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.
University-Wide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the University-Wide 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 |
|---|---|---|
| English Course-Level Requirement | ||
| In addition to the capstone, two of the courses chosen from the lists below must be numbered 3000–4999. | ||
| Introduction to College | ||
| ENGL 1000 | English at Northeastern | 1 |
| Foundational Courses | ||
| ENGL 1400 | Introduction to Literary Studies | 4 |
| ENGL 1160 | Introduction to Rhetoric | 4 |
| or ENGL 1410 | Introduction to Research on Writing | |
| Diversity | ||
| Complete one of the following courses. This course may also be used to fulfill an additional English requirement below: | 4 | |
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Early African-American Literature | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| American Women Writers | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| Asian-American Literature | ||
| The African American Novel | ||
| 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 | |
| Pre-Nineteenth-Century Literature | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Introduction to Shakespeare | ||
| Global Literatures 1 | ||
| 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 | |
| Nineteenth-, Twentieth-, and Twenty-First-Century Literature | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| The Graphic Novel | ||
| The American Renaissance | ||
| The Modern Bestseller | ||
| Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
| Contemporary Israeli Literature and Art (Abroad) | ||
| 19th-Century Literatures | ||
| Emerson and Thoreau | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
or JWSS 3685 | Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | |
| 19th-Century Major Figure | ||
| 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 | ||
| Technologies of Text | ||
| Writing Cultures | ||
| The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
| Opening the Archive | ||
| Narrative Medicine | ||
| Research in Rhetoric and Writing | ||
| Introduction to Language and Linguistics | ||
| Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Syntax | ||
| Semantics | ||
| History of English | ||
| Language and Gender | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| Comparative Literature | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Reading and Writing in the Digital Age | ||
| British Literature to 1800 | ||
| American Literature to 1865 | ||
| Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
| Contemporary Poetry | ||
| Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Postcolonial Women Writers | ||
| 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 | ||
| Writing and Community Engagement | ||
| Writing in Global Contexts | ||
| Writing to Heal | ||
| Visual Writing: Writing Visuals | ||
| 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 | ||
| Capstone | ||
| ENGL 4710 | Capstone Seminar | 4 |
| or ENGL 4720 | Capstone Project | |
| English Electives | ||
| Complete two additional ENGL electives. | 8 | |
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 | ||
| Principles of Organizational Communication | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| 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.
Experiential Liberal Arts
All undergraduate students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.
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 |
| ENGL 1000 or COMM 1000 | 1 | Communication Studies foundational course | 4 | Communication Studies cluster course | 4 | Foreign Language | 4 |
| ENGL 1400 | 4 | English diversity course | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 |
| COMM 1101 | 4 | English Pre-19th Century Literature elective | 4 | ||||
| COMM 1112 or 2301 | 4 | ENGL 1160 or 1410 | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 16 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| English 19th-20th-21st Century Literature elective | 4 | CO-OP | CO-OP | Communication Studies writing-intensive | 4 | ||
| English Theories and Methods course | 4 | Communication Studies elective | 4 | ||||
| Foreign Language | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| English Comparative Literature elective | 4 | CO-OP | CO-OP | Elective | 4 | ||
| English Writing elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Communication Studies writing-intensive | 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 | |||||||