Undergraduate Academic Requirements

THE ENGLISH MAJOR:  2013-2015 Catalog

 

The Major:

English majors will be required to take six historically based CORE courses in British and American literature, in order.  In each course, five texts or topics (roughly half of the courses) have been designated as required.  Individual instructors are free to choose the texts and topics necessary to complete the course, with the stipulation that non-canonical material must in some way be included.   Majors must also take ENGL 202; ENGL 251; ENGL 290; 8 units of 300-level English electives; a 300-level English course that meets USCP; 20 units of 400-level English electives (12 of these units must be in literature); and a 4-unit Senior Project course.  Additionally, English majors must demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in a modern language other than English.

Courses to be Taken in the First 3-4 Quarters:

All English majors must complete the following General Education courses during their first year at Cal Poly: ENGL 134, COMS 101 or 102, and ENGL 145 or ENGL 148 (ENGL 145 is strongly recommended unless students are pursuing a technical writing certificate).  They must also complete ENGL 202 Introduction to Literary Studies, either concurrently with ENGL 145 or following it, but PRIOR TO or CONCURRENT WITH ENGL 251.  (Please refer to the plan below.)

The CORE:

Normally, students will begin the CORE sequence during the fall or winter quarter of their sophomore year.  These courses are offered sequentially and should be taken in order.

ENGL 202	Introduction to Literary studies
ENGL 203	CORE I:  450-1485: Required texts:  Beowulf, Chaucer, Dante, the Pearl Poet, mystery/morality play. Prerequisite:  Completion of GE Area A
ENGL 204	CORE II:  1485-1660: Required texts:  Bradstreet, Donne, Milton, Shakespeare, Spenser. Prerequisite:  ENGL 203
ENGL 205	CORE III:  1660-1789: Required texts:  Defoe, Franklin, Pope, Swift, Wheatley. Prerequisite:  ENGL 204
ENGL 303	CORE IV:  1789-1861: Required texts:  Austen, Emerson, Hawthorne, Keats, Wordsworth. Prerequisite:  ENGL 205
ENGL 304	CORE V:  1861-1914: Required texts:  Arnold, Dickinson, James, Tennyson, Whitman. Prerequisite:  ENGL 303
ENGL 305	CORE VI:  1914-Present:  Required texts:  Eliot, Faulkner, Morrison, Woolf, Yeats.  Prerequisite:  ENGL 304

 

Students should plan on demonstrating proficiency in a modern language other than English as soon as possible upon entering the university, either by successfully completing 121 or 122 in their language of choice, or by providing other evidence of competence (i.e., passing a challenge exam).

The flowchart below details how an entering freshman might complete the major courses in four years. You will also need to incorporate GE requirements and elective courses into your plans as you proceed. Generally speaking, it is best to spread your lower division GE requirements over the several quarters of your freshman and sophomore years, linking courses, as your time constraints and their availability allow, to provide for a balanced and interesting conjunction of courses. Meet with a CLA advisor to help you with these selections. 

FRESHMAN YEAR
Fall	Winter	Spring
ENGL 134	ENGL 145	ENGL 251
COMS 101/102		ENGL 202
SOPHOMORE YEAR
Fall	Winter	Spring
ENGL 203	ENGL 204	ENGL 205
	ENGL 290	ENGL USCP
JUNIOR YEAR
Fall	Winter	Spring
ENGL 303	ENGL 304	ENGL 305
ENGL 300-level    Elective	ENGL 300-level    elective	ENGL 400-level    elective
SENIOR YEAR
Fall	Winter	Spring
ENGL 400-level    Elective	ENGL 400-level    elective	ENGL 460 or ENGL 461 (Senior Project)
ENGL 400-level    Elective	ENGL 400-level elective

Emphasis Areas:  

Presently, we are offering two areas of concentrated study at the upper division level: Creative Writing: Fiction and Creative Writing: Poetry.  These 20-unit packages MAY be taken as part of the student’s 36-unit 300- and 400-level elective requirement.

Creative Writing: Fiction               ENGL 387 Fiction Writing (4)

                                                       ENGL 487 Adv. Creative Writing: Fiction (4) (4)

                               One 400-level modern or contemporary ENGL literature course in fiction (4)

                               Senior project in a work or works of fiction (4)

Creative Writing: Poetry                ENGL 388

                                                       ENGL 488 Adv. Creative Writing: Poetry (4) (4)

                            One 400-level modern or contemporary ENGL literature course in poetry (4)

                            Senior project in a work or works of poetry (4)

Students not selecting one of the emphasis area options above will shape an upper-division course of study with the aid of their faculty advisors and will complete a 4-unit Senior Project course in one of their last two quarters.

Writing Proficiency: all students earning undergraduate or graduate degrees in the CSU must be certified as proficient in writing at the upper-division level. 

Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR): The Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR) is a CSU-mandated program designed to ensure that students can write proficiently before they enter the professional work force. All Cal Poly students who are seeking a degree, including Masters degrees and teaching credentials, must fulfill the GWR. Undergraduate students must complete 90 units before they can fulfill the requirement. This degree requirement must be fulfilled before your diploma can be awarded.

Academic Performance: information concerning GPA requirements, Continuous Enrollment, Educational Leaves, and Unauthorized Withdrawals are found on through the office of the registrar.