Departments & Programs
English
Major in English
Required Courses
Students must complete 11 courses (33 credit hours) in English above the 100 level, including:
- ENG L202 and L371
- At least one approved 300-level course appropriate to each of four periods in the history of literatures in English: beginnings through the sixteenth century; sixteenth through eighteenth centuries; the nineteenth century; and 1900 to the present.
- Five additional electives in English: two courses (6 cr.) at or above the 200 level; two courses (6 cr.) at or above the 300 level; and one course (3 cr.) at the 400 level.
Note: W202 and W205 are not approved for inclusion in the major or minor. Students may substitute 3 credit hours from the related courses listed at the end of this section toward the major as long as a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work is completed at the 300–400 level.
Students must also complete the degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Recommendations
The department recommends that majors considering graduate work in English take elective courses in a variety of periods of English and American literature. Especially recommended are courses in Chaucer (L305); Shakespeare (L313-L314); Milton (L318); the major figures of nineteenth-century American literature (L351-L352); and 400-level senior seminars. Students interested in pursuing an M.F.A. in Creative Writing should consider completing the major’s concentration in creative writing. For advice in planning a course of study, students should consult their departmental advisor and the department’s website http://www.indiana.edu/~engweb/englishMajor/index.shtml. Each semester, the department publishes detailed descriptions of courses to be offered the following semester.
Foreign Language Recommendations
Students who expect to do graduate work in English are advised to take substantial work in two foreign languages. Graduate schools commonly require French, German, or Latin.