Navigating the English Major at Boston College: A Comprehensive Guide

The study of literature, in all its richness and diversity, is the central mission of the English Department. From the ever-evolving canon of past works in their stylistic and social complexity to the emerging cultural, media, graphic, and digital forms of the 21st century, students encounter a wide array of literary experiences. Understanding the requirements for an English major at Boston College is crucial for students interested in pursuing this path. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the curriculum, courses, and opportunities available to English majors.

The Importance of Arts and Literature

Since history began, the necessity to create, experience, and comprehend art has been a fundamental human activity. The arts are integral to human experience and expression, fostering imagination and empathy. The critically engaged practice of the arts nurtures creativity and innovation through experimentation and creative problem-solving. Literature, in all its genres, is a fundamental vehicle for understanding human experiences. To read literature critically is to examine the human condition through language’s expressive power and to place the reception of literary works in cultural, historical, and social contexts.

Core Curriculum Requirements

All Boston College undergraduates must complete the University Core Curriculum, which includes coursework designed to provide a foundation in various disciplines. The English Department has primary responsibility for two Core requirements:

First-Year Writing Seminar (ENGL1010): This 15-person workshop helps students develop and practice skills in writing and research. Students learn to write rhetorically, devising effective writing processes for a variety of purposes and audiences. The seminar emphasizes attentive reading, rigorous analysis, original thinking, effective writing, and careful research. Students write and rewrite essays continuously, discuss their works-in-progress in class, and receive feedback during individual conferences with the instructor and peer review workshops.
Literature Core (ENGL1080): This course introduces first- and second-year students to the college-level study of literature. Over the semester, students read a diverse selection of texts written in different time periods and multiple genres. Students learn how to interpret literary language at a sophisticated level and to appreciate literature as a window onto their own and other cultures, engaging with literature through various types of writing, including an analytical essay, personal reflection, and creative projects.

For students whose first language is not English, ENGL 1009 (First Year Writing/MLL) in the fall semester and ENGL 1079 (Literature Core/MLL) in the spring semester offer a year-long sequence of courses that fulfill core English requirements with additional linguistic support in writing, reading, and speaking.

Major Requirements

Students ordinarily begin the English major in their sophomore year, after completing the First-Year Writing Seminar and the Literature Core. In addition to the two 3-credit Core courses, students take 30 credits (in the form of ten 3-credit courses) from the Department’s offerings. These must include:

ENGL2131 Studies in Poetry (3 credits): This class teaches students to analyze poetry across a wide range of genres, styles, and historical periods.
ENGL2133 Studies in Narrative (3 credits): This class teaches students to analyze narrative prose across a wide range of genres, styles, and historical periods.
A course in Race, Blackness, and Language: This requirement encourages students to think about how the meaningfulness of literature emerges from the many forces shaping the world as we understand it, focusing on anti-black racism and racial difference. This course is designed to encourage students to think about how the meaningfulness of literature emerges from the many forces shaping the world as we understand it, focusing on anti-black racism and racial difference more generally. Students will examine issues of race thinking and global relations of power through lenses of ethics, social justice, respect for human dignity, sustainability, and the politics of language use.
15 credits in elective courses of their choice: During the sophomore year, historical survey courses such as Introduction to British Literature and Culture I and II and the American Literary History sequence may be useful to fill in students' knowledge of the development of English and American literature. Students who have a special interest in American literature are advised to take American Literary History I as a foundation for later courses. Earlier literatures in languages other than English (such as cross-listed courses offered through other departments) will be counted as major electives and not historical distribution requirements.

All majors will be required to take one seminar prior to graduation. The seminar, with its small class size and intensive focus, is designed to foster an intimate learning community where students are encouraged not only to study an issue intensively but also to engage actively in an intellectual exchange with a faculty member and a select group of committed peers. These courses are intended mainly for juniors and seniors, and ordinarily, students are advised to have completed both Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative and at least one additional elective before taking a seminar.

Minor Requirements

The English minor is comprised of six courses (18 credits) beyond the Core requirements in English. Students majoring in other subjects have always been welcome in English courses for the diversity of viewpoint and variety of knowledge they often bring with them. The Minor is designed to give you maximum flexibility to pursue your interests in the study of literature. You will take one of the sophomore sequence classes and one course focused on the historical traditions informing English-language literatures, both of which provide an important foundation in the development of your writing skills, in deliberate thinking about the quality of your attention to literary texts, and the relationship between history and the development of literary forms. After these two courses, you get to develop a sequence of four electives from the department’s rich offerings. These electives can include any topics that interest you, from a sampling of different kinds of courses to clusters of courses on topics or approaches that most interest you. Core and Woods College classes may not be counted toward the minor, though additional courses that fulfill the first two requirements may be counted as electives.

Seminars

Once you’ve taken Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative as a major, you are eligible to enroll in a seminar. Seminars are smaller, discussion-based classes that foster a close-knit sense of community and intellectual risk-taking. Exploratory Seminars, which often emphasize project- and process-based learningGraduate/Undergraduate Seminars, which delve deeply into a topic or question and often-though not always-culminate in a research paper that contributes to a critical conversation. All English majors are eligible for all listed seminars, you should follow your interests in choosing the seminar that is the best fit.

B.A./M.A. Program

The English department at Boston College has created a B.A./M.A. Program that allows selected students to earn both a B.A. and an M.A. in English in five years. Enrolled students will start earning graduate credit as a senior, then complete the M.A. Students in the B.A./M.A. program must meet all the specific course requirements for the undergraduate major as well as the formal requirements for the M.A., including the completion of Introduction to Advanced Research or its equivalent, demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language, a theory course, and a comprehensive exam. This requires overloading courses in the senior year, when BA/MA students take four courses that count towards the MA, at least two of which must be designated as graduate, or hybrid graduate/undergraduate, courses.

Admission to the program requires a GPA of 3.3 overall and 3.6 in the English major. Students may count four courses taken in the senior year toward their M.A. degree. These courses may be graduate courses, or undergraduate courses designated as 'seminars.' At least two of the four must be at the graduate level, including hybrid graduate/undergraduate seminars; up to two of the four may be undergraduate courses designated as 'seminars.' The two graduate courses must be taken as overloads, and these count toward the M.A. degree only. The other two courses will count toward both degrees. The purpose of the program is to allow students a greater opportunity for concentrated study and research training. Students interested in the program should consult the director of the M.A. program to discuss whether this version of the M.A. is right for their individual goals. The director will review the student's academic record and, if appropriate, facilitate the application process. The application fee and GRE requirement will be waived. Once accepted into the B.A./M.A. program students will have the director of the M.A. program as their advisor. Students in the program will not be eligible for TF/TA positions or graduate financial aid. Students must submit applications by March 31 of the junior year. The required application materials are a personal statement, a writing sample, three letters of recommendation, and an official transcript.

Honors Program

The English Department offers an Honors program for English majors. Students admitted to the program will write an Honors thesis senior year, either a critical study or a creative project, for 6 credits total toward the major. Students contemplating an Honors thesis are encouraged to take a seminar during their junior year. Independent Work for Departmental Honors (IWDH) is an opportunity for English majors to conduct in-depth research in an area that interests them during the two terms of their senior year. To graduate with departmental honors, students must take two additional courses and complete a thesis, which will be presented to a committee of English department faculty at the end of the academic year.

Creative Writing Concentration

The English department offers a Creative Writing Concentration that allows you to intensify and focus your English major by taking a series of practice-based writing courses along with literature courses. These small, intensive, processed-based workshops are taught by published authors and offered in three genres-poetry, fiction and non-fiction-at three levels. As a Concentrator, you will also attend gatherings to read new work, share news about literary activities on campus, socialize with other writers, do writing prompts together, and discuss career paths. Graduates of the program have gone on not only to publish their own creative work, but also to find careers in publishing, journalism, teaching, communications, and many other fields that require excellent writing skills.

If you are an English major who has received a grade of A- or better in one of the department's creative writing workshops, you may declare the Creative Writing Concentration up through the end of drop/add week of first semester of junior year.

Study Abroad

Majors should complete (at minimum) the required Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative prior to study abroad, while minors should complete at least one of those requirements. Majors will need to have their preliminary application for study abroad approved by the department. Majors may count up to six credits per semester abroad for the major (12 credits maximum); minors may count six credits total. These courses may fulfill historical requirements or major electives. All courses taken abroad must be approved by the department in order to be counted toward the major or minor. A course syllabus is required for major/minor approval. This syllabus must include the writing requirements for the course, and courses cannot be approved without this information. Many students in English pursue internships or study abroad, including in London, Sydney, and Dublin.

Read also: History of the BU Bridge

Additional Opportunities and Resources

Post Road: Post Road is the national literary journal of Boston College. Internships at Post Road are available to BC students.
Undergraduate Writing Awards: Each year, the English Department gives out Undergraduate Writing Awards in recognition of outstanding student writing.
Program for English Language Learning (ELL): The Program for English Language Learning (ELL) supports undergraduate students from linguistically diverse backgrounds in their mastery of English. During their first year, students can take a linked sequence of two English courses that fulfill core requirements. For those students in ENGL 1009 and 1079 sections in need of individualized language support, the ELL Writing Specialist Program pairs students with a trained specialist during the semester. Each student meets weekly with her specialist to discuss ongoing writing assignments.
Interdisciplinary Programs: The English Department is connected to a variety of interdisciplinary programs at Boston College. Numerous English faculty members are affiliated with other programs, such as the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program; the Core Curriculum; the African Studies Center; African American Studies; Cinema & Media Studies; American & New England Studies; Medieval Studies; the College of Fine Arts; and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

Skills and Career Paths

The skills that students acquire-patient interpretive reading, lucid persuasive writing, confidence in discussions, thinking outside the box-prepare them for a variety of professional fields, from law and education to journalism, medicine, business, and entertainment. These skills also enable students to confront the personal and social questions that permeate our lives: What kind of person do I want to be? What values will guide my life?

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