English (BA)
Description
Literature and literary studies are at the core of the humanities and at the center of debates concerning culture, politics, education, and language. The program of study in English not only enriches students' appreciation of literature and engages them in cultural debate but helps develop crucial skills in analytical thinking and clear, persuasive expression both in speech and in writing. An English degree is an ideal gateway for careers that emphasize communication and critical thinking including law, business, journalism, public service, and education.
Minimum Total Credit Hours: 120
Degree Requirements
The academic regulations for this degree program, as entered in the University of Mississippi Catalog, are in effect for the current or selected academic year and semester. The University of Mississippi reserves the right to
- change or withdraw courses;
- change rules for registration, instruction, and graduation; and
- change other regulations affecting the student body at any time.
General Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following First Year Writing I courses: | 3 | |
| Introduction to College Writing | ||
or WRIT 1010 | First-Year Writing I | |
| Select one of the following First Year Writing II courses: | 3 | |
| First-Year Writing II | ||
or LIBA 1020 | First Year Seminar | |
| Select six hours of Literature Survey: | 6 | |
| Survey in Literary History | ||
| Survey of World Literature to 1650 | ||
| Survey of World Literature since 1650 | ||
| Survey of American Lit to the Civil War | ||
| Survey of American Lit since Civil War | ||
| Survey of British Lit to 18th Century | ||
| Survey of Brit Lit since Romantic Period | ||
| Select at least 6 hours at the 2000 level or above in one modern or ancient language. 1 | 6 | |
| Select six hours in History (HIST) course work with a passing grade. 2 | 6 | |
| Select three hours of Humanities courses: 3 | 3 | |
African American Studies | ||
Classical Civilization | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Humanities and the Environment | ||
| Topics in Gender and Culture | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Introduction to Queer Studies | ||
| Topics in Gender and Culture | ||
| Theories in Gender | ||
| Men, Women, and Greek Life | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in Cinema | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in the Media | ||
| Advanced Queer Studies | ||
Philosophy | ||
Religion | ||
Southern Studies (Any 1000 level only) | ||
| Introduction to Rhetoric | ||
| Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Humanities and the Experience of War | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Select three hours of fine arts from the following: 1,2 | 3 | |
Art History | ||
| Dance Appreciation | ||
| Introduction to Music Literature | ||
| Fundamentals of Music Theory | ||
| Introduction to Music | ||
| Introduction to World Music Cultures | ||
| Music Theory and Analysis I | ||
| Appreciation of the Theatre | ||
| Introduction to Cinema | ||
| Introduction to the Fine Arts | ||
| Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Select three hours of Math at the 1000 level or above 4 | 3 | |
| Select six hours of Social Sciences from the following areas: | 6 | |
Anthropology | ||
Economics | ||
Political Science | ||
Sociology | ||
| Interdisciplinary Social Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisc Social Science | ||
| 3 science courses, of which 2 must have labs 5 | 9-11 | |
Astronomy OR Physics (must be 2 courses in Astronomy or 2 courses in Physics) | ||
Biology | ||
Chemistry | ||
Geology | ||
| Integrated Science I | ||
| Integrated Science II | ||
| Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Total Hours | 48-50 | |
- 1
-
Modern Languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, & Swahili.
Classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
Communication Sciences & Disorders: American Sign Language
Philosophy and Religion: Hebrew
- 2
Freshmen may not register for 3000 level courses.
- 3
-
In addition, gender studies courses that are cross-listed with African American studies, classical civilization, English, modern languages, philosophy, or religion curses will satisfy this requirement.
- 4
-
Except for MATH 2451 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and MATH 2452 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers II.
- 5
-
Courses may be chosen from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, LIBA 2050 Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 2051 Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences, LIBA 1500 Integrated Science I, LIBA 1510 Integrated Science II, LIBA 3150 Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 3151 Advanced Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences and physics. Two semesters of coursework in one subject and one semester in a subject from another department are required. Each course must be a minimum of 3 credit hours. At least two of the courses taken must include laboratories. For some classes, the required laboratory will be an additional 1-hour course. For example, a student might take two 3-hour lecture courses in chemistry along with the two associated 1-hour laboratory courses, and one 3-hour course in biology without laboratory. As a second example, a student might take two 4-hour lecture/laboratory courses in geology and one 3-hour course in astronomy. As a third example, a student might take two chemistry courses, one with lab and one without, and a geology course with lab. Note that a student taking the required 6 hours of one subject (astronomy or physics) from the Department of Physics and Astronomy must take the remaining 3 hours from another department. ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy does not include laboratory work; ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System and ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies include laboratory work and satisfy the requirements for lab-based science credits. A student may not receive credit for taking ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy with either ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System or ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 2990 | Introduction to Literary Studies | 3 |
| Select 3 hours from each of these categories: | 9 | |
Literature of the Medieval and Early Modern Periods | ||
| Introduction to Medieval Studies | ||
| Chaucer | ||
| Medieval Romance | ||
| Medieval Drama | ||
| The Heroic Age | ||
| Literature of Medieval Europe | ||
| Studies in Medieval Literature | ||
| Shakespeare | ||
| Renaissance and Early Modern Studies | ||
| Early Modern Genres and Forms | ||
| Studies in Early Modern Literature | ||
| Early Middle English | ||
| Advanced Studies in Chaucer | ||
| 14th Century English Literature | ||
| Medieval Lit of the North Atlantic | ||
| Literature of Medieval Europe | ||
| Literature of Medieval Piety | ||
| Special Topics in Medieval Literature | ||
| Medieval Forms and Genres | ||
| Seminar on Shakespeare | ||
| Shakespeare on Film | ||
| Special Topics Early Modern Literature | ||
| Old English I | ||
| Old English II | ||
| Old Norse | ||
Literatures of the 18th and 19th Centuries | ||
| Studies in 18th Century Literature | ||
| 18th Century Genres and Forms | ||
| Studies in Early American Literature | ||
| Early American Genres and Forms | ||
| Studies in Transatlantic Lit to 1900 | ||
| Studies in Romanticism | ||
| Studies in Victorian Literature | ||
| Victorian Genres and Forms | ||
| Studies in Antebellum American Lit | ||
| Studies in American Lit 1860-1900 | ||
| Studies in 19th Century Literature | ||
| 19th Century Genres and Forms | ||
| African American Lit Survey to 1920 | ||
| Special Topics in 18th Century Lit | ||
| Special Topics Early American Lit | ||
| Transatlantic Lit to 1900 | ||
| Special Topics in Romanticism | ||
| Special Topics in Victorian Lit | ||
| Antebellum American Literature | ||
| Special Topics American Lit 1860-1900 | ||
| Special Topics in 19th Century Lit | ||
Diverse Perspectives | ||
| Studies in Black Film | ||
| Women in the South | ||
| Survey of Native American Literature | ||
| African American Lit Survey to 1920 | ||
| African American Lit Survey Since 1920 | ||
| African American Genres | ||
| Studies in African American Lit | ||
| Literature in Prison | ||
| African American Science Fiction Lit | ||
| Blues Tradition in American Literature | ||
| Studies in World Literatures | ||
| Studies in Anglophone Literature | ||
| Studies in 20th & 21st c. Comp Black Lit | ||
| Survey of Caribbean Literature | ||
| Survey of 20th and 21st c. African Lit | ||
| Studies in Asian Literature | ||
| Studies in National Counter-Canons | ||
| Studies in Postcolonial Literature | ||
| Intro to Gender and Sexuality Studies | ||
| Studies in Gender and Feminism | ||
| Studies in Gay & Lesbian Lit/Theory | ||
| Women in Literature | ||
| Gender on Film | ||
| Studies in Diverse Perspectives | ||
| Special Topics in the Global South | ||
| Special Topics in Native American Lit | ||
| Major African American Writers | ||
| Special Topics in African American Lit | ||
| Seminar in Diverse Perspectives | ||
| Prison & the Literary Imagination | ||
| Special Topics in World Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Anglophone Literature | ||
| Special Topics Comparative Black Lit | ||
| Special Topics in Caribbean Literature | ||
| Special Topics in African Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Postcolonial Studies | ||
| Special Topics Gender/Sexuality Studies | ||
| Power, Knowledge, and Gender | ||
| Special Topics in Queer Theory | ||
| Special Topics in Gender and Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Race and Ethnicity | ||
| Select 18 hours of additional English (ENGL) electives 1 | 18 | |
| Capstone Seminar 2 | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- 1
ENGL 1980 Topics in Intro to Creative Writing, ENGL 1990 Introduction to Creative Writing and 3000, 4000, and 5000 level ENGL courses as well as the following approved electives taught outside the department: CLSC 3030 Greek and Roman Tragedy, CLSC 3040 Greek and Roman Comedy, CLSC 3050 Topics in Classical Mythology, CLSC 3070 Survey of Greek Literature, CLSC 3080 Survey of Roman Literature, CLSC 3090 Greek and Roman Epic, CLSC 3330 Poetry and Politics at Rome, CLSC 3680 African American Lit and the Classics, LING 3030 Phonology, LING 3040 Morphology, LING 3050 Syntax, LING 5060 Discourse Analysis, LING 5100 Advanced English Grammar, LING 5110 Dialects of English, LING 5200 Historical Linguistics.
- 2
Complete one 4000-level course as a capstone seminar. See your advisor to determine which 4000-level courses satisfy the capstone requirement.
- 3
No more than 12 hours of English department writing courses (ENGL 1980 Topics in Intro to Creative Writing, ENGL 1990 Introduction to Creative Writing, ENGL 3010 Poetry Workshop, ENGL 3020 Fiction Workshop, ENGL 3030 Nonfiction Workshop, ENGL 3040 Screenwriting Workshop, ENGL 3050 Advanced Creative Writing Workshop, ENGL 4000 Advanced Poetry Workshop, ENGL 4010 Advanced Fiction Workshop, ENGL 4020 Advanced Nonfiction Workshop, ENGL 4030 Advanced Screenwriting Workshop, ENGL 4040 Special Topics in Creative Writing, ENGL 4050 Nature Writing) will count toward the major.
In lieu of one or two courses during the senior year, a student may take ENGL 4997A Senior Thesis for 3 or 6 credits with approval of the director of undergraduate studies. Students may satisfy the capstone seminar requirement by completing a senior thesis and with approval of the director of undergraduate studies.
Emphasis Options
English majors may choose to specialize by using their English electives to add one emphasis. The overall degree requirements remain the same.
Emphasis - Creative Writing
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 1980 | Topics in Intro to Creative Writing | 3 |
| or ENGL 1990 | Introduction to Creative Writing | |
| Creative writing emphasis students will complete 3 of the following courses: | 9 | |
| Poetry Workshop | ||
| Fiction Workshop | ||
| Nonfiction Workshop | ||
| Screenwriting Workshop | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Workshop | ||
| Creative Writing: Society & Health | ||
| Creative Writing on Location | ||
| Advanced Poetry Workshop | ||
| Advanced Fiction Workshop | ||
| Advanced Nonfiction Workshop | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting Workshop | ||
| Special Topics in Creative Writing | ||
| Nature Writing | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Editing Writing & Publishing
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 1980 | Topics in Intro to Creative Writing | 3 |
| or ENGL 1990 | Introduction to Creative Writing | |
| ENGL 3080 | Editing, Writing, and Digital Publishing | 3 |
| ENGL 3940 | Internship-Editing, Writing, Publishing | 3 |
| Select three hours of the following: | 3 | |
| Poetry Workshop | ||
| Fiction Workshop | ||
| Nonfiction Workshop | ||
| Screenwriting Workshop | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Workshop | ||
| Creative Writing: Society & Health | ||
| Creative Writing on Location | ||
| Advanced Poetry Workshop | ||
| Advanced Fiction Workshop | ||
| Advanced Nonfiction Workshop | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting Workshop | ||
| Special Topics in Creative Writing | ||
| Nature Writing | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Emphasis - Literature Justice & Society
English majors may choose a literature, justice, and society emphasis by taking 12 hours of the following courses:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 hours of the following courses: | 12 | |
| Creative Writing: Society & Health | ||
| Intro to Literary Criticism and Theory | ||
| Studies in Literature and Health | ||
| Studies in Black Film | ||
| Women in the South | ||
| Survey of Native American Literature | ||
| African American Lit Survey to 1920 | ||
| African American Lit Survey Since 1920 | ||
| African American Genres | ||
| Studies in African American Lit | ||
| Literature in Prison | ||
| African American Science Fiction Lit | ||
| Blues Tradition in American Literature | ||
| Studies in World Literatures | ||
| Studies in Anglophone Literature | ||
| Studies in 20th & 21st c. Comp Black Lit | ||
| Survey of Caribbean Literature | ||
| Survey of 20th and 21st c. African Lit | ||
| Studies in Asian Literature | ||
| Studies in National Counter-Canons | ||
| Studies in Postcolonial Literature | ||
| Studies in Literary Criticism & Theory | ||
| Intro to Gender and Sexuality Studies | ||
| Studies in Gender and Feminism | ||
| Studies in Gay & Lesbian Lit/Theory | ||
| Women in Literature | ||
| Gender on Film | ||
| Studies in British Environmental Lit | ||
| Studies in American Environmental Lit | ||
| Environmental Genres and Forms | ||
| Studies in Diverse Perspectives | ||
| Special Topics in Literary Theory | ||
| Sp Topics Cinema/Media Theory, History | ||
| Southern Environmental Literature | ||
| Special Topics in the Global South | ||
| Special Topics in Native American Lit | ||
| Major African American Writers | ||
| Special Topics in African American Lit | ||
| Seminar in Diverse Perspectives | ||
| Prison & the Literary Imagination | ||
| Special Topics in World Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Anglophone Literature | ||
| Special Topics Comparative Black Lit | ||
| Special Topics in Caribbean Literature | ||
| Special Topics in African Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Postcolonial Studies | ||
| Special Topics Gender/Sexuality Studies | ||
| Power, Knowledge, and Gender | ||
| Special Topics in Queer Theory | ||
| Special Topics in Gender and Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Race and Ethnicity | ||
| Special Topics in Environmental Studies | ||
| Literature and the Nonhuman | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Other Academic Requirements
The 6 hours of composition required by the College of Liberal Arts are prerequisites for ENGL 2990. One 2000-level English course is the prerequisite for most English courses at the 3000 level and above. Some creative writing courses have different prerequisites.
Students cannot earn both a BA in English and a BFA in Creative Writing because courses cannot be shared, and there are not enough unique courses to meet the requirements for both degrees.