Students in the English major study the diverse historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts of English, American, and other Anglophone literatures. They analyze writing practices and related media from the Middle Ages through the present, from the quill pen to code. They practice a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of language, rhetoric, writing, and literature.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
BA Language Requirements
All BA students are required to complete the BA degree language requirements, for a total of 12 semester hours of language study or demonstrated equivalent proficiency, as described in Additional Requirements for BA students. Successful demonstration of proficiency does not reduce total minimum semester hours of study required to earn the BA degree.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
English Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Courses | ||
| ENGL 1000 | English at Northeastern | 1 |
| ENGL 1160 | Introduction to Rhetoric | 4 |
| or ENGL 1410 | Introduction to Research on Writing | |
| ENGL 1400 | Introduction to Literary Studies | 4 |
| ENGL 1700 | Global Literatures 1 | 4 |
| or ENGL 1701 | Global Literatures 2 | |
| Literary Periods | ||
| Early Literatures | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Introduction to Shakespeare | ||
| Early Literatures | ||
| Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
or JWSS 3678 | Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | |
| Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Early African-American Literature | ||
or AFAM 2296 | Early African-American Literature | |
| 17th- and 18th-Century Literatures | ||
| Milton | ||
| Nineteenth Century | ||
| Complete one of the followng: | 4 | |
| The American Renaissance | ||
| 19th-Century Literatures | ||
| Emerson and Thoreau | ||
| 19th-Century Major Figure | ||
| Twentieth to Twenty-First Centuries | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| The Graphic Novel | ||
or ARTE 2301 | The Graphic Novel | |
| The Modern Bestseller | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
| Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art Abroad | ||
| 20th- and 21st-Century Literatures | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
or JWSS 3685 | Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | |
| 20th- and 21st-Century Major Figure | ||
| Comparative Literature | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Reading and Writing in the Digital Age | ||
| American Literature to 1865 | ||
| Contemporary Poetry | ||
| Contemporary Fiction | ||
| American Women Writers | ||
or AFAM 2455 | American Women Writers | |
or WMNS 2455 | American Women Writers | |
| Asian-American Literature | ||
| Horror Fiction | ||
| Science Fiction | ||
| Fantasy Literature | ||
| What Is Nature? | ||
| Boston in Literature | ||
or AFAM 2690 | Boston in Literature | |
| Travel and Place-Based Writing | ||
| Film and Text (Abroad) | ||
| Theories and Methods | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Grammar: The Architecture of English | ||
| Introduction to Rhetoric | ||
| Introduction to Research on Writing | ||
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice | ||
| Rhetoric of Law | ||
| Technologies of Text | ||
| The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
| Opening the Archive | ||
| African American Rhetorical Traditions | ||
or AFAM 3404 | African American Rhetorical Traditions | |
| Narrative Medicine | ||
| Introduction to Language and Linguistics | ||
| Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Syntax | ||
| Semantics | ||
| History of English | ||
| Language and Gender | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Advanced Writing in Literature | ||
| Advanced Writing for Prelaw | ||
| Writing | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Travel and Place-Based Writing | ||
| Creative Writing | ||
| Style and Editing | ||
| Digital Writing | ||
| Writing and Community Engagement | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| Writing to Heal | ||
| Visual Writing | ||
| Writing Boston | ||
| Creative Nonfiction | ||
| Poetry Workshop | ||
| Fiction Workshop | ||
| Writing Seminar | ||
| The Writer’s Marketplace | ||
| Capstone | ||
| ENGL 4710 | Capstone Seminar | 4 |
| or ENGL 4720 | Capstone Project | |
| Diversity | ||
| Complete one of the following courses, which can also count toward another requirement in the major: | 4 | |
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Early African-American Literature | ||
or AFAM 2296 | Early African-American Literature | |
| American Women Writers | ||
or AFAM 2455 | American Women Writers | |
or WMNS 2455 | American Women Writers | |
| Asian-American Literature | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| African American Rhetorical Traditions | ||
or AFAM 3404 | African American Rhetorical Traditions | |
| Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
or JWSS 3678 | Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | |
or WMNS 3678 | Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | |
| Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
or JWSS 3685 | Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | |
| Gender and Black World Literatures | ||
or AFRS 3900 | Gender and Black World Literatures | |
or WMNS 3900 | Gender and Black World Literatures | |
| Electives | ||
| Complete any two ENGL courses, except for First-Year Writing and Advanced Writing in the Disciplines, that has not already been used to fulfill another requirement. The following courses may also be used as electives: | 8 | |
| Introduction to Language and Linguistics | ||
| Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Syntax | ||
| Semantics | ||
| History of English | ||
| Language and Gender | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
Experiential Learning Requirement
Complete one course in experiential learning from the list below or any Dialogues of Civilization experience. (Other study-abroad programs may not be used.) This course can also count toward another requirement in the major.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Experiential Learning Course Work | ||
| Boston in Literature | ||
or AFAM 2690 | Boston in Literature | |
| Writing and Community Engagement | ||
| Technologies of Text | ||
| Writing Boston | ||
| The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
| Opening the Archive | ||
| Dialogues of Civilization | ||
| Complete one Dialogues of Civilization experience, including but not limited to those offered by the department. (Other study-abroad programs may not be used.) | ||
| Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
| Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art Abroad | ||
| What Is Nature? | ||
| Film and Text (Abroad) | ||
English Major Credit Requirement
Complete 64 semester hours in the major.
Experiential Liberal Arts
All students in this College of Social Sciences and Humanities program are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.
Program Requirement
128 total semester hours required
Sample 4 Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENGL 1000 | 1 | EESH 2000 | 1 | Literary period elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ENGL 1400 | 4 | ENGL 1160 or 1410 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | ENGL 1700 or 1701 | 4 | ||||
| Foreign language core course | 4 | Foreign language core course | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 17 | 17 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Comparative course elective | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Writing and experiential education elective | 4 | ||
| Literary period elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Foreign language core course | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Comparative course elective | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | 4 | ||
| Literary period elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Writing and experiential learning elective | 4 | ||||||
| English elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| English elective | 4 | Capstone | 4 | ||||
| Literary period elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Theories and methods elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 130 | |||||||