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 with Special Emphasis
(120 units)
Some students wishing to major in English have special interests or career objectives so different from those for which the other options are designed that another pattern of courses would better serve their personal educational needs. For those students, the Special Emphasis option offers an opportunity to pursue individually designed 41-unit programs of study. Student programs may center on technical writing, for example, or other writing goals; they may focus on American or English literature or literature in a particular genre, a particular historical period, or a particular theme.
A Special Emphasis program may include courses outside the Department of English closely related to a student’s focus in English studies. At least 21 units must be earned in the Department of English at CSULB and at least 21 units of the program must be upper division.
Students wishing to take the Special Emphasis option must meet with the Department chair. Students must complete at least 15 upper-division units applicable to their Special Emphasis program after it has been officially approved. Specific course requirements and limitations follow: