester hours
FLM 200
- Elective Courses: 15 semester hours
Any fifteen credits selected from the following list with the approval of the advisor:
CLS 304, 363, 364, 368, 369, 400, and 410; COM 217 and 317; EFR 250 (French Civilization on Film); FRE 350 (French Cinema) GER 404/EGE 404 (Postwar German Literature and Film); GER 405/EGE 405 (A Survey of German Film); EGE 409 (Impact of the Holocaust on Literature and Film); ITA 360/EIT 260 (Italian Cinema); SPA 305/ESP 315 (Spanish Cinema: Nation and Gender) and FLM 201, 202, 300, 301, and 400.
- Minor in Journalism: (18 semester hours)
- Required Courses: 12 semester hours
JRN 200*, JRN 225, JRN 226, and JRN 250.
(Minimum grade of C-)
(*Students may substitute COM 212 for JRN 200, but they must still take a total of 18 credit hours to graduate with the Journalism minor.)
- Elective Course: 3 semester hours
One of the following:
JRN 272, JRN 312, JRN 315, JRN 325, JRN 335, JRN 355 or ENG 395 (Internship).
- A sequence of three one-credit Journalism Practicums (JRN 411) at the University student newspaper over three academic year semesters (not offered in summer): Students should try to schedule JRN 411 in three different semesters. Students who are trying to graduate with the minor and haven't fulfilled theis requirement may petition the program coordinator for permission to take two sections of JRN 411 in their senior year. Internships may not be substituted for the Quad practicum.
- Minor in Literature: (18 semester hours)
- Required Courses: 6 semester hours
LIT 200 or 201, and LIT 230 or 231.
- Elective Courses: 12 semester hours
One in American Literature and one in English Literature (in a period other than those covered in requirement 1), and any other two literature courses.
- Minor in Business and Technical Writing: (18 semester hours)
- Required Courses: 15 semester hours
ENG 320, 368, 371, and 375, and three credit hours to be earned through a supervised internship in business or technical writing (ENG 395).
- Elective Course: 3 semester hours
Choice of ART 113, COM 220, COM 230, CSC 141 or higher, ENG 270, JRN 355, MGT 100, MIS 300, MKT 200, or other elective approved by the program director for the minor.
- Internships
- A student will be permitted to take an internship under the supervision of the Department of English only if he or she is enrolled in a departmental major or minor program and has met the following requirements:
- an accumulation of at least 80 semester hours
- an overall Grade Point Average of at least 2.50
- an overall Grade Point Average of at least 3.00 in the major or minor program
- completion of 12 semester hours in courses in the major or minor program (not counting composition courses)
- a letter of application to the Internship Committee of the Department of English accompanied by a resume and two faculty references
- a personal interview with two members of the Internship Committee
A student will be limited to 15 hours of internship credt. Students who wish to take more than nine hours of internship credit in one semester must obtain approval from the full committee after submitting an application and an academic transcript in the preceding semester. The Internship Committee will determine the number of credits to be earned during an internship by applying a ratio of 40 hours of work for each hour of academic credit.
Students seeking teaching certification may take no more than three semester hours of internship credit within the minimum 128-131 semester hour range for the undergraduate degree. The internship credits for English majors may be applied to the student/advisor designed program. Only under exceptional circumstances, and entirely at its discretion, will the Internship Committee consider applications from students not meeting the departmental requirements.
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