The English department and the communication studies department offer an interdisciplinary combined major in English and communication studies. Broadly speaking, students in the combined major in English and communication studies at Northeastern integrate the study of literature and writing with studies of media, social, corporate, and political communications.
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 language requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
English Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Courses | ||
| ENGL 1000 | English at Northeastern | 1 |
| ENGL 1400 | Introduction to Literary Studies | 4 |
| ENGL 1160 | Introduction to Rhetoric | 4 |
| or ENGL 1410 | Introduction to Research on Writing | |
| ENGL 1700 | Global Literatures 1 | 4 |
| or ENGL 1701 | Global Literatures 2 | |
English Electives
Two of the courses chosen from the lists below must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Diversity | ||
| Complete one course from the following. You may reuse this course to fulfill an additional English requirement below. | 4 | |
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Early African-American Literature | ||
| Postcolonial Literature | ||
| American Women Writers | ||
| Asian-American Literature | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| The African American Novel | ||
| Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
| Literary Periods | ||
| Pre-19th Century Literature | ||
| Complete one course from the following: | 4 | |
| Introduction to Shakespeare | ||
| Early African-American Literature | ||
| Early Literatures | ||
| 17th- and 18th-Century Literatures | ||
| Milton | ||
| 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 | |
| 19th/20th/21st Century Literature | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 4 | |
19th Century | ||
| The American Renaissance | ||
| 19th-Century Literatures | ||
| Emerson and Thoreau | ||
| 19th-Century Major Figure | ||
20th/21st Century | ||
| The Graphic Novel | ||
| The Modern Bestseller | ||
| Irish Literary Culture (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 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Rhetoric of Law | ||
| The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
| Opening the Archive | ||
| Narrative Medicine | ||
| Introduction to Language and Linguistics | ||
| Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Syntax | ||
| Semantics | ||
| History of English | ||
| Language and Gender | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| Comparative Course | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 4 | |
| Reading and Writing in the Digital Age | ||
| British Literature to 1800 | ||
| American Literature to 1865 | ||
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Contemporary Poetry | ||
| Contemporary Fiction | ||
| American Women Writers | ||
| Asian-American Literature | ||
| Horror Fiction | ||
| Science Fiction | ||
| Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
| What Is Nature? | ||
| Boston in Literature | ||
| Film and Text (Abroad) | ||
| The African American Novel | ||
| Writing | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Creative Writing | ||
| Style and Editing | ||
| Digital Writing | ||
| Writing and Community Engagement | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| Writing to Heal | ||
| Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice | ||
| Writing Boston | ||
| Creative Nonfiction | ||
| Poetry Workshop | ||
| Fiction Workshop | ||
| Writing Seminar | ||
| Publishing in the 21st Century | ||
| The Writer’s Marketplace | ||
| English Electives | ||
| Complete any two ENGL courses that have not already been used to fulfill another requirement. | 8 | |
Capstone
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| English Capstone Requirement | 4 | |
| Capstone Seminar | ||
or ENGL 4720 | Capstone Project | |
Communication Studies Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Communication Studies Common Requirements | ||
| COMM 1101 | Introduction to Communication Studies | 4 |
| COMM 1112 | Public Speaking | 4 |
| or COMM 2301 | Communication Research Methods | |
| Foundation Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Persuasion and Rhetoric | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| Principles of Organizational Communication | ||
| Communication in a Digital Age | ||
| Cluster Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Sex, Relationships, and Communication | ||
| Global and Intercultural Communication | ||
| Communication and Gender | ||
| Communication Law | ||
| Free Speech in Cyberspace | ||
| Writing-Intensive Courses | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Mobile Communication | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Communication and Inclusion | ||
| Political Communication | ||
| Great Speakers and Speeches | ||
| Communication Criticism | ||
| Public Relations Principles | ||
| Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media | ||
| Free Speech: Law and Practice | ||
| Communication and Sexualities | ||
| Theories of Conflict and Negotiation | ||
| Nonverbal Social Interaction | ||
| Youth and Communication Technology | ||
| Crisis Communication and Image Management | ||
| Communication Studies Electives | ||
| Complete three additional COMM courses. | 12 | |
Integrative Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Integrative English Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Rhetoric of Law | ||
| Technologies of Text | ||
| The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
| Integrative Communication Studies Course | ||
| COMM 3415 | Communication Criticism | 4 |
| or COMM 4602 | Contemporary Rhetorical Theory | |
Communication Studies Grade Requirements
No more than two grades below a C in communication studies courses may be used to satisfy degree requirements.
Program Requirement
128 total semester hours required
Sample Four Years, Two Co-ops
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| COMM 1101 | 4 | ENGL 1160 or 1410 | 4 | Communication Studies cluster course | 4 | Foreign Language | 4 |
| COMM 1112 or 2301 | 4 | Communication Studies foundational course | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 |
| ENGL 1000 or COMM 1000 | 1 | English diversity course | 4 | ||||
| ENGL 1400 | 4 | English Pre-19th Century Literature elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| EEAM 2000 | 1 | Co-op | Co-op | Communication Studies writing-intensive | 4 | ||
| English 19th-20th-21st Century Literature elective | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 | ||||
| English Theories and Methods course | 4 | ||||||
| Foreign Language | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Communication Studies writing-intensive | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Elective | 4 | ||
| English Comparative Literature elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| English Writing elective | 4 | ||||||
| Foreign Language | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| English elective | 4 | English capstone | 4 | ||||
| English elective | 4 | Integrative COMM Course | 4 | ||||
| Integrative ENGL course | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 130 | |||||||