Undergraduate Studies in English at SMU

The English Major

The major requires a minimum of 33 semester hours of English courses, including no more than 12 hours at the 2000-level and below (with no more than 3 of these hours at the 1000-level) and at least 12 hours of 4000-level literature courses. Specific requirements are listed below. You may not repeat a course that is the equivalent in content of one you have already taken even if the numbers differ. 

I.

ENGL 2311 or 2314H: Poetry or Doing Things With Poems, and
ENGL 2315: Introduction to Literary Study

II.

Medieval Literature (3 hours): courses numbered 3320-3329 and 4320-4329

Early Modern Literature (3 hours): courses numbered 3330-3339 and 4330-3439

Literature in the Age of Revolutions (3 hours): courses numbered 3340-3349 and 4340-4349

Modern to Contemporary Literature (3 hours): courses numbered 3350-69 and 4350-69

In addition, students may petition to have other historically-focused advanced courses assigned to a historical group when appropriate, and at the department’s discretion.

III.

Criticism and Theory (3 hours total from the following):

ENGL 3310: Contemporary Approaches to Literature, Language, and Culture
ENGL 4310: Studies in Literary Theory and Criticism

 IV.

Courses to be selected from any departmental offerings, with these limitations: no more than 6 additional hours below 3000-level may be counted toward the major, including no more than 3 hours at 1000-level. The following courses are not acceptable as major electives: ENGL 1300, 1301, 1302, 1305, 2302, 2305.

English 2311 and 2315 are prerequisite for all 4000-level literature courses; 3310 is also recommended.

Courses in Creative Writing (4391 through 4398) and the Distinction Seminar (5310) do not fulfill this requirement.

A grade of C- or better must be earned in all courses fulfilling major requirements, and English majors must attain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 among all courses attempted for the major.

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The Minor in English

Students who nave formally elected the English minor after the beginning of the Fall 2006 semester must pursue the following requirements.  Students who elected the minor before the beginning of the Fall 2006 also have the option of pursuing this set of requirements.   Students electing this version of the minor must fulfill all of the following requirements.

The English minor requires a minimum of 15 semester hours as follows, including no more than 6 hours below the 3000-level.  New course numbers are used here; in a few instances these are the same as previous numbers; when the numbers differ and there are precise equivalents, former course numbers appear in brackets.  The following courses are not acceptable as minor electives: ENGL 1300, 1301, 1302, 2302, 2305 [2311].

3 hours from the following:

ENGL 2311: Poetry

ENGL 2314H: Doing Things With Poems

ENGL 2315: Introduction to Literary Study

A grade of C- or better must be earned in all courses taken for the minor; they may not be taken Pass/Fail. Up to six hours of approved transfer courses may count toward the minor.

To register as a minor, fill in a Minor Declaration Form and submit it to the English Department Office for verification; plan to pick it up a few days later for filing with your school of record.

The departmental minor adviser is Professor Timothy Rosendale, 254 Dallas Hall. Consult him for further information or advice.

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THE CREATIVE WRITING SPECIALIZATION WITHIN THE ENGLISH MAJOR

The English Department offers a Creative Writing Specialization within the English Major. All students pursuing this version of the major should speak with the director, Professor David Haynes.

Students pursuing a Creative Writing Specialization within the English Department must fulfill all departmental requirements for the major, as outlined on the previous pages.

Students specializing in Creative Writing must take at least 12 hours in Creative Writing courses, which will take the place of all the elective hours in a 33-hour major. Those wishing to complete the major in 33 hours will need to fulfill all four historical requirements with 4000-level literature courses.  However, students are encouraged to take additional elective hours in writing courses as well as in other courses. 

The courses in the Creative Writing curriculum are as follows:

2391: Introductory Poetry Writing
2392: Introductory Fiction Writing
3391: Intermediate Poetry Writing. Prerequisite: 2391 or permission of the instructor
3392: Intermediate Fiction Writing. Prerequisite: 2392 or permission of the instructor
4391: Advanced Poetry Writing. Prerequisite: 3391 or permission of the instructor
4392: Advanced Fiction Writing. Prerequisite: 3392 or permission of the instructor
4393/5: Independent Studies/Poetry Writing. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor*
4394/6: Independent Studies/Fiction Writing. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor*
4397: Craft of Poetry. Prerequisite: 2391 or permission of the instructor
4398: Craft of Fiction. Prerequisite: 2392 or permission of the instructor

*Creative Writing students may apply to individual instructors for independent study under the following conditions: 1) the 12-hour minimum has been met through the above courses; 2) the three-course sequence has been completed in the genre in which the student is applying; i.e., 2391, 3391, and 4391 (or 4397) for Poetry Writing, and 2392, 3392, and 4392 (or 4398) for Fiction Writing. Independent study courses may be enrolled in only as hours in excess of the qualifying requirements.

* Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor

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PREPARATION FOR GRADUATE STUDY IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Students planning to go on to graduate study—a plan that should be discussed with one’s advisor, the DUS, and/or the department chair—should be aware that admission to graduate programs requires a more extensive background in literature than the minimum English Department requirement. They should also know that a reading knowledge of a foreign language is usually a requirement for a graduate degree, and that doctoral degree programs may require a reading knowledge of at least two foreign languages. Students should anticipate these requirements by electing courses in foreign languages and literatures, and by electing more than the minimum number of hours in English.

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THE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM IN ENGLISH

In conjunction with the Teacher Training Center, the English Department supports two pathways leading to teacher certification. Students should understand the differences between them.

   I. 

For those students pursuing degree programs at SMU:

NOTE: English 1300, 1301, and 1302 do not satisfy the above requirements. Only courses that normally satisfy major requirements will be counted toward certification.

 II.

For those students seeking certification by SMU who have received degrees in English at other institutions:

All teaching certificate candidates should consult with an adviser in the Center for Teacher Preparation in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education concerning entry into the program and further professional requirements in Education. This process requires SMU to present candidates to the state for certification; students need to be aware that they must meet state requirements as well as SMU and English Department requirements.

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 III.

Recommendations for those in Teacher Preparation:

Those interested in Secondary education should strongly consider taking Shakespeare and one semester each of American and British literary history and one or more semesters of American literature.

All students in Teacher Training should consider taking “Advanced Writing”; the latter course is not covered in teacher training but is part of state testing.

PROGRAM FOR DEPARTMENTAL DISTINCTION IN ENGLISH

To be eligible to enter the program for Departmental Distinction, a student must ordinarily show an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 by the middle of the junior year, and a 3.5 average or better in courses fulfilling requirements for the English major.

Course Requirements

Candidates invited to pursue Departmental Distinction must fulfill all requirements for the major and are required to take additional hours bringing the total to at least 36 hours.

Candidates must enroll in English 5310 (Seminar in Critical Theory) in the Fall semester of their senior year. The Seminar in Critical Theory will focus on basic questions about the nature of literature, the creative process, and the goals and assumptions of criticism. Since the Seminar in Critical Theory is normally offered only in Fall semesters, eligible students who expect to graduate in December must consult the instructor of the course about being admitted during their junior year.

Candidates who complete the Seminar in Critical Theory with a grade of B+ or better must then enroll in an Independent Studies course (English 5381, 5382, 5383) in which they will write a Senior Thesis of approximately 5000 words. With special permission, a candidate may enroll instead in a Graduate Proseminar. Students in the Creative Writing Specialization may, with permission, substitute Independent Studies in Poetry Writing or Fiction Writing (English 4393, 4394, 4395, or 4396). Candidates must earn a grade of B+ or better in any of these options in order to be awarded Distinction.

Students may count the Seminar in Critical Theory, Independent Studies, and the Graduate Proseminar among total hours toward the major, but these courses may not be substituted for courses that fulfill the requirement for 4000-level literature courses.

The Chair of the English Department or Director of Undergraduate Studies will sign the papers necessary to ensure credit for Independent Studies after receiving a prospectus for the Senior Thesis that has been approved by the instructor who will supervise the project. Arrangements for an Independent Studies course must be made before the student will be permitted to register for the course. Because most candidates cannot know whether they have earned at least a B+ in English 5310 before the advanced registration period for the Spring semester, registration for Independent Studies is usually completed as a course addition at the beginning of the Spring semester, but students should prepare and submit the prospectus for the Senior Thesis prior to the end of the Fall semester.

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GENERAL INFORMATION ON ADVISING, DISTRIBUTION, AND PETITIONING

Before the beginning of the advising period each semester, your adviser will post times for conferences. Before seeing your adviser, read through the University’s Schedule of Classes on Access, your Degree Progress Report, and the English Department course descriptions, so that you will have a firm idea about courses you want to take.

A list of the students and their advisers will be posted outside the English Office; your file will be in the possession of the adviser to whom you’ve been assigned. If you wish to change advisers, you must inform Leslie Reid (Room 5) and transfer your file from the adviser to whom you’ve been assigned to your new adviser. Advisers will not sign Student Course Request forms unless they have consulted your departmental file.

In approving your Course Request for next semester, your adviser will check to be sure that you have fulfilled, or are making necessary progress toward fulfilling, the course requirements of Dedman College and the English Department.

If you are a graduating senior, you will need to fill out a Degree Verification--Diploma Request form in the Dedman Records, 214 Dallas Hall. For the deadline for filing, see the University Calendar: http://smu.edu/registrar/academic_calendar.asp.

The requirements of the General Education Curriculum are described in Bulletins published by the Council on General Education.

Students whose first major is English may not satisfy Perspectives requirements with English Department courses.

Courses that are cross-listed as English and Cultural Formations will satisfy only one requirement: major if taken as ENGL, or GEC if taken as CF.

The Human Diversity Co-Curricular requirement may be satisfied with courses in the major.

If you wish to petition for a course substitution or waiver of the requirements of Dedman College, you should obtain a petition form from the Dedman College Student Records Office, 214 Dallas Hall. After you have filled in the form, request that your adviser and the Chair of the English Department or Director of Undergraduate English Studies endorse it; then submit it to the office from which you obtained the form. Action taken by the College and the Schools will be communicated to you and to your adviser.
 

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