B.A. DEGREE WITH A MAJOR IN ENGLISH, LITERATURE CONCENTRATION

1. All of the following (15 hours)*

2. One of the following (3 hours):

If a student places out of any language at the 2002 level, area F.2 may be replaced by any 1000-2000 level AFST, ARTS, BLST, COMM, HIST, IDST, LING, MSCM, MUSC, PHIL, RELI, THEA, or WMST course not used to fulfill areas B, C, & E (3 hours).

(Any transfer student who has not completed the courses in Area F, or their equivalents, must take these courses at GCSU.)

1. Historical periods: four courses from the following three groups, with at least one from each group (12 hours):

2. Theoretical approaches: one course from the following (3 hours):

3. Single author: one course from the following (3 hours):

4. Thematic or conceptual: one course from the following (3 hours):

5. ENGL 3900 Critical Approaches to Literature (3 hours)

6. ENGL 4900 Senior Seminar on Langauge and Literature (3 hours)

Students must show competence in a foreign language at the level of the fourth university course (2002). Students do not get credit for the first level of the language they took in high school. (0-12 semester hours)

NOTE: English majors may count only one foreign language course (3 hours) in Area F.

English majors in the Literature concentration may meet the GCSU Senior Capstone Experience requirement in any of the following ways:

1. Completion of a Senior Research/Thesis Experience scholarly project, completed during the semester in which the student is enrolled in ENGL 4900, Seminar on Language and Literature (generally spring of the senior year). All students in ENGL 4900 are required to revise and substantially extend a research essay from a previous upper-level English course; in order to receive Capstone credit for a Senior Research thesis, however, students must register for 3 hours of ENGL 4970, supervised by a faculty member with whom the student would like to work on the thesis project; generally, this faculty member will have expertise in the topic on which the student seeks to write a thesis, and may be the instructor from the course in which the original paper was written. To receive credit for the Senior Thesis, students must revise and extend their essay beyond the requirements for ENGL 4900; a general rule would be a 40-page essay with a substantial scholarly bibliography. Students pursuing the Thesis option will be required to defend their thesis in a 30-minute public presentation during which they will discuss their work and answer questions. The supervising faculty member, in consultation with the instructor of ENGL 4900, will assign a grade to the Thesis project, which will become the grade for ENGL 4970. The Senior Thesis requirement may also be met through completion of a Scholars Project, as outlined in the Honors and Scholars Program section of the Catalog;
2. Study abroad undertaken after completion of at least 72 hours of coursework, met through ENGL 4980. Students who seek Capstone credit for study abroad must register for a 3-hour section of ENGL 4980 concurrent with their participation in any study abroad program approved by the Department Chair (full-year, semester, or summer). Upon return from abroad, students will receive a grade of "I" (incomplete) until they have submitted a 3,000-word essay that explores what they have learned from their travel to the instructor of record for ENGL 4980. A letter grade will be awarded for this essay and will be the grade for the course. Failure to complete ENGL 4980 by the end of the semester following study abroad will result in a failing grade in the course, and Capstone credit will not be granted;
3. Completion of a 3-hour internship in a placement appropriate personally and professionally for the student's interests, as determined in consultation with the student's selected supervising faculty member and the Department Chair. To receive capstone credit for an internship, students must register for 3 hours of ENGL 4960 simultaneously with undertaking the internship. ENGL 4960 will be supervised by a faculty member with the appropriate expertise in the area of the internship, selected by the student, with input from other appropriate faculty members as needed. In addition to the actual work of the internship, students will be required to compile a portfolio, essay, or other appropriate documentation reflecting their learning and experiences in their placement, which will be evaluated by the supervising faculty member. In addition, the field supervisor must provide an evaluation of the student's work in the internship. The student will receive a grade of "I" (incomplete) in ENGL 4960 until all material, including the supervisor evaluation, is submitted to the supervising faculty member. Failure to submit this material by the end of the semester following completion of the internship will result in a failing grade for ENGL 4960, and Capstone credit will not be granted;
4. Completion of an approved Senior Service Learning Experience project in an area chosen with a faculty advisor or group of advisors and the Office of Service Learning, and approved through a competitive application process through the Office of Service Learning. This option requires registration for ENGL 3005, Service Learning (1 hour) in the semester the project is undertaken (usually the Fall semester of the senior year), and for ENGL 4970, Thesis (2 hours) in the following semester to write a scholarly and reflective paper placing the service-learning project into a disciplinary and interdisciplinary context, and/or to compile a documentary portfolio of the experience. Both the paper option and the portfolio option require presentation of the project's results at either the spring Student Symposium, a Service Learning Symposium, or an appropriate professional meeting or conference;
5. Completion of any approved IDST Senior Capstone course.

Other Requirements

1. Completion of the First-Year Academic Seminar with a passing grade. Students who transfer to GCSU after the first term are exempt from the requirement.
2. A grade of C or better is required in all English courses; more than one grade of D or below may disqualify a student from continuing in the major.
3. A minimum of 39 semester hours overall must be at the 3000-4000 level.
4. Fulfillment of University-wide Senior Capstone Experience requirement, as explained above.

English majors who need more than one language course to meet the University B.A. requirements may have a lower number of elective hours.