Overview

In the Department of English students have the opportunity to concentrate their coursework in Literary and Cultural Studies or Creative Writing. Majors receive a strong foundation in the traditional areas of English and American literature. Many of the courses offered in English focus on close reading, writing, inquiry, and analysis. By exercising these skills, students majoring in English prepare themselves to enter graduate school or seek professions in the humanities, education, business, law, and other areas where language skills, analytical thinking, and cultural literacy are valued.

 

Requirements

Major requirements

All English majors, regardless of concentration, are required to take ten courses (40 hours) beyond English 101, including the following five courses (20 hours):

• ENGL 130: Practicum in English (1 hour)
• ENGL 278: Literary Theory and Cultural Criticism
• ENGL 322: British Literature
•  ENGL 323: American Literature
• ENGL 373: Junior Seminar (to be taken during spring of the third year; 2 hours)
• ENGL 473: Senior Seminar (to be taken during fall of the fourth year; 2 hours)

Supportive Requirement: A foreign language through the intermediate level.

 

Concentration Requirements: English with an Emphasis on LiterarY AND CULTURAL Studies

Students concentrating in Literary and Cultural Studies must take additional courses in English including:

• 301S: Literature and Culture II
• 321W: Literary History
• Two additional literature courses, one being at or above the 300-level

 

Concentration Requirements: English with an Emphasis on Creative Writing

Students concentrating their studies in Creative Writing take additional courses in English including:

• ENGL 219: Creative Writing: Fiction
• ENGL 220: Creative Writing: Poetry
• Two writing courses at or above the 300-level

 

Minor Requirements

Students earning a minor in English are required to take four courses in English (16 hours) beyond ENGL 101, including one of the following courses:

• ENGL 322: British Literature
• ENGL 323: American Literature
• And three other courses in English, at least one of which must be at the 300-level or above. Of the four courses students count toward earning a minor in English, at least three must be taken at Centenary.

 

Major Field Test in English

Students majoring in English are required to take the Major Field Test in English during the fall semester of their senior year. The exam, which consists of 150 multiple choice questions, assesses a graduating senior's knowledge of British and American literature of all periods, literary history, criticism, and literary terminology. More information about the test and access to sample questions may be found on the ETS website.

 

Departmental Reading List exam

Students majoring in English are required to take a comprehensive essay exam based on the Departmental Reading List. During the fall semester of their senior year, majors will be assigned, at random, one of six essay questions to which they will have three hours to produce a thesis-driven, evidence-based response.

 

Departmental Honors

A student majoring in English may also opt to pursue English Departmental Honors in literary, film, or cultural criticism or in creative writing. 

  

Certification to Teach

The Department of Education at Centenary prepares students to teach English in secondary schools through an alternative certification program leading to the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.). Undergraduate students may apply to enroll in M.A.T. courses a) upon completion of 90 undergraduate credit hours or b) after completion of the baccalaureate degree. For additional information, please contact the Department of Education at 318.869.5223 or visit the Department’s website to obtain a Department of Education Graduate Catalogue.