English, B.A.

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At-a-Glance

Admission to major: Completion of ENG 240 , ENG 241 (or equivalent) with a “C” or better in both courses.

Minimum hours required for major: 40

Minimum hours required for minor: 16

Special tracks: The English major emphasizes the study of British and American literature. Tracks or concentrations are available in literature, creative writing, multicultural studies, and secondary English licensure.

Advising: Contact Dr. Ted Lardner, Director of Undergraduate Studies, at 216-687-5428.

Student activities: Student organization: Whiskey Island (creative writing magazine). Poetry Center activities include workshops and readings by students, writers in the Cleveland community, and distinguished visiting writers.

Scholarship information: Each year, the department offers Plain Dealer awards to recognize excellence in expository writing, tuition scholarships as prizes in creative writing, as well as the Gulbenkian award, a,cash prize to honor a distinguished graduating senior.

Career information: Students preparing to teach English in high school must meet the State of Ohio licensure requirements. Please contact the College of Education and Human Services for further information on licensure. For students preparing for careers in writing, editing, and publishing, the department offers a creative writing concentration. The English major is an ideal liberal arts major for students desiring to develop capabilities in research, writing, critical thinking, and textual analysis combined with the study of literature and language.

Freshman English Placement

Consult the course description section of this catalog under English for information about placement examinations and placement of students into basic writing and freshman English courses.

A minimum total number of 128 credit hours are required for every student in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. All degree seeking, CLASS students must complete a specific number of General Education (GenEd) requirements which are comprised of University and College requirements. This is in addition to the credits for their major field of study. Students are responsible for ensuring the appropriate selection of courses to satisfy GenEd requirements. Students are highly encouraged to consult with both their general education advisor and faculty advisor regarding the applicability of selected courses each semester. A comprehensive description of Cleveland State University’s General Education Requirements for undergraduate students is available online at http://www.csuohio.edu/academic/gened/summarytable.html.

Major-Field Requirements

Courses required for the major are as follows (40 credits minimum):

Introductory courses (8 credits): ENG 240 , ENG 241 ; students must earn a minimum grade of C in each course to fulfill the major requirement.
The completion of one of the English Department’s concentrations or tracks
Senior seminar: ENG 495 (4 credits minimum)

English majors are advised to take ENG 240 and ENG 241 before taking courses numbered ENG 300 and above.

All students should initially consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Transfer students must see the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a transfer credit evaluation. Students who transfer in to CSU with only 6 credits of equivalent inttroduction to literature courses must make up the 2-credit deficit by taking at CSU the section they missed, either

ENG 240

ENG 241

Concentrations

Literature Concentration

1. Introductory courses (8 credits):

2. Three courses (12 credits):

3. Electives:

16 credits in courses numbered ENG 300 and above

4. Senior seminar:

ENG 495 - Senior Seminar

Creative Writing Concentration

1. Introductory Courses (8 credits):

2. Introduction to Creative Writing (4 credits):

ENG 203 - Creative Writing: Forms and Techniques

3. Workshop courses

ENG 391 , ENG 392 ,

ENG 393

, and ENG 394 may be taken up to two times (but only two times) each and be counted towards the major, but ENG 380 may be taken only once. Students must take three creative writing workshop courses that count toward the English major. Additional workshops cannot count toward the English major but may count toward university requirements.

4. Electives:

12 credits in courses numbered ENG 300 and above

5. Senior seminar (4 credits)

ENG 495 - Senior Seminar

Multicultural/Multiethnic Literature Concentration

1. Introductory courses (8 credits):

2. English electives:

at least 12 credits of ENG 300 -ENG 400 level courses

3. Multicultural literature electives:

16 credits from the following list. (At least 8 credits must be taken in the English Department; ENG 336 , ENG 347 , and ENG 348 may be repeated with a change of topic): ENG 336 - Studies in Non-Western Literature , ENG 347 - African-American Literature , ENG 348 - Studies in Multicultural Literature

Other 300-400 level ENG courses may be counted when they have a multicultural/multiethnic topic. Students desiring to apply such courses to their concentration should write to the English Department’s Committee on Instruction for permission to count those courses toward the concentration.

In special cases, students may count a baccalaureate level (300-400) non-departmental course as an elective toward the concentration if the course is clearly literary and multicultural in focus. Students desiring to pursue this option should write to the English Department’s Committee on Instruction for permission to count such non-departmental courses towards the concentration. No more than 8 credit hours of electives may be completed outside the department.

4. Senior Seminar (4 credits)

ENG 495 - Senior Seminar

Tracks

English Honors Track

Only for students accepted to the University Honors Program

1. Introductory courses (8 credits):

2. Three survey courses (12 credits):

These courses must contain an Honors component.*

3. Honors Research Project. (4 credits)

See Director of Undergraduate Studies to plan this project..

ENG 496H - Honors Research Project

4. Electives:

12 credits in courses numbered ENG 300 and above

5. Senior seminar (4 credits)

ENG 495 - Senior Seminar

Note(s):

*Must contain an Honors component. Student must discuss the Honors contract component with instructor. The Honors component may not be taken as part of a six-week Summer Session course.

Secondary English Licensure Track

(Integrated Language Arts Education, Grades 7-12)

General Education Requirement: ENG 207 - African-American Literature

Sophomore Prerequisites (8 credits): ENG 240 , ENG 241

Major-Field Requirements:

300-level English Requirements (28 credits):

ENG 308 - Composition Theory for Teachers
ENG 310 - Traditional Grammar (requirement can be fulfilled by passing a departmental exam). If a student passes by exam, no credit will be given, the student must take another 300-level elective.
ENG 315 - Introduction to the English Language
ENG 321 - British Literature I
ENG 322 - British Literature II
ENG 342 - Survey of American Literature
ENG 382 - Canonicity

400-level English Requirements:

ENG 495 - Senior Seminar

Other Subject Requirements (8 credits):

Note(s):

Students desiring to teach English in high school must consult an adviser in the College of Education and Human Services, RT 1401 (216-687-4625), as well as an adviser in the English Department. Students must also minor in Education.