English - B.A., Major, Minor Requirements

The Department of English offers a program of courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Literature or Writing. Students who wish to continue on after completion of their B.A. to NLU's Master of Science in Written Communication program are advised to take the Writing Concentration. The department also offers a concentration in English for students in the College of Education.

The B.A. with English major program consists of 180 quarter hours of coursework. The Liberal Arts General Education requirements make up 60 quarter hours of this total which may be based on courses taken at community colleges or other institutions. The English major consists of 60 quarter hours (12 courses), 30 quarter hours are core required courses and 30 quarter hours are selected from offerings in a student’s chosen concentration—either literature or writing. Students who plan to pursue the Master’s in Written Communication degree after graduation are advised to choose the writing concentration. One course, Logic and Effective Thinking, is required for the B.A. with English major degree. The remainder of the B.A. degree, 60 quarter hours (12 courses), consists of electives chosen from any field within the College of Arts & Sciences: adult continuing and literacy education, applied language, fine arts, human services, language studies, mathematics, natural sciences, philosophy, psychology, social and applied behavioral sciences. Additional English literature and writing courses are especially recommended to fulfill the 12 elective courses.

General Education Requirements 60 QH

(These course credits may be transferred to NLU from community colleges, universities, or other accredited institutions of higher education. To learn more about transfer credits, click here).

Fields of Knowledge

1. Communications

LAE101	English Composition I	5
LAE102	English Composition II	5

2. Humanities

	Philosophy elective	5
	Humanities elective	5

3. Fine Arts

Fine Arts course(s)

5

4. Quantitative Reasoning

One Quantitative Reasoning course

5

5. Physical and Life Sciences

LAN110	General Biology OR equivalent	5
	One Physical Science	5
	(Survey of Physical Science is recommended)

6. Social Sciences

	One Social Science course	5
	One U.S. History OR European History course	5

7. Behavioral Science

LAP100

General Psychology OR equivalent

5

 

Core English Requirements 30 QH

(Courses that must be taken at National-Louis University).

LAE305	Advanced Studies in British Literature: Beginning to 1750	5
LAE306	Advanced Studies in British Literature: 1750–1900	5
LAE309	Minority Voices in American Literature OR
LAE313	Myth and Mythology OR
LAE308	World Literature	5
LAE314	History of the English Language	5
LAE405	Advanced Studies in American Literature: Beginning to 1900	5
LAE434	Shakespeare and Elizabethan Drama	5

 

Additional Program Requirement

Logic and Effective Thinking 5 QH (must be taken at NLU).

 

 

Choose a Writing or Literature Concentration

Students select a concentration in either writing or literature for 30 hours. Students who plan to enter the M.S. in Written Communication program after earning the B.A. in English are strongly advised to take the Writing Concentration.

Writing Concentration

Select from the following courses to equal 30 QH.

LAE304	Advanced Written Communication	5
LAE412	Introduction to Writing Poetry	5
LAE413	Reading and Writing the Short Story	5
LAE414	Writing and Reading Oral History	5
LAE416	Women’s Lives into Literature	5
LAE450	Fundamentals of Journalism	2–6
LAE460	Editing for Publication	5
LAE465	Creative Writing: Humor OR
LAE486B	Writers Week Workshop	2
LAE495	English Special Topic	5
LAE499	English Seminar*	5

*LAE499: English Seminar covers changing topics, such as Dystopian Literature, The Works of Joyce Carol Oates or The Literary Uses of Metaphor. LAE499 may therefore be taken three times for a total of six quarter hours, as long as no topic is taken more than once.

Total Minimum Hours for the chosen concentration 30 QH

Literature Concentration

LAE307	Literature for Children	5
LAE309	Minority Voices in American Literature OR
LAE313	Myth and Mythology	5
LAE312	Poetry OR
LAE412	Introduction to Writing Poetry	5
LAE340	Literature for High School Teachers	5
LAE406	Advanced Studies in American Literature: 1900–1950	5
LAE407	American Writers: 1945–1970 OR
LAE408	Contemporary American Literature Elective	5
LAE410	Modern British Fiction: 1900–1950	5
LAE416	Women’s Lives into Literature	5
LAE455	Latino Literature in the U.S.	5
LAE499	English Seminar*	2–6

*LAE499: English Seminar covers changing topics, such as Dystopian Literature, The Works of Joyce Carol Oates or The Literary Uses of Metaphor. LAE499 may therefore be taken three times for a total of six quarter hours, as long as no topic is taken more than once.

Total Minimum Hours for the chosen concentration 30 QH

Additional Electives chosen from any English literature or writing courses or from any other discipline within the College of Arts and Sciences 55 QH.

Electives 55 QH

Total Minimum Hours 180 QH

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Concentration in English (for students majoring in Elementary Education)

Twenty-five quarter hours must be upper-level, and 15 quarter hours of the upper-level courses must be taken at NLU.

	General education composition and literature courses	15
	One literary period course (LAE305, LAE306, LAE405, LAE406)	5
	History of the English Language (LAE314)	5
	Literature or Writing electives	20

Total Minimum Hours 45 QH

 

Minor in English

Fifteen quarter hours must be upper-level courses and must be taken at NLU.

	One literary period course (LAE305, LAE306, LAE405, LAE406)	5
	History of the English Language (LAE314)	5
	Literature or Writing electives	20

Total Minimum Hours 30 QH

For information on the Master of Science in Written Communication program, please click here.