The B.A. in English at Northeastern offers students a foundation in critical and creative methods along with advanced study in literature, literary history and criticism, cultural studies, critical and cultural theory, rhetoric, creative writing, and composition. Courses develop students’ engagement with texts and their cultural, historical and aesthetic contexts while advancing their abilities in creative and critical thinking, reading, and writing. The rigorous study of critical analysis and the craft of effective writing prepares students to engage in society and to compete in degree programs and fields as diverse as professional and technical writing, public relations, web content management and writing, teaching, research, publishing, marketing, library science, law, medicine, and many others.
Proceeding through the Major:
English majors take six required courses and six electives of their own choosing; in fact there are many options even within our requirements.
Students should take our designated WIP (Writing Intensive Program) course, ENGL 210, as soon as possible--preferably in their first term with us, but possibly in their second. This course offers students practice in particular skills and content areas of the discipline, with an emphasis on drafting, revision and the protocols of incorporating research into argumentation.
During their first and second terms, students should try to satisfy their second requirement--three surveys in British and American literature (among ENGL 218, 219, 221 and 222), which provide the basis for many courses at higher levels as well as an introduction to literary history and the relations among texts, writers and broad historical forces.
The remaining requirements for the major are two: ENGL 345: Practical Criticism, which should be taken the term after ENGL 210 if possible; and one course concentrating on a "Major Author"--ENGL 314 (Chaucer), ENGL 329 (Milton) ENGL 330 or 331 (Shakespeare) or any course under the rubric ENGL 349 (Baldwin, Morrison, Anzaldúa, Wright, and many others).
Complete the major with six elective courses at the 300-level, with no more than four courses in any of the areas designated below (British Literature, American Literature, International Literature or Creative Writing/Composition).
Note: the English major offers many options designated as Engaged Learning Experience (ELE) courses, allowing majors ways of taking courses that count three ways: for the major, for an ELE, and for part of the student's required 40 credit hours at the 300 level for graduation.
Accelerated Concentrations:
Students pursuing the English major who plan to continue on to our MAT in Secondary Education program or either the MA program in Literature or the MA in Composition may enroll in Accelerated Concentrations for those programs. These concentrations provide pathways for qualified undergraduates to move seamlessly into the MAT in Secondary Education or MA programs while sharing up to 12 credits between their undergraduate and graduate work, thus saving tuition cost and time to degree.
The pre-requisites to the English major and to all its individual required courses are ENGL 101 and ENGL 102. Students are advised to take ENGL 102 before taking any required or elective course in the major. ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 are the only pre-requisites for 200-level courses in English. While students may receive special permission to enroll in 300-level courses in some cases after ENGL 102, the pre-requisites to most 300-level courses are ENGL 210 and one other 200-level course (one of our surveys or ENGL 235: Introduction to Creative Writing).
Admission to Accelerated Concentrations:
To apply for any Accelerated Concentration in English leading to an MA degree, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and have earned at least 60 credits toward their bachelor's degree; at least 12 of those credits must have been earned at NEIU. In addition, students must receive approval from their undergraduate advisor in English, complete the online application for the relevant graduate program and meet all admission requirements for that program. Accepted students may begin the graduate-level shared coursework once they have earned a minimum of 72 undergraduate credits, at least 12 of which were at NEIU.
University Core Curriculum Requirements
| General Education Distribution Area | Cr. Hrs. |
|---|---|
| Fine Arts (FA)* 2 courses, from at least two of the following areas of study: Art, CMT (Mass Media or Theatre), Music (includes Dance). | 6 |
| Humanities (HU)* 3 courses, from at least two of the following areas of study: CMT (Communication), English, Linguistics. Philosophy, Women's and Gender Studies, World Languages and Cultures, (Note: No more than two foreign language courses may be used to fulfill this requirement.) | 9 |
| Behavioral/Social Sciences (SB)* 3 courses, from at least two of the following areas of study: African & African American Studies, Anthropology, Computer Science, Economics, Geography & Environmental Studies, History, Justice Studies, Latino & Latin American Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work | 9 |
| Natural Sciences (NS and NSL)** 3 courses, from at least two of the following areas of study; one course must have a laboratory component (NSL): Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Physics (Note: If an FYE ANTH that counts as Natural Science is taken, only one Biology course may be used for Natural Science). | 9 |
| Engaged Learning Experiences | |
| Students must complete, at Northeastern, three courses designated as Engaged Learning Experiences courses. One of the Engaged Learning Experiences courses must be at the 300-level, and one Engaged Learning Experiences course must be designated as "Boundary Crossing". | |
| Discipline Specific (ELE-DS) These courses have pre-requisites that are specific courses within a program of study. Discipline Specific courses give students a deeper understanding of how knowledge is created and applied in their field. | |
| Boundary Crossing (ELE-X) These are courses that cross disciplinary boundaries and/or cross boundaries through engagements outside the classroom or University allowing students to see how knowledge gained in one field might inform other fields or other aspects of society. | |
| Math/Quantitative Reasoning (MA) 1 Math course, that has intermediate Algebra as prerequisite OR is a course listed on the General Education Distributive Learning List of Approved Courses. Any 3 hour college level math course, beyond Intermediate Algebra, meets this requirement. |
- *
Majors in Fine Arts, Humanities or Social/Behavioral Sciences, may waive up to 6 credit hours of General Education requirements in the corresponding distribution area.
- **
Majors in Natural Sciences may waive up to 9 credit hours of General Education requirements in the Natural Sciences distribution area.
Students should also be aware of all other university requirements to obtain a degree - NEIU requirements
Major in English for the Bachelor of Arts Degree
Prerequisites: ENGL-101 AND ENGL-102 or equivalent. Note: No more than 15 hours may be transferred into the major in English.
Core Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses | ||
| ENGL-210 | Writing Intensive Program: Methods for English Majors | 3 |
| ENGL-345 | Practical Criticism | 4 |
| Select three Literary Surveys: | 9 | |
| American Literature:Beginnings To 1865 | ||
| American Literature:1865 To The Present | ||
| English Literature:The Beginnings To C. 1750 | ||
| English Literature: C. 1750 To The Present | ||
| Select one Major Author: | 3 | |
| Chaucer And His Age | ||
| Milton | ||
| Shakespeare: Comedies, Romances And Poetry | ||
| Shakespeare: Tragedies And Histories | ||
| Toni Morrison: A Deep Dive | ||
| James Baldwin: A Deep Dive | ||
| Gloria Anzaldúa: A Deep Dive | ||
| Electives: 2,3,4 | 18 | |
| Choose 18 hours from the four categories below, with no more than 12 hours from any one category. | ||
| BRITISH LITERATURE | ||
| Medieval Studies- The Development Of The Arthurian Legend | ||
| English Literature From Beowulf To Malory | ||
| Literature Of The Romantic Movement | ||
| Modern British Drama | ||
| The Romantic Novel | ||
| Seventeenth Century Literature | ||
| Restoration And Eighteenth Century Literature I | ||
| Restoration And Eighteenth Century Literature II | ||
| Prose And Poetry Of The Victorian Age | ||
| The Victorian Novel | ||
| Twentieth Century Fiction I | ||
| Twentieth Century Fiction II | ||
| AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| Literature Of Colonial Times | ||
| American Literary Renaissance-1830-1860 | ||
| The American Short Story | ||
| Jewish-American Literature: People Of The Books | ||
| Writing About Music In The U.S.: Contemporary History And Criticism | ||
| Graphic Novels And Comics (Graphic Novels and Comics) | ||
| Land, Labor, & Literature: Studying The Works Of U.S. Working-Class & Colonized Writers | ||
| Development Of The American Novel | ||
| United States Fiction: Traditions And Counter-Traditions | ||
| Re-Thinking Race And Gender | ||
| Reading Film | ||
| American Realism | ||
| U.S. Latino/a Literature And Culture | ||
| American Women Writers Of The Nineteenth Century | ||
| Twentieth Century Fiction I | ||
| Twentieth Century Fiction II | ||
| Multi-Cultural Literature In America | ||
| African-American Literature | ||
| Chicana/o/x Literature | ||
| Special Topics In Latina/o And Latin American Literary And Cultural Studies | ||
| Contemporary Poetry | ||
| Literature Live: Studying The Works Of NEIU Visiting Writers | ||
| Summer Creative Writing Institute | ||
| INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE | ||
| Literatures And Literacies | ||
| Russian Literature: From Gogol To Chekhov | ||
| Literatures And Theories Of Love | ||
| Contemporary LGBTQ+ Literature | ||
| Introduction To Popular Culture Studies | ||
| Globalizing Literacies | ||
| Mythological Backgrounds Of English And American Literature | ||
| Biblical Backgrounds Of English And American Literature | ||
| Detective Fiction | ||
| Caribbean Literature | ||
| Folklore And The Fairy Tale | ||
| Studies In Women's Literature | ||
| Yiddish Literature In Translation | ||
| Postcolonial African Literature | ||
| COMPOSITION and CREATIVE WRITING | ||
| Introduction To Creative Writing I | ||
| Reading & Writing In A Changing Digital Economy | ||
| Written Communications For Business | ||
| Elements Of Style For Creative Writers 5 | ||
| Critical Writing For Creative Writers | ||
| Hybrid-form Writing | ||
| Creative Writing: Flash Forms | ||
| Becoming A Writing Tutor | ||
| Advanced Composition | ||
| Argumentative Prose | ||
| Creative Writing: Poetry I and Creative Writing: Poetry II | ||
| Creative Writing: Fiction I and Creative Writing: Fiction II | ||
| Writing The Personal Essay | ||
| The Craft Of The Short Story | ||
| Screenwriting: The Short Script | ||
| Accelerated Program Courses: MAT | ||
| Educational Thought And Secondary Schooling | ||
| Introduction To Secondary School Curriculum | ||
| Methods Of Teaching English Language Arts In Secondary Schools | ||
| Disciplinary Literacy Instruction In Secondary Grades (Accelerated Program Courses: MAT) | ||
| Accelerated Program Courses: MA Literature | ||
| Literary Methods And Practice | ||
plus a maximum of three additional graduate level courses | ||
| Accelerated Program Courses: MA Composition | ||
| Seminar In Composition Theory | ||
| Writing Assessment: Theory And Practice | ||
plus a maximum of two additional graduate-level courses | ||
| Total Hours | 37 | |
- 1
This course is designed as an introduction to the English major, and should be taken as early as possible.
- 2
Note: that the English Department is continually creating new courses. Therefore, the list below is not complete.
- 3
Note: Gen. Ed. courses (ENGL-201, ENGL-202, and ENGL-203) do not count towards the Major.
- 4
Note: A limit of six 200-level courses may be applied to the English Major.
- 5
English 340A is replacing English 240A.
English Majors must complete an electronic portfolio. For more information, please see your English Advisor.
This sample curricular map is provided to guide you in the planning of your progression for this major. This guide should not replace regular consultations with your program advisor. For specific recommendations of courses not identified, please consult your program advisor.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Hours | |
| ENGL-101 | Writing I | 3 |
| MATH-091 (If Necessary - does not count toward graduation) | Intermediate Algebra I | 3 |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| ENGL-102 | Writing II | 3 |
| MATH-092 (If Necessary - does not count toward graduation) | Intermediate Algebra II | 3 |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| ENGL-210 | Writing Intensive Program: Methods for English Majors | 3 |
| English Literary Survey (ENGL 218 or ENGL 221) | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| ENGL Literary Survey | 3 | |
| ENGL Literary Survey | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| ENGL-345 | Practical Criticism | 4 |
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| ENGL Major Author Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 16 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Course | 3 | |
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| ENGL Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours: | 121 | |