Credits in Residence

Students must complete 21 credits of major-applicable coursework at Utah State University.

Course Requirements

Core/Explore Requirements (9 credits)

Students must complete 9 credits of exploration courses. Students must choose one course from each section: culture, literature, and writing. 

Students should complete the exploratory requirements as early as possible.

English Teaching Composite Emphasis: Writing

Minimum GPA for Admission: 2.5 USU cumulative (including courses taken for another USU major); 2.5 career total (including transfer credits) for new transfer students

Minimum GPA for Graduation: 2.75 within major courses; 2.0 USU cumulative (3.0 USU cumulative required for admission to STEP); 2.75 career total (for licensure)

Minimum Grade Accepted: C (no pass/fail) in major courses; C in STEP courses (Note: C- or better in Quantitative Literacy (QL) course required by the Secondary Education Program)

Number of Required Credits: 56 (59 if required to take ENGL 1410 )

Other Requirements: Teaching minor, STEP (typically requires 3 semesters; see TEAL website and advisors for STEP advising) required for licensure, Grammar Challenge Exam (score of at least 80 percent) or ENGL 1410   

The English Teaching Composite: Writing program prepares students towards professional licensure in the teaching of secondary-level English, with additional preparation in writing. Students become versed in their academic subject matter (the language arts, emphasizing writing); skilled in the methods of teaching the various components of the English curriculum and classroom management techniques; and committed to the achievement of all students. The English Teaching Composite: Writing offers a robust menu of courses, all within English, recognizing the complexity and depth of English Studies.

In addition to the required Exploratory courses and content-focused courses in English, students take classes in pedagogy to learn about curriculum, planning, instructional delivery, assessment, and related topics. Two clinical experiences provide in-school experiences before student teaching.

Students are urged to complete the required Exploratory courses early in their program of study and to complete an additional 6 credits of English prior to taking ENGL 4500 and ENGL 4510. When possible, students should complete all of their required 3000-level courses before taking 4000-level courses.

To obtain professional licensure at graduation, students must fulfill the requirements of the Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) prescribed by the School of Teacher Education and Leadership (TEAL).

A. Diversity Requirement

All English majors are required to take one course that examines the experiences, perspectives, literature’s, cultures, and/or creative expressions of underrepresented and/or marginalized communities. For this requirement, the USU English department includes communities who have been underrepresented or marginalized due to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability and/or the intersections of these identities in conjunction with one another and with class.

• ENGL 2060 - Literature and Diversity (BHU) 3
• ENGL 2640 - Introduction to Ethnic Studies (BHU) 3
• ENGL 3385 - Postcolonial World Literature 3
• ENGL 3610 - Multicultural American Literature 3
• ENGL 3620 - Native American Studies 3
• ENGL 4520 - Teaching Literacy in Diverse Classrooms 3
• ENGL 5320 - Gender and Sexuality in Literature 3
• ENGL 5330 - Race and Ethnicity in Literature 3
• ENGL 5400 - Social Justice in Technical Communication 3

B. Exploratory Requirements (9 credits)

• Literature (3 credits)

• ENGL 2600 - Literary Analysis 3

• Culture (3 credits)

• ENGL 2210 - Introduction to Folklore (BHU) 3
• ENGL 2630 - Survey of American Culture (BHU) 3
• ENGL 2720 - Survey of American Folklore 3
• ENGL 3070 - Folklore on the Internet (DHA) 3
• ENGL 3700 - Regional Folklore (CI) 3
• ENGL 3710 - Topics in Folklore (CI) 3

• Writing (3 credits)

• ENGL 3400 - Introduction to Technical Communication (CI) 3
• ENGL 3410 - Technical Communication Technologies 3
• ENGL 3420 - Fiction Writing 3
• ENGL 3430 - Poetry Writing 3
• ENGL 3440 - Creative Nonfiction Writing 3
• ENGL 4400 - Professional Editing (CI) 3
• ENGL 4410 - Document Design and Graphics 3

C. Literature Courses (12 credits)

• ENGL 3305 - Medieval Literary History 3
• ENGL 3315 - Early Modern British Literary History 3
• ENGL 3325 - Eighteenth-Century British Literary History 3
• ENGL 3335 - Nineteenth-Century British Literary History 3
• ENGL 3345 - Literary History of the British Isles Since 1900 3
• ENGL 3355 - Literary History of the Early Americas 3
• ENGL 3365 - Nineteenth-Century American Literary History 3
• ENGL 3375 - Literary History of the Americas Since 1900 3
• ENGL 3385 - Postcolonial World Literature 3
• ENGL 3395 - World Literature in Translation 3
• ENGL 3520 - Multicultural American Literature 3
• ENGL 3610 - Multicultural American Literature 3
• ENGL 3620 - Native American Studies 3
• ENGL 3630 - The Farm in Literature and Culture (CI/DHA) 3
• ENGL 4310 - American Writers 3
• ENGL 4320 - British Writers 3
• ENGL 4340 - Studies in Fiction 3
• ENGL 4345 - Studies in Nonfiction 3
• ENGL 4350 - Studies in Poetry 3
• ENGL 4360 - Studies in Drama 3
• ENGL 4365 - Studies in Film 3
• ENGL 4610 - Western American Literature (CI/DHA) 3
• ENGL 4630 - American Nature Writers 3
• ENGL 5300 - Special Topics in Literature (CI) 3
• ENGL 5310 - Contemporary Literature (CI) 3
• ENGL 5320 - Gender and Sexuality in Literature 3
• ENGL 5330 - Race and Ethnicity in Literature 3
• ENGL 5340 - Multimedia Literature 3

• Distribution requirements: one literature course must focus on American Literature content and one must focus on World Literature content.

D. Shakespeare Course (3 credits)

• ENGL 4300 - Shakespeare 3

E. Linguistics Course (3 credits)

• ENGL 4200 - Linguistic Structures 3
• ENGL 4210 - History of the English Language 3
• ENGL 4230 - Language and Culture 3

F. Writing Courses (15 credits)

Courses cannot also be used for the Writing Exploratory requirement. ENGL 4540 Teaching Creative Writing is a particularly good choice for English Teaching students.

• ENGL 3040 - Perspectives in Writing and Rhetoric (DHA) 3
• ENGL 3080 - Introduction to Technical Communication (CI) 3
• ENGL 3400 - Introduction to Technical Communication (CI) 3
• ENGL 3410 - Technical Communication Technologies 3
• ENGL 3420 - Fiction Writing 3
• ENGL 3430 - Poetry Writing 3
• ENGL 3440 - Creative Nonfiction Writing 3
• ENGL 4400 - Professional Editing (CI) 3
• ENGL 4410 - Document Design and Graphics 3
• ENGL 4540 - Teaching Creative Writing 3
• ENGL 5430 - Technical Communication Capstone (CI) 3

G. English Education Courses (14 credits)

• ENGL 3500 - Teaching English 2
• ENGL 3510 - Teaching Young Adult Literature 3
• ENGL 4500 - Teaching Writing (CI) 3
• ENGL 4510 - Teaching Literature (CI) 3
• ENGL 4520 - Teaching Literacy in Diverse Classrooms 3

H. Grammar Competency

In addition to the above requirements, students in the English Education emphasis must fulfill a grammar competency requirement. This may be accomplished either by enrolling in ENGL 1410 Elements of Grammar or by passing a challenge exam in the English Department Writing Center (Ray B. West 104) with a score of 80% or better. See the English undergraduate advisor for further information. 

I. Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP) (up to 35 credits)

To receive a license to teach in the public school system, students in the English Teaching emphasis must complete the STEP administered through the School of Teacher Education and Leadership (TEAL). Students must be admitted to STEP before taking STEP courses. Among the requirements is a Criminal Background Check. Seen an advisor in TEAL, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, for further information regarding this program. Prior to student teaching, students must pass the required PRAXIS exams. Certain STEP courses must be taken concurrently with English courses: SCED 3300 Clinical I (1 credit) must be taken with ENGL 3500 Teaching English (2 credits) and SCED 4300 Clinical II (1 credit) must be taken with ENGL 4520 Teaching Literacy in Diverse Classrooms (3 credits).

Please note a change that went into effect in 2014.The Utah State Office of Education now requires all institutions to mandate a 3.0 minimum GPA requirement for admission. Students are also required to submit and meet the minimum ACT scores as listed below. The new admission requirements began August 1, 2014.

• ACT Composite = 21
• ACT Math = 19
• ACT English = 20