English majors are required to have a GPA of at least 2.0 in English at graduation. All English courses taken at Allegheny on a letter-grade basis are included in the calculation, with the exception of repeated courses, for which only the most recent grade counts. At least 10 courses, including the Junior Seminar and Senior Project, must be taken on the letter-grade basis; additional courses may be taken Credit/No Credit, though the department recommends that the number of such courses be kept to a minimum.
A major in English leads to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Two tracks are available within the major, the standard English major and one with an emphasis on creative writing.
Students majoring in English with a Creative Writing emphasis must take the standard requirements for the English major plus several additional courses (courses may double count when appropriate):
Requirements:
The major in English requires 40-48 semester credit hours. Majors must take:
ENGL 110 - Introduction to Literary Studies ENGL 110 is a prerequisite for all literature courses above the 200 level and for creative writing courses at all levels.
FSENG 201 - Communication in a Discipline: English
ENGL 201 - Studies in Early British Literature
Two of the Following (Eight Credits):
ENGL 202 - Studies in Later British Literature
ENGL 203 - Studies in American Literature
ENGL 204 - Studies in African American Literature
At Least One English Course at the 300-level
At Least One English Course at the 400-level
At Least Two Courses in Literature After 1800
At Least One Course (in addition to ENGL 201) in literature prior to 1800:
Courses that satisfy the pre-1800 requirement include ENGL 212, ENGL 311, ENGL 385, ENGL 415, ENGL 425, ENGL 426, and ENGL 435. Other appropriate topics, courses or seminars may satisfy the requirement, subject to approval by the advisor and the department chair.
Creative Writing Emphasis
All of the standard requirements for the English major as indicated above
Two of the Following:
ENGL 205 - Writing Fiction
ENGL 206 - Writing Poetry
ENGL 210 - Writing Nonfiction
Two of the Following:
ENGL 301 - Forms of Fiction
ENGL 302 - Forms of Poetry
ENGL 303 - Forms of Drama
ENGL 305 - Forms of Nonfiction
At Least One of the Following:
ENGL 400 - Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop
ENGL 401 - Advanced Poetry Writing Workshop
ENGL 403 - Advanced Nonfiction Writing Workshop
Senior Project:
ENGL 624 - Senior Project in Creative Writing (I.e., ENGL 624 should be taken in place of ENGL 620.) Students will seek approval for either an original creative project or a critical study of a significant aspect of craft, genre, prosody, poetics, etc. (to be identified in consultation with members of the English department).