The Global Education Office and the English Department have compiled the following information for English majors to assist in planning for a semester of study away. Students should let their Academic Advisor know as soon as possible about their plan to study away so they can help fit this experience into the student’s graduation plan.
Academic Planning Prior to Going Away
In order to be eligible to study away, students in the English major must successfully complete the following courses at Allegheny prior to studying away: Students in the English major may study away in any semester after the first year except for (as below) the final semester of their senior year. Allegheny’s graduation requirements state that a student’s final 16 semester credit hours before graduation must be taken in academic residence on campus; therefore study away during the second semester senior year is not allowed without the permission of the Dean’s Exemption Committee. The Junior Seminar for English majors is offered in both the fall and spring semesters; therefore students who study abroad in the junior year must take their junior seminar in the semester they remain on campus that year. Students on the creative writing track must be sure to make time for the following prerequisites prior to the semester in which they write their Senior Project: two introductory (200-level) workshops, any two 300-level courses, and an advanced (400-level) workshop in their genre of choice. Typically, 400-level workshops are only offered in the fall semester, and the 400-level workshop in the student’s intended Senior Project genre must be taken at Allegheny. The following courses in the English major cannot be taken during a study-away program: Successfully Complete the Following Courses Before Studying Away
When should I study away?
Plan Around Your Junior Seminar/Senior Project
Courses that Must Be Taken on Campus
How Studying Away Counts Towards the Major
Study abroad courses that count for the English major are most likely to fulfill 200-level, 300-level, or elective requirements.
According to English Department policy, a maximum of 8 transfer credits may be counted toward the major. Students who study away for credit may accumulate an additional 4 credits, or up to 12 transfer credits including study away credits and other transfer credits. Exceptions must be approved by the department chair.
Suggested Programs for English Majors in the English Department
The following are three sponsored study away programs that have approved coursework for the English major and do not require coursework in another language. Other study away programs with a foreign language requirement may also include coursework that will count toward your major; please consult with the English Department Chair.
Program Name
Distinguishing Features
James Cook University is located in the state of Queensland on Australia’s northeastern coast, just miles away from the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to generally sunny weather and a vibrant theater and music scene, their Townsville campus offers Allegheny students a variety of academic opportunities including multiple literature and a few creative writing courses.
England – Lancaster
This program offers English majors the opportunity to study abroad in a small, charming, historic city on England’s west coast. A wide range of courses inside and outside the English discipline are available, including courses in both literature and creative writing.
England: Queen Mary University of London
QMUL has fourteen academic schools and 950+ modules (courses) available to study abroad students. Of particular interest for Allegheny’s Public Humanities program, the English department, and the Communications, Media, and Performance department, QMUL offers specific English & Drama focused study abroad programs. These programs include a designed curriculum of courses around a particular academic theme. Also incorporated in these programs is the option to take 1-2 self-selected topics from across the general QMUL curriculum.
In addition to excellent offerings in computer science, UCC has course offerings within their College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Science, College of Business and Law, College of Science, Engineering, and Food Science, and the College of Medicine and Health. Of particular note to Allegheny, there are undergraduate courses available to visiting students in computer science, data science and analytics, digital humanities and information technology, psychology and computing, public health, film, music and theater, government and politics, psychology; biochemistry; mathematics; physics, and more.
Ireland: University College Dublin
UCD offers courses in a range of disciplines including Business, Computer Science, Humanities & Social Sciences, Law, Health Systems, Agriculture & Food Science, Pre-Physical Therapy, International Studies, Natural Sciences, and many more. Students enroll directly in university courses open to visiting international students. Students take classes alongside local Irish and other international students. Lecture class sizes at UCD tend to be large, but each module (what they call classes at UCD) also has weekly tutorial sessions which are small sections of the main class.
Morocco – Ifrane (Al Akhawayn University)
Al Akhawayn University is an independent, public, not-for-profit, coeducational university with an English-language curriculum based on the American liberal arts model. It offers programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences (including some literature and writing courses), Science and Engineering, and Business Administration.