Academic Catalog 2016-2018 > Adult Degree Completion Degree Programs > Adult Degree Completion Program in English and English with a Writing Emphasis Majors (BA and Minors)

Adult Degree Completion Program in English and English with a Writing Emphasis Majors (BA and Minors)

English courses offer all students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of literature and to write critically and creatively.

Major: English

Through the critical reading of a diversity of texts—ancient to contemporary—from the United States, Britain, and around the world, English majors further their understanding and appreciation of the literary craft and cultural significance of works of fiction, poetry, drama, and creative non-fiction, and they learn to incorporate their own interpretations and creativity into writing analytically about the works they have studied.

As Seniors, under faculty guidance, English majors undertake an extensive research project on a literary topic. Students present summaries of their theses at an English Department celebration which takes place toward the end of each semester.

Major: English with a Creative Writing Emphasis

In addition to the in-depth study of literary texts experienced by all English majors, majors in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis take courses, taught by skilled writers, aimed at developing and honing their own skills in creating original fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction.

As Seniors, under faculty guidance, English with a Creative Writing Emphasis majors develop portfolios of writing in a chosen genre or genres. Each portfolio includes an introductory essay which discusses genre, influences, and other contexts of the student’s work. The student presents a selection from the portfolio at the English Department celebration which takes place toward the end of each semester.

Minors in English and English with a Creative Writing Emphasis

Minors in English and in Creative Writing, with their emphasis on careful analysis and clear writing, are valuable complements to majors in any discipline; they prepare students for further study and for employment in fields such as politics, education, environmental studies, public relations, and law.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate the ability to do the following:

1. Verbal Literacy: to write expository essays that have focused theses, organization, development, and Standard English, that draw upon both primary and secondary sources, and that document those sources correctly.
2. Literary Forms and Concepts: to identify and analyze the literary elements and forms of major genres: drama, epic, fiction, and poetry, and to recognize hybrid forms.
3. Historical and Cultural Contexts: to make connections between a specific literary work (e.g., subject, form, style) and its historical and cultural contexts (e.g., major event, documents, behavior patterns, beliefs); to identify, define, and analyze diverse literary canons.
4. Major in English: to focus and sustain an argument relating to literary works, analyzing and synthesizing materials from both primary and secondary sources and interrelating critical and research skills.
5. Major in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis: to produce a focused and sustained creative writing portfolio, interrelating form and technique appropriate to a specific literary genre or genres.