PDF version of this chapterUndergraduate Degrees
Undergraduate Programs
With nearly 40 full-time faculty, the Department of English offers courses a broad range of courses in English, American and Anglophone literature of all periods and genres, but also in related areas such as creative and expository writing, literature and visual arts, ethnic literature and cultural studies, the history of the English language and of literary criticism, and literary and cultural theory. Class sizes are kept at 25 to enable full discussion (16 in creative writing workshops), and faculty are available for advisement. Instructors assign extensive reading and writing in order to help students become perceptive readers, critical thinkers and strong writers -- skills that are their own lasting rewards and that also help prepare students for several areas of graduate study and for a number of professional and creative pursuits.Advisement
All students are assigned a faculty advisor with whom they should meet once a semester before registering for courses. Together with the director of undergraduate studies and the department’s undergraduate staff advisor, who students should consult about such matters as departmental clearances and course substitutions, faculty advisors help students shape their major according to their evolving interests and the major’s requirements.Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in English
Undergraduate majors in English are required to take 10 courses (for a total of 40 units) for a B.A. in English or for a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. The major requirements are flexible enough to allow an in-depth exploration in any field of literary or cultural study -- such as American or British literature, Renaissance or African American literature -- while providing historical breadth. The creative writing emphasis has several of the same requirements as the B.A. in English, in addition to which students will enroll in at least three, but no more than four, beginning, intermediate or advanced workshops in both poetry and fiction.All majors must take three introductory survey courses, including at least two among the survey sequence ENGL 261, ENGL 262 and ENGL 263. One of the courses may be a 100-300 level course that introduces students to a particular genre or to the study of literature generally. Students should take at least two introductory courses before enrolling in upper-division electives or creative writing workshops.
In addition to three introductory courses, seven upper-division courses are required. For the B.A. in English, those seven courses must include two courses in literature written before 1800, one course in 19th century literature and one course in American literature. For the B.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing, students must take at least three, but no more than four, creative writing workshops, with at least one in poetry and at least one in fiction. The remaining three or four upper-division courses must include at least one in literature written before 1900 and one in literature written after 1900.
Requirements for a Minor in English
The Department of English offers a minor in English that requires 28 units, or seven courses, including at least two introductory courses (among ENGL 261, ENGL 262 and ENGL 263) and at least four upper-division courses. Among upper-division courses, one must be in literature written before 1800 and one in American literature. An English minor may enroll in no more than two creative writing workshops.Minor in Cultural Studies
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines a broad array of issues of culture, including popular culture, identity, subcultures, nationalism, global culture and ethnography. This minor is designed for students majoring in the humanities or in the professional schools who wish to complement their majors with courses that investigate the politics of culture and cultural negotiation. Students are required to have a minimum 3.0 GPA and the completion of 32 units for admission to the minor.
| Required courses | units | |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 384 | Interpreting Popular Culture | 4 |
| CTCS 407 | African American Cinema, or | |
| CTCS 411 | Film, Television and Cultural Studies | 4 |
| ENGL 392 | Visual and Popular Culture, or | |
| ENGL 472 | Literature and Related Arts | 4 |
| Elective courses | units | |
|---|---|---|
Choose three courses from the following. Students must take two electives outside the department of their major. Students may not take any more than two electives from any one department or school. | ||
| ANTH 263 | Exploring Culture Through Film | 4 |
| AHIS 363 | Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Art | 4 |
| AHIS 469 | Critical Approaches to Photography | 4 |
| CTCS 406 | History of American Television | 4 |
| CTCS 407 | African American Cinema | 4 |
| CTCS 478 | Culture, Technology and Communications | 4 |
| COMM 339 | Communication Technology and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 340 | The Cultures of New Media | 4 |
| COMM 360 | The Rhetoric of Los Angeles | 4 |
| COMM 370 | The Rhetoric of Ideas: Ideology and Propaganda | 4 |
| COMM 395 | Gender, Media and Communication | 4 |
| COLT 365 | Literature and Popular Culture | 4 |
| ENGL 473 | Literature and Society | 4 |
| ENGL 478 | Sexual/Textual Diversity | 4 |
| FA 350 | Art Theory and Criticism | 4 |
| FREN 320 | French Cinema and French Society: 1900 to the Present | 4 |
| GEOG 325 | Culture and Place | 4 |
| HIST 225 | Film, Power and American Society | 4 |
| HIST 255 | American Popular Culture | 4 |
| PAS 400 | Contemporary Public Art | 4 |
| SOCI 342 | Race Relations | 4 |
Total units: 24 | ||
For more information or to apply to this minor, contact the Department of English, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.