Major in English

Course Planning

The English Program in FCCS offers four degree pathways at the undergraduate level:  Honours B.A., English Major, Combined Major, and Minor in English. The requirements for each pathway differ: students with 68% or better in their first-year English courses can declare English as their major at the end of first year. In their second year, students can elect to remain in the English Major, apply to the English Honours program, or pursue a Combined Major.

Major in English

In order to complete a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English, students need to complete 81 required credits (including BA requirements and major requirements) and 39 elective credits for a total of 120 credits.

Year 1

Students must take at least two first-year English courses and can take a range of electives in other disciplines during their first year. For students planning to enroll in the English Honours, Major, or Combined Major degrees, we recommend taking at least two of ENGL 150, 151, and 154 in first year.

Sample Year One

Year 2

Students in the English Major (as well as those wishing to enroll in English Honours or in a Combined Major) must complete two historical survey courses and one theory course in second year: ENGL 220, 221, and 250. These courses provide essential foundational knowledge for further studies in English literature. A wide variety of other second-year English courses can also count towards a degree with a major in English.

Sample Year Two

Years Three and Four – Major

Students take at least 30 credits of upper-level English courses that will fulfill three upper-level requirements, any of which can be taken as either 300- or 400-level courses. These courses will include any two upper-level English courses focusing on the pre-1800 period; any two upper-level English courses focusing on the post-1800 period; and one upper-level course in Canadian literature. Note that in addition to all the requirements listed above, students enrolled in the English Major must also take a minimum of an additional 3 university-level credits of English.

Sample Year Three

Sample Year Four

English Honours

This program is a more advanced and more directed course of study than the program for English Majors and has additional requirements. Students enrolled in the Honours Program must complete 54 credits in English, 36 of which must be at the 300 and 400 level.

Years Three and Four – Honours

While they are completing 36 credits in English courses at the 300- and 400-level, students in the Honours Program must fulfill these particular requirements:

• They must successfully complete 9 credits from each of the following three categories (27 credits in total):
  • Category A Courses: English Literature, Genre, and Historical Consciousness
  • Category B Courses: National, Transnational, and International Literatures
  • Category C Courses: Communications, Media, and Theory
• They must enroll in ENGL 499 (Honours Essay). ENGL 499 is a 6-credit, two-term course, and while taking it students will write their honours essay, a well-researched work of approximately 18-25 pages.

English courses which fulfil the requirements of Categories A, B, and C are listed in the Academic Calendar.

Sample Year Three

Sample Year Four

Note: The courses listed in each term are examples only, course offerings change every year. We recommend you meet with an advisor or program coordinator to decide which required, elective or BA requirement courses you take in each term as there are many choices available.