Department of English, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

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    Undergraduate Programs in English

    The following undergraduate English degrees are offered:

    As a general rule, students should complete the general education and language requirements as soon as possible before satisfying Departmental requirements and taking Departmental electives. Requirements for the B.S. Ed. are especially rigid, so students in this program need to pay special attention to their program sequence. For students who entered the program prior to Fall 2007, please see your advisor for information regarding your degree requirements.

    PLEASE NOTE: Course requirements may change at any time; please keep in regular contact with your advisor and make sure the department can keep in contact with you by enrolling in the English Major Blackboard website, ensuring your email is current, and checking your email regularly. English majors, please see the following information:

    MINORS
    The English Department offers programs in eight areas of minor concentration:  African/African American Literature, Business/Technical Writing, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, Film Criticism, Journalism, Linguistics, and Literature. Any degree candidate may earn a minor concentration by pursuing one of the following courses of study. (With one exception, of course:   English and B.S.Ed. majors can not also take a minor in Literature.)

    Minor in African/African American Literature.................................................. 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Cherise Pollard (x2959, cpollard@wcupa.edu)

    The African/African American Literature Minor is a program in literary and cultural theory and criticism.  This minor can be combined with any WCU undergraduate major. The minor in African/African American Literature should enhance the career opportunities of students in view of the growing need for multicultural and global understanding in the workplace.

     1.  Required Courses (6 credit hours) CLS 351 and LIT 202 or LIT 203

    2.  Elective Courses (12 credit hours). LIT 202 or 203 (whichever is not taken as requirement), 204, 205, 206, 309, or CLS    365, ENG/LIT/CLS 400

    Business and Technical Writing.......................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Judith Scheffler (x3101, jscheffler@wcupa.edu)

    The Business and Technical Writing Minor prepares students for writing and editing in business, industry, government, and technical settings. It is also suitable preparation for graduate studies in writing, rhetoric, and technical communication. Prerequisite: WRT200, 204, 205, 206, 208, or 220.

    1.  Required Courses (12 credit hours)   ENG 320, 368, 371, 375

    2.  Elective Course (3 credit hours)   Choice of ONE of the following:  ART 113, COM 220, SPK 230, CSC 141 (or higher),  ENG 270, JRN 355, MGT 100, MIS 300, MKT 200 (or other elective approved by the director of the minor)

    3.  An additional three credit hours to be earned through ENG 395, a supervised internship in business or technical writing.

     

    Comparative Literature....................................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Linda Myrsiades (x2959, lmyrsiades@wcupa.edu)

    The Comparative Literature Minor enhances programs in the humanities by introducing students to diverse literatures and cultures and challenging their ethnocentric assumptions about identity, society, language, and culture.  It encourages them to focus on connections between film and literature, art and mythology, and computers and literature.

    1. Required courses (6 semester hours) CLS 165 (LIT 165 can be substituted) and ENG 400 (ENG 400 must be a Comparative Literature Seminar as designed by the CLS committee.)

    2. Elective courses (12 semester hours) Any 12 semester hours from the following courses:CLS 201, 203, 225, 258, 259, 260, 261, 270, 297, 304, 310, 350, 351, 352, 361, 362, 365, 367, 368, 369, 371, 400, 410, 411; ESP 311, 333, 334, 335

      

    Creative Writing.................................................................................. 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Luanne Smith (x2671, lsmith@wcupa.edu)

    The Creative Writing Minor allows aspiring authors to write poems, plays, essays, short stories, and novels under critical supervision.

    1.  Required Course (3 credit hours):  CRW 201

    2.  Elective Courses (15 credit hours)   Any five of the following:  CRW 202, 203, 301, 302, 303, 304, 400, 490, 491.

     

    Film Criticism...................................................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Paul Maltby (x2425, pmaltby@wcupa.edu)

    In this 6-course/18-credit program, the student will be trained in cineliteracy and will become familiar with formalist, historical, political, socio-cultural, and other critical approaches to film. Film courses fulfill two General Education requirements: (1) They count as a distributive requirement under “Arts;” (2) FLM 200, 201, 202 are taught as writing emphasis courses. Introduction to Film (FLM 200) is a required course. Students must then choose 5 electives from the following courses, all recognized as counting towards the minor:

    1.  Required Course (3 credit hours):  FLM 200

    2.  Elective Courses (15 credit hours): Any five of the following selected with the approval of the advisor:  FLM 201, 202#, 301, 400#; CLS 304, 365, 369; COM 217, 317; EFR 350*/FRE 350, EGE 404*/GER 404, EGE 405*/GER 405, EGE 409*/GER 413; EIT 360*/ITA 360; ESP 305*/SPA 305, ESP 309*/SPA 313; SPA 415; HIS 376; PHI (02)**.

    #  Variable-topic courses, which may be repeated for credit

    * Prefixes that start with an “E” designate courses taught in English. The prerequisite for the advanced-language version of the course (paired above with the English-language version) is a minimum of 4 semesters of language study.

    ** A special topics course which must carry the section number “02” to qualify as a film course.

     

    Journalism .......................................................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator: Prof. Charles Bauerlein (x2268, cbauerlein@wcupa.edu)

    The Journalism Minor provides marketable skills and experience for students interested in writing for the print and electronic media. Students, under critical supervision, acquire practical training in writing for newspapers, magazines, and public relations agencies in professional contexts.

     1.  Required Courses (12 credit hours) JRN 200*, JRN 225, JRN226, JRN250 (minimum grade of C-). (*Students may substitute COM212 for JRN200 but they must still take a total of 18 credit hours to graduate with the Journalism minor.)

    2.  Elective Course (3 credit hours)   One of the following:  JRN 272, 312, 315, 325, 335, 355 or ENG395 (internship).

    3.  A sequence of three one-credit Journalism Practicums (JRN411) at the University student newspaper over three academic year semesters (not offered in summer): Students should try to schedule JRN411 in three different semesters. Students who are trying to graduate with the minor and haven't fulfilled this requirement may petition the program co-ordinator for permission to take two sections of JRN411 in their senior year. Internships may not be substituted for the Quad practicums.

      

    Linguistics........................................................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. Dennis Godfrey (x2269, dgodfrey@wcupa.edu

    The Linguistics Minor is an interdisciplinary program.  Its purpose is to provide the student with a foundation in the analysis of the various aspects of language. Please see Dr. Godfrey for possible updates to the requirements and additional course offerings for the Linguistics Minor.

    1.  Required Courses (9 semester hours):   ENG/LIN 230, ENG 331 (or any other structural grammar course), ENG 335 (or any other historical linguistics course).

    2.  Electives (9 semester hours): A. Choose one of the following: ENG 330, FRE 365, GER 365, RUS 365, SPA 365, SPP 106, or any other approved course in phonology or phonetics. B.  Choose one of the following: ANT/LIN 380; COM/LIN 415; ENG 339, 340; LIN 250; PHI/LIN 330, 360; or any other approved comparable course. C.  Choose an additional course from either Group A or B above, or choose one of the following:  COM 307; ENG 430; LAN 350; LIN 411, 412; LIT 430, 431; PHI 190, 436; PHY 110; SPP 204; or any other approved linguistics course.

    Literature........................................................................................... 18 credit hours
    Coordinator:  Dr. John Ward (x2463, jward@wcupa.edu)

    The Literature Minor provides a concentration for students interested in the critical study of literature through classroom discussion and written analyses.  It is not open to English majors.

    Please see Dr. Ward for possible updates to the requirements and additional course offerings for the Literature Minor.

    1.  Required Courses (6 credit hours): LIT 200 (Early Amer survey) or LIT 201 (Late Amer), LIT 230 (Early Brit survey) or LIT 231 (Late Brit survey).

    2. Elective Courses (12 credit hours): One American and one British literature course (in a historical period not covered in the required courses).  Any two additional literature or comparative literature courses.

    Use this chart to determine what you need to take to fulfill the historical requirements:

     

    Early American (Lit200 or other)

    Late American (Lit201 or other)

    Early British (Lit230 or other)

    Late British (Lit231 or other)

    List your courses:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    INTERNSHIPS

    Increase your Professional Knowledge and Experience. Maybe you know exactly what you want to do after you graduate—or maybe you have no clue. An internship can help you explore a professional area to help you make such decisions, to help you test how you apply your reading and writing skills in work situations, and to allow you to build professional connections. If you’re in a major or minor English Department program, you could be eligible for an internship.  Why not try one of these interesting opportunities offered by the English Department?

    INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR:  Professor Michael Peich, x3235, mpeich@wcupa.edu; Professor Judy Scheffler, x3101, jscheffler@wcupa.edu; or Professor Eleanor Shevlin, x2833, eshevlin@wcupa.edu.

    INTERNSHIP PLACEMENTS
    Students have completed both on- and off-campus internships. They have done editorial work and proofreading, written press-releases, designed newsletters, brochures, and web pages, created and conducted questionnaires—among many other activities. Recent placements include Philadelphia-area publishers, local media, public-relations organizations, corporate groups, nationally-based volunteer organizations, and libraries.

    INTERNSHIP POLICY
    A student seeking an English Department internship must be in the process of completing either a major or minor in the Department.  The student will be permitted to undertake an internship under the supervision of the English Department when he or she has met the following requirements:

    1.  An accumulation of least 80 semester hours;

    2. Completion of 12 semester hours in courses in the major or minor program

    3. A letter of application to the internship coordinator of the Department of English accompanied by a resume and two faculty references

    4.  A meeting with his or her adviser to obtain information about internship eligibility

    A student will be limited to 15 credit hours of internship credit.  Anyone who wishes to take more than nine hours of internship credit in one semester must obtain approval from the Internship Coordinator after submitting an application and an academic transcript in the preceding semester.  The Internship Coordinator will determine the number of credits to be earned during an internship by applying a ratio of 40 hours of work for each hour of academic credit (for example, a student who worked 120 hours would receive three credit hours).  The internship credits for English majors are to be applied to the student/advisor-designed program (professional concentration, minor, or electives).  Only under exceptional circumstances, and entirely at his or her discretion, will the Internship Coordinator consider applications from students not meeting the Departmental requirements.  It is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate that he or she has met the academic requirements for an internship.