English: Literature Emphasis - BA, BS

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of English

About This Degree

With its small class sizes and nationally published faculty members, the English Department helps students develop skills in analysis, production, and understanding of texts in the English language. Students learn to write, think, and communicate effectively in a technologically and culturally complex world. Students develop skills in the areas most valued by employers, including critical thinking, teamwork, and oral and written communication, which will prepare them to enter into a wide range of career options.

Because the English Department is home to faculty that are heavily involved in research, students are provided with numerous opportunities to pursue undergraduate research projects and creative projects with individual attention from professors.

Students receive a by completing all required courses in the major. To receive a BA, students must also gain proficiency in one or more foreign languages.

Literature Emphasis: Literary studies students read, analyze, and research texts and writers in American, British, and other world literatures as well as their cultural contexts. Students in literary studies develop critical thinking and communication skills that prepare them for a variety of careers.

For more information about English: Literature Emphasis, see the Department of English website.
Admitted and current students must meet with an academic advisor.
Log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress.
The highest math requirement for this degree is Quantitative Literacy (QL) of the student’s choice.

Minimum University Requirements

Total Credits: 120
Credits of C- or better: 100
Total credits taken through USU: 30
Total major required credits taken at USU: 10
Minimum Grade Point Average (many majors require a higher GPA): 2.0 GPA
Credits of upper-division courses (#3000 or above): 40
Upper-division credits taken at USU: 20
General Education Requirements
University Studies Requirements
Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Admission Requirements For This Program

New freshmen must be admitted to USU in Good Standing.
Transfer students from other institutions or other programs at USU: 2.5 GPA

Additional Information

Students in this emphasis learn the value of literature as they practice important career skills: writing, speaking, researching, collaborating, and thinking critically.

Literature students learn to solve problems both logically and creatively, both independently and in teams. Graduates will thus be well prepared to pursue their individual goals in a wide variety of educational and professional paths, including (but not limited to) business and marketing, publishing, teaching, museum and library work, arts organizations, and legal students–in short, any field that requires strong communication skills, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. Literature graduates can also look forward to a lifetime of intellectual curiosity and cultural enrichment.

ENGL 2600 is an introductory course in Literary Analysis, which teaches students to read texts closely, draw connections between form and content, make interpretative claims, and write persuasive arguments.

Students in 3000-level and 4000-level courses learn to draw connections between literature and its historical, cultural, social, and biographical contexts. These courses put texts in conversation with one another and with the conventions of different genres.

The Advanced Seminars at the 5000 level serve as a capstone to the student’s Literature emphasis. ENGL 5300 is a Special Topics course, which brings together diverse literary texts in imaginative ways, encouraging students to think across historical, biographical, and generic boundaries. ENGL 5310 is a course on Contemporary Literature, in which students bring literary history up to the present day. ENGL 5320 and ENGL 5330 explore literary and cultural representations of, respectively, gender identities and sexualities, and racial and ethnic identities. ENGL 5340 , a course on Multimedia Literature, gives students a chance to explore new and emerging forms of literary and cultural representation.

The emphasis includes nine elective credits: three additional English courses in Literature or any other area of the department. Students may devote three of these credits to an internship that combines their academic skills with their professional interests.

English General Education Requirements

Students must complete the General Education Requirements.

Students must also complete the University Studies Depth Requirements:

The following courses will fulfill the Communication Intensive requirement for students enrolled in each of the four emphases: Literature–courses having CI designation (such as ENGL 5300 and ENGL 5310 ); Professional and Technical Writing–TCR 2100 and TCR 3220 (both required); English Teaching–ENGL 4500 and ENGL 4510 (both required); Creative Writing–two courses having CI designation (ENGL 4420 , ENGL 4430 , or ENGL 4440 ).
Complete at least 2 credits in approved 3000-level or above courses from each of the following categories: Life and Physical Sciences (DSC) Course and Social Sciences (DSS) Course.

Major Requirements (45 credits)

Minimum GPA for Graduation: 2.75 within major courses; 2.0 USU cumulative; 2.0 career total

Minimum Grade Accepted: C within major courses (no grades of pass/fail)

Credits in Residence: Students must complete 21 credits of major-applicable coursework at Utah State University.

A. English Department Requirements

Students should take note of the superscripts to find emphasis-specific requirements.

English Major Core (9 credits)

ENGL 2600 is required. Students may fulfill the rest of the core credits from the following courses.

ENGL 2600 - Literary Analysis 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2050 - Literature by Women (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2060 - Reading Across Borders (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2070 - Introduction to Digital Humanities (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2140 - Introduction to LGBTQ+ Literature (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2150 - Introduction to Science Fiction 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2160 - AI and Writing: Cultural and Historical Perspectives 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2210 - Introduction to Folklore (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2220 - Introduction to Fiction (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2230 - Introduction to Film (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2240 - Introduction to Poetry (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2250 - Introduction to Creative Writing (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2300 - Introduction to Shakespeare (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2330 - Introduction to Children’s Literature (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2350 - Indigenous Voices (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2630 - Introduction to American Studies (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2640 - Race and Ethnicity in the United States (BHU) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 2720 - Survey of American Folklore 3 credit(s)
TCR 2100 - Introduction to Technical Communication 3 credit(s)
TCR 2110 - Digital Writing Technologies 3 credit(s)

Emphasis Requirements (33 credits)

B. Literature Courses (21 credits)

Select seven courses from the following:

ENGL 3305 - Medieval Literary History 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3315 - Early Modern British Literary History 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3325 - Eighteenth-Century British Literary History 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3335 - Nineteenth-Century British Literary History 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3345 - Literary History of the British Isles Since 1900 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3355 - Literary History of the Early Americas 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3365 - Nineteenth-Century American Literary History 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3375 - Literary History of the Americas Since 1900 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3385 - Postcolonial World Literature 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3395 - World Literature in Translation 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3610 - Multicultural American Literature 3 credit(s)
ENGL 3620 - Native American Studies 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4300 - Shakespeare 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4310 - American Writers 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4320 - British Writers 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4330 - World Writers 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4340 - Studies in Fiction 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4345 - Studies in Nonfiction 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4350 - Studies in Poetry 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4360 - Studies in Drama 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4365 - Studies in Film 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4370 - Native American Literature 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4375 - U.S. Latinx Literature 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4380 - African American Literature 3 credit(s)
ENGL 4630 - American Nature Writers 3 credit(s)

C. Literary Seminars (3 credits)

Select one of the following courses:

ENGL 5300 - Special Topics in Literature (CI) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 5310 - Contemporary Literature (CI) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 5320 - Gender and Sexuality in Literature (CI) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 5330 - Race and Ethnicity in Literature (CI) 3 credit(s)
ENGL 5340 - Multimedia Literature (CI) 3 credit(s)

D. English Electives (9 credits)

Select 9 elective credits from ENGL courses numbered 3000 and higher or TCR courses numbered 2000 and higher.

No more than three elective credits may be taken as ENGL 4900: Internship/Cooperative Work Experience .

Open Electives

Total elective credit is determined by General Education courses taken, degree type selected, additional credits earned, and any additional math or other prerequisite courses needed. Please consult your Academic Advisor for details.

Total Credits: 120

Suggested Degree Map - English: Literature Emphasis BA, BS

English: Literature Emphasis BA, BS - 4 Year Degree Map