English Major

Major Requirements

Students earning a major in English choose between two paths: English or Creative Writing. The English path consists of a minimum of ten courses (40 credits) in English, including a capstone experience in literature. The Creative Writing path consists of the requirements for the English major, as defined below under English, plus the use of departmental electives for five creative writing courses (20 credits), including a capstone experience in Creative Writing. For both paths, courses are to be planned in consultation with an English department advisor and according to the requirements below.

Stipulations applying to both the major and the minor:

Neither Advanced Placement credit nor ENGL 101 - College Writing may be included in a major or minor in English.

No more that two courses at the 100 level may be counted toward a major in minor in English. There is one exception regardin the major: ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing , may be counted toward the major along with two other 100-level courses.

One preceptorship and one internship (for a maximum of eight credits) relevant to a student’s work as an English major may be included in a major in English. An English minor may not include a preceptorship or an internship.

One course (four credits) in the study of literature in a language other than English may be included as an elective in a major in English but not in a minor.

English

Ten courses (40 credits) in English with the following requirements:

One course (4 credits) numbered from 105-194 in order to provide a foundation course for the further study of literature. Any one of these courses serves as a prerequisite for literature courses numbered 300 and above. None of these courses may be used to satisfy requirement #2 (advanced study in an historical period). Exceptions: * Note that although Advanced Placement credit can show up on transcripts as ENGL 125 - Studies in Literature , it does not count toward the major, nor does it count as a prerequisite for 300-level courses. ENGL 125 taken at Macalester does count toward the major and as a prerequisite for 300-level courses. *ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing , does not count as a foundation course.
Three courses (12 credits) at the 200, 300, or 400 level, in British or American literature before 1900, distributed among three of the following four periods: Medieval/Renaissance, 18th Century British, 19th Century British or 19th Century American. Please see English Courses by Time Period for approved courses.
One course (4 credits) focused on literature by U.S. writers of color, or an approved course in postcolonial or diasporic literature. * Note: Please see the English Department website for a list of these courses.
One Capstone Experience (4 credits). The Capstone Experience requirement may be fulfilled by any one of the following taken at Macalester as a senior:
1. A course in the 400s sequence
2. An Honors Project. See full guidelines on the English Department website.
3. An appropriate independent course developed in consultation with an English department faculty member. Examples of such a project would be an extensive research paper on a literary subject, a portfolio of creative work, a cross-disciplinary project, or a presentation by means of performance, multimedia, or hypertext.

With the consent of the department adviser or chair, one literary course in a language other than English may count toward the major.

Up to two literary courses from a study abroad program may be approved for credit toward the major by the chair.

Up to one internship or one preceptorship may be counted toward the major.

Creative Writing

The Creative Writing core includes the requirements of the English path (see above, plus the use of departmental electives for a minimum of five creative writing courses: ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing ; three intermediate or advanced creative writing courses entitled Crafts and numbered above the 100 level; a capstone experience in Creative Writing taken in the senior year. Note:* English majors on the Creative Writing path do not also take a capstone experience in literary history.

Notes: * ENGL 150 - Introduction to Creative Writing , taken at Macalester is the required prerequisite for all further creative writing courses.

* Creative Writing core English majors may not use ENGL 150 to satisfy the requirement for a gateway course (see 1 above), but must also take a course numbered between ENGL 105 and ENGL 137 as a prerequisite for literature courses numbered 300 and above.

* English majors may declare a Creative Writing path, but switch to an English path, or vice versa, at any time before graduation, as long as the relevant requirements are met.

In addition to the extensive course offerings in creative writing, additional creative writing electives may include independent study, tutorials, and internships (with, for example, one of the literary presses in the area). For a list of some such opportunities, see the English department site.