English, Creative Writing Option, B.A.

Bachelor of Arts in English

Program planners for each option are available on the Department website or in the Department office. Students should consult with Department faculty advisors when choosing a program in English and regularly as they progress towards their degrees.

The Department of English can refer students to one of the coordinating faculty advisors. Regular office hours for all English faculty are posted near the Department office, and information sheets are available detailing which faculty members regularly advise for specific options.

ENGL 100 , a general education foundation course, is not part of any English option. Some options permit or require courses from other departments; if approved by a faculty advisor, options may also include other courses outside English. Because some courses meet requirements in several options, students can often change options with no significant loss of credit towards the required total; students also regularly double major in two options in English.

In addition to the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in English, English majors must meet the following requirements for University graduation:

Each lower division course counted towards the English major must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. A course in which a grade lower than a “C” is received must be retaken and successfully completed prior to enrolling in any course for which it is a prerequisite.
ENGL 380 , required of all English majors, must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. If a grade lower than a “C” is received, ENGL 380 must be retaken and successfully completed with a grade of “C” or better prior to enrolling in any course for which it is a prerequisite.

Option in Creative Writing

(120 units)

The Creative Writing option is designed for students who wish to write as well as study fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction. Exposure to traditional and recent literature is essential for anyone seeking to master the forms and conventions of writing creatively for the literary marketplace.

This option consists of 45 units, 31 of which must be taken in the upper division, including the following:

Lower Division:

Take all of the following:

ENGL 180 - Appreciation of Literature (3 units)
ENGL 250A - Survey of English Literature (4 units)
ENGL 250B - Survey of English Literature (4 units)

Take one of the following:

ENGL 204 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction (3 units)
ENGL 205 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction (3 units)
ENGL 206 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry (3 units)

Upper Division:

Take the following:

ENGL 380 - Approaches to English Studies (4 units)

Take nine units from the following:

ENGL 404 - Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction (3 units)
ENGL 405 - Creative Writing: Short Story (3 units)
ENGL 406 - Creative Writing: Poetry (3 units)
ENGL 407 - Creative Writing: Novel (3 units)
ENGL 499 - Directed Studies (1-3 units)

Take three of the following classes in recent literature, literary genres, and literary criticism:

ENGL 385 - The Short Story (3 units)
ENGL 386 - Poetry (3 units)
ENGL 459 - English Literature of the Twentieth Century (1900‑Present) (3 units)
ENGL 460 - Anglophone Postcolonial Literature (3 units)
ENGL 466 - Irish Literature in English (3 units)
ENGL 467A - The English Novel (3 units)
ENGL 467B - The English Novel (3 units)
ENGL 469 - Selected Topics - Major English Writers (4 units)
ENGL 470 - American Ethnic Literatures (3 units)
ENGL 474 - Twentieth-Century American Literature (3 units)
ENGL 475 - The American Short Story (3 units)
ENGL 476A - American Poetry (3 units)
ENGL 476B - American Poetry (3 units)
ENGL 477A - The American Novel (3 units)
ENGL 477B - The American Novel (3 units)
ENGL 478 - American Drama (3 units)
ENGL 479 - Selected Topics - Major American Writers (4 units)

Electives

Take electives to make up a total of 45 units chosen from the classes listed above and/or any upper-division English courses.