English Major (B.A.)

Our general English major has two objectives: provide our students with a common core of literary experience and expertise, and offer them the opportunity to shape a course of study suited to their personal interests. By offering flexible requirements, we encourage students to devise a path through coursework that has an intelligent rationale. Students whose primary interest is in literary studies can focus on our many offerings in that area; those who have a special interest in writing can take multiple writing courses in fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry writing (in addition to literature courses). Alternatively, they can match up courses from different areas in the department (say, literature and writing courses focused on poetry). Our major requirements encourage students to sample a range of courses in literature, linguistics, creative or nonfiction writing, and English teaching, so that students become familiar with the various strands of inquiry that compose contemporary English studies. The guiding principle of the general English major, then, is that it is open and liberal by design. It allows students to sample a variety of courses in order to study the operation of language from many perspectives. 

If you're interested in majoring in English please contact Carla Cannizzaro, Senior Academic Advisor, Department of English, 230F Hamilton Smith Hall, (603) 862-1313.

Degree Requirements

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 40 credits of with a minimum grade of C-.
2. The required minimum overall GPA is 2.0.
3. Only one online course may count toward major requirements.
4. Capstone must be completed with a minimum grade of C.
5. ENGL courses may not be double-counted across English major requirements.

All undergraduate English majors acquire the same core skills. These include:

• Proficiency in analytical writing, critical thinking, and public-speaking.
• Knowledge of important literary genres and subgenres
• Fluency in literary terminology,
• A broad understanding of British-and-American literature, from the medieval period in England and the moment of first contact in America to the present day.
• Demonstrated proficiency in writing an analytical essay that offers a sophisticated close-reading or explication of a literary text. This essay will have a clear thesis and proceed in a logical fashion, with interpretive claims supported by evidence from the text.
• Demonstrated proficiency in literary research and in writing an extended thesis-driven research paper in which sources are correctly and responsibly cited.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to read across the color line in the US and /or how to analyze literary works written in English from outside the UK and the US--from India, Africa, and the Caribbean, for example.