English

major

Undergraduate study in English prepares students for diverse careers in law, publishing, advertising, media and business, teaching, and advanced degree work.

About this Program

To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college, and major requirements.

Department Information

The Department of English fosters a dynamic nexus of critical thinking, writing, and making. English offers students innovative opportunities for individual and collaborative learning through BA, MFA, and PhD programs. Students work with a variety of materials, including: global Anglophone literature, African American literature, children’s literature, comics, critical theory, digital modes, film and media. In-house journals and media reflect the scholarly, creative, and interdisciplinary work done by the department. Active across campus through its affiliations, English produces next-generation arts and humanities.
Website

CONTACT

Email | 352.392.6650 (tel) | 352.392.0860 (fax)

P.O. Box 117310
4008 TURLINGTON HALL
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7310
Map

 Curriculum

Courses offered by the department introduce students to a world of experiences that cannot be exhausted in the brief span of a college education; new authors, new works, new media, and new tools for understanding continually enlarge and transform the world. With the help of faculty advisors, undergraduate majors in English select from courses in various forms, periods, and approaches. In addition, students may develop special expertise in one of several models; for example, communication and creative writing, theory of media, literary study, or cultural studies.

Coursework for the Major

Students pursuing the BA in English must take ten courses offered by the English department. These courses must be 3000 level or above, of no fewer than three credits each and completed with minimum grades of C. (The requirement is ten courses, not 30 credits).

Prerequisite to all 3000/4000-level courses are six credits of English (composition, creative writing, film/media studies/literature) at the 1000/2000 level or department permission. Students must take at least five of their 3000-level or above English courses at UF. Of 3000-level courses with an ENC prefix, only the following apply to the English major:

ENC 3250Professional Communication3
ENC 3310Advanced Exposition3
ENC 3312Advanced Argumentative Writing3
ENC 3414Hypermedia3
Of 4000-level courses with an ENC prefix, only the following apply:
ENC 4212Professional Editing3
ENC 4260Advanced Professional Writing3
ENC 4956Overseas Studies1-15

The student is responsible for consulting an advisor and preparing a plan of study.

Course Details

Because English majors will not be tracked for a specific set of courses, but must meet the ten-course requirement described above, there are no particular English courses that majors must take on a semester-by-semester basis.

The only prerequisite for most 3000/4000-level English courses is earning six credits of lower-division English course credit by coursework or placement (refer to Placement Section below). The courses that may have additional prerequisites are 3000/4000-level creative-writing (CRW) workshops, 4000-level film and video production workshops (ENG 4136 and ENG 4146), 3000/4000-level advanced writing (ENC) courses, department seminars (ENG 4953), honors seminars (ENG 4936), and the department’s internship course (ENG 4940). Refer to the catalog's course descriptions to view the prerequisites for these courses.

As students try to decide which 3000/4000-level courses to take, they should not be concerned about differences between the two levels. The higher-level courses are not more difficult, except in the rare cases where the 4000-level course has 3000-level prerequisites. Course numbers are not created by the English Department but by a statewide course numbering system. Students can gauge a course's level of difficulty by reviewing the department's detailed course descriptions.

The majority of the department's upper-division courses are variable or rotating topics courses, many of which can be repeated for credit given a change in topic. The only way to discover what the actual course topics will be in a specific semester is to consult the department's course descriptions, which explain topics and approaches, and generally give some idea of the texts and assignments. These descriptions are usually posted online three to four weeks before advance registration so that students have ample time to consult them before registering.

Specializations | Models of Study

The department offers optional models of study to help students create coherent patterns of focus and breadth in their coursework. Models of study range from traditional courses of study such as British and American Literature, through film and media studies, creative writing and studies in theory, to cultural studies, postcolonial studies and studies in feminisms, genders and sexualities.

Models of study do not have tracking status. Students will never be monitored, electronically or otherwise, for completion of models of study. The models identify to English majors the faculty's enthusiastic recommendations about coursework distributions for various interests they might want to pursue. Department advisors also can recommend which models of study seem most appropriate for particular post-undergraduate career and educational goals.

  • African American/African Diaspora Studies
  • American Literature
  • British Literature
  • Children's Literature
  • Creative Writing
  • Cultural Studies
  • Drama/Theatre
  • Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities
  • Film and Media Studies
  • Postcolonial Studies
  • Studies in Theory
  • Writing Studies

Because the models of study do not have tracking status, students do not need to declare their intention to follow models of study with the department. Models of study structure the coursework, but students do not have to take specific courses to complete degree requirements for the major, and they can modify or combine models of study. While the department understands that students may be disappointed if they are unable to take specific courses relevant to their models of study, the demand for seats in courses is very high and the department is not able to accommodate all course requests.

Placement

Scores on the verbal portion of the SAT or scores on the AICE, AP, IB or CLEP tests will determine the appropriate composition course. Refer to the charts in the Academic Advising section for course equivalency and placement information.

The department recommends that all students take one 2000-level English department course (without duplicating any course for which they have received placement credit) before moving on to 3000/4000-level coursework. Courses taught at the university level are bound to differ from those taught at the high school level, no matter how enriched the high school curriculum may have been.

Freshmen who intend to major in English should consult a department advisor as soon as possible. Students who intend to establish an emphasis in film studies should take ENG 2300. Creative writing students should take the introductory workshops in fiction (CRW 1101 or CRW 2100) or poetry (CRW 1301 or CRW 2300).

Critical Tracking records each student’s progress in courses that are required for progress toward each major. Please note the critical-tracking requirements below on a per-semester basis.

For degree requirements outside of the major, refer to CLAS Degree Requirements: Structure of a CLAS Degree.

Equivalent critical-tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.

Semester 1

  • 2.0 UF GPA required

Semester 2

  • 2.1 UF GPA required

Semester 3

  • Complete 1 English department course at the 2000 level or higher
  • 2.3 UF GPA required

Semester 4

  • Complete 1 additional English department course at the 2000 level or higher with a 2.5 critical-tracking GPA

Semester 5

  • Complete 1 additional English department course (1 of the 3 courses must be at the 3000 level) with a 2.5 critical-tracking GPA
  • 2.5 UF GPA required

Semesters 6 – 8

  • Complete a total of 10 English courses at 3000/4000 level. English does not require a certain number of courses per each semester for these two years. However, it is strongly recommended that students take at least two courses per semester.
  • 2.0 UF GPA required

Students are expected to complete the Writing Requirement while in the process of taking the courses below. Students are also expected to complete the General Education International (GE-N) and Diversity (GE-D) requirements concurrently with another General Education requirement (typically, GE-C, H, or S). One of the two General Education Mathematics courses must be a pure math course.

To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold. These courses must be completed by the terms as listed above in the Critical Tracking criteria.

This semester plan represents an example progression through the major. Actual courses and course order may be different depending on the student's academic record and scheduling availability of courses. Prerequisites still apply.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
State Core Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences 3
State Core Gen Ed Composition; Writing Requirement 3
State Core Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 3
Foreign language 4-5
 Credits13-14
Semester Two
Quest 1 (Gen Ed Humanities) 3
English department survey of literature course (Critical Tracking; 2000 level; Gen Ed Humanities) 3
State Core Gen Ed Mathematics 3
Gen Ed Composition (if needed) 3
Foreign language 3-5
 Credits15-17
Semester Three
Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences (area not taken in semester one) 1 3
English department survey of literature course (Critical Tracking; 2000 level; Gen Ed Humanities) 3
Elective or prerequisite (or foreign language if 4-3-3 language option) 3
Gen Ed Mathematics 3
Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 1 3
 Credits15
Semester Four
Electives 4
English course from model (Critical Tracking; 3/4000 level) 3
State Core Gen Ed Humanities 3
Gen Ed Biological Sciences 3
Science laboratory (Gen Ed Physical or Biological Sciences) 1
Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 3
 Credits17
Semester Five
Electives 6
English courses from model (3/4000 level) 6
Gen Ed Physical Sciences 3
 Credits15
Semester Six
Electives 6
English courses from model (3/4000 level) 9
 Credits15
Semester Seven
Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) 9
English courses from model (3/4000 level) 6
 Credits15
Semester Eight
Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) 9
English courses from model (3/4000 level) 6
 Credits15
 Total Credits120
1

One General Education option taken this term must be a Quest 2 course.


Home to UF’s programs in Creative Writing and Film and Media Studies, The Center for Children’s Literature and Culture, and The Institute for the Psychological Study of the Arts, the Department of English bridges traditional literary studies with new critical and theoretical disciplines. These include: critical theory and cultural studies; creative writing; rhetoric and composition; children's and young adult literature; contact period studies; postcolonial and/or diasporic studies; film studies/film and video production; gender studies and feminist theory; new media; psychology and literature; and imagetext studies.

Individualized programs balance focus with a flexible curriculum that spans periods, genres and media, and fosters careful analysis across disciplines and methodologies. Received traditions are renovated and new intersections of critical and literary practice are fostered within the framework of the Context Model system. Students are encouraged to define and pursue original work and/or creative work.

The study of English is vitally concerned with the texts and contexts of public culture. The department's curriculum cultivates a responsible understanding of the cultural and material conditions that shape historical and contemporary texts, and instructs students in the communication skills necessary to produce materials that disseminate new thought and knowledge by engaging with "fundamental questions" in the arts and humanities.

Before Graduating Students Must

  • Complete ten English courses (3000 or above) that demonstrate proficiency in the student learning outcomes; assessments will be graded according to an evaluation rubric during the student's inaugural and final semesters in the major.
  • Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.

Students in the Major Will Learn to

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Content

  1. Identify materials, terminologies, methodologies and theories within one or more context models:
    1. Advanced Writing
    2. African American/African Diaspora Studies
    3. American Literature
    4. British Literature
    5. Children's Literature
    6. Creative Writing
    7. Cultural Studies
    8. Drama/Theater
    9. Feminisms, Genders and Sexualities
    10. Film and Media Studies
    11. Medieval/Early Modern Studies
    12. Postcolonial Studies
    13. Studies in Theory

Critical Thinking

  1. Communicate knowledge, ideas and reasoning effectively in written, oral or other forms appropriate to the context model(s).

Communication

  1. Evaluate cultural narratives and/or objects, employing methodologies and criteria appropriate to the context model(s).

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

Courses SLO 1 SLO 2 SLO 3
Assessment 1 (First semester in the major) A A A
Context Model Courses1 I, R I, R I, R
Assessment 2 (Final/graduating semester) A A A
1

Course selection and sequence vary by student choice and courses can be affiliated with multiple context models. 

Assessment Types

  • Instructors rely on course assignments, most often critical essays, as prescribed by context models and as assessed the inaugural and final semesters of the student's enrollment in the upper-division major.