The Baccalaureate degree program in English combines a solid liberal arts background in the Humanities with the specialized skills needed to meet the growing demand for highly competent, high performing, and broadly educated individuals in an increasingly diverse society and workplace. Students are required to take 6 required credits in College Composition, 18 required credits in literature, a course in applied literary theory, a course in applied linguistics, an intermediate composition course and a 12 credit concentration of courses in creative writing, professional writing or cross-cultural literature with a focus on literature of the African diaspora. They also take Internship (ENGL 420), which introduces them to professional opportunities for English majors, and the Senior Thesis (ENGL422) which may expand upon a literary topic in which they have developed an interest or provide them with an opportunity to develop a manuscript in creative or professional writing.
The distribution of required literature courses is as follows. All English BA students must take at least one course in each of the sequences of American Literature I & II, African American Literature I & II, British Literature I & II, Caribbean Literature I & II, for a total of four courses and African Literature. Students must take an additional 300 level literature elective.
Admission into BA Program
Potential English majors must have satisfied all basic skills requirements and must have a minimum average grade of C in English.
Students who have AA degrees in English or Liberal Arts with a concentration in English are eligible for the program. In addition, the English Department has a formal articulation agreement with Kingsborough’s Journalism Program and the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Writing and Literature Program.