The BA in English allows students to develop their own areas of expertise through concentrations in areas such as literature, composition and rhetoric, creative writing, science fiction and fantasy studies, and film.
The Department of English is dedicated to the study of literatures and cultures of those parts of the world in which English is a primary language. Our curriculum is shaped by the flow of English-speaking people and cultural production in English across both time and space, combining historical, linguistic and cultural analysis with creative work in literature, film, and emerging media. The varied interests of our faculty and students include creative writing, rhetoric and discourse studies, gender and women’s studies, film studies, digital humanities, health humanities, science fiction, and the full range of literatures and varieties of English, including African American, the African Diaspora, Latinx, Asian American, Native American, and South Asian studies.
Students who major in English learn how to communicate effectively and persuasively; develop writing skills (including in technical and business writing, and/or creative writing); learn textual analysis and effective research methods; and strengthen their critical thinking skills. This degree prepares students for a variety of careers including education, law, technical writing, publishing, entertainment, management, marketing and advertising, counseling and medicine.
Plan of Study Grid | First Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| ENGL 303 | Approaches to English Studies | 3 |
| 1 | 3 |
| Public Speaking | |
| Communication for Technical Professions | |
| Argumentation and Debate | |
| Composition and Rhetoric | |
| Technical and Professional Writing | |
| 3 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Spring |
|---|
| ENGL 203 | Writing about Literature 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Second Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| 3 |
| World Literature | |
| American Literature: The Beginnings to Civil War | |
| Survey of English Literature I | |
| Medieval English Literature | |
| The English Renaissance | |
| Seventeenth-Century Literature | |
| Early British Drama | |
| History of Rhetoric | |
| Studies in Shakespeare | |
| Milton | |
| Chaucer | |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Spring |
|---|
| 3 |
| World Literature | |
| Survey of English Literature II | |
| Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture | |
| Nineteenth-Century Literature (Romantic) | |
| Nineteenth-Century Literature (Victorian) | |
| The American Renaissance | |
| American Realism and Naturalism | |
| Nineteenth-Century American Novel | |
| The British Novel to 1870. | |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Third Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| 3 |
| American Literature: Civil War to Present | |
| Texas Literature | |
| Life and Literature of the Southwest | |
| Life and Literature of the American South | |
| Modern and Contemporary Drama | |
| Twentieth-Century Literature to World War II | |
| Literature, World War II to Present. | |
| Literature and Film | |
| American Poetry | |
| The American Novel Since 1900 | |
| The British Novel, 1870 to Present. | |
| Postcolonial Literatures | |
| Contemporary Literary Theory | |
| 3 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Spring |
|---|
| 3 |
| Introduction to African-American Literature | |
| Introduction to Africana Literature | |
| Asian American Literature and Culture | |
| Transnational Literature and Culture | |
| African-American Literature Pre-1930 | |
| Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Literatures | |
| American Ethnic Literature | |
| African-American Literature Post-1930 | |
| Native American Rhetorics and Literatures | |
| Latino/a Literature | |
| Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Authorship | |
| Women Writers | |
| Folklore, Literature, and World Cultures | |
| Studies in Africana Literature and Culture | |
| Studies in Women Writers | |
| 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Fourth Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Spring |
|---|
| ENGL 481 | Senior Seminar | 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 3 |
| 3,6 | 1 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 13 |
| | Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 |
Up to 51 credits in English can be applied to the degree; at least 21 credits must be in literature. A grade of C or higher is required for a course to be counted in the major. For residency, a student must have at least 12 hours in 300- or 400-level English classes from Texas A&M University.
Graduation requirements include 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a Core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. The required 6 hours may be met by courses satisfying other areas of a degree program. See your academic advisor for further information.
Other courses may qualify for the following categories. All courses are to be selected with the approval of the student’s academic advisor. The courses incorporate University Core Curriculum requirements. No course can be counted in more than one category, except as allowed in the minor field of study and the International and Cultural Diversity and Cultural Discourse graduation requirements. A minimum of 36 hours of 300- or 400-level coursework must be completed at Texas A&M University, with at least 12 of those hours being in the major.
English majors are advised, but not required, to select a minor field of study. Students who elect to complete a minor should contact the department or program that offers the minor to determine the requirements for that minor.
