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General Requirements for the Major or Minor

General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.

Requirements for the Major in English (BA)

Completion of ten units:

  1. ENGL 220
  2. Three courses from ENGL 221-299
  3. Six upper-level courses from ENGL 321-434, at least one of which must be at the 400 level. (See note below regarding upper-level course prerequisites.)
    To be fulfilled as follows:
    1. Six units in the following area requirements:
      1. One unit: Centering Marginalized Voices
      2. One unit: Media and Non-Literary Analysis
      3. Four units: Literature
    2. Three elective units
    3. Literatures and cultures before 1800: one of the ten units taken for the English major must focus primarily on content written prior to 1800.

Upper-level prerequisites:

  1. Before enrolling in classes at the 300 level, students are encouraged to have completed ENGL 220 and at least one other 200-level requirement.
  2. Before enrolling in courses at the 400 level, all 200-level requirements for the major must be completed, along with at least one course (but preferably two) at the 300 level.

Note on Area Requirements:

  1. Please consult the English Department's website prior to registration for a list of courses offered in any given term that satisfy the Centering Marginalized Voices, Media and Non-Literary Analysis, and Literature requirements. However, the following guiding principles may be useful:
  2. In most cases, courses that satisfy the Literature requirement (4 units) are self-evident based on topics and descriptions. Courses that fulfill the Centering Marginalized Voices requirement (1 unit) prioritize the perspectives of non-Anglo-European and non-Anglo-American writers and materials (such as Native American Literature, African American Literature, Black Feminism, South Asian Fiction, Afrofuturism, Multiethnic Detective Fiction, and some versions of Major Authors, Eras, Movements, etc.). The Media and Non-Literary Analysis requirement (1 unit) is satisfied with courses on rhetoric, film or television, linguistics, critical theory, and cultural studies (such as Introduction to Journalism, Digital Writing, Fundamentals of Editing, Visual Rhetoric, History of the English Language, Special Topics in Theory, Writing Internship, etc.).
  3. Please note that while some individual courses share attributes in two of the above categories, no course may satisfy more than one area requirement at a time in fulfilling the major. However, the Literatures and Cultures before 1800 (a.k.a., pre-1800) requirement is an overlay, and therefore may be satisfied using any appropriate electives or area requirement courses.

Requirements for the Major in English with Creative Writing Focus (BA)

Students who fulfill all three elective units in the major with courses from the Department's creative writing offerings, at least one of which must be at the upper level, will receive a B.A. in English with a Focus in Creative Writing noted on their transcripts. The following creative writing courses may be used to meet the focus requirements: ENGL 227, 228, 229, 327, 328, 329 and 434.

Requirements for the Minor in English

Completion of five units:

  1. ENGL 220
  2. Two courses from ENGL 221-299.
  3. Two courses from ENGL 321-399. (Note: Students are encouraged to have completed ENGL 220 and at least one other 200-level requirement before enrolling in courses at the 300 level.)

Notes for the major and minor

  1. The student must have a grade of C- or above in each course applied to a major or minor.
  2. There is no time limit on courses applicable to an English major or minor.
  3. Non-majors who wish to enroll in English courses at the 300-level or above need upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.