English Major

The major consists of a minimum of 11 full courses (or the equivalent) and language competency.

Note: Students must earn minimum grades of C- or P for all courses that apply toward the major.

View the catalog page for the English department.

The English major is designed to meet the needs of students with various goals, including those seeking a foundation for postgraduate work or study in fields related to English (e.g., education, communications, media, editing and publishing, law, theater, etc.) and those who want a humanistic base in reading, thinking, and writing for a liberal arts education without established career plans. The English major has proven to be valuable training—in attentiveness, complex thinking, interaction, communication—for virtually all professions. Many students realize that English is a complementary second major, given that it aims to educate a person broadly, rather than train for a specific path.

Summary of Requirements

Minimum Two Full 200-Level English Courses
Minimum Four Full 300-Level English Courses
One Full Pre-1800 English Course
Minimum Three Full Approved Major Courses
One Full 400-Level English Capstone Experience

Note(s) on Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of eight courses with the ENGL prefix (including courses with a different prefix that are cross-listed with an ENGL course). That is, a maximum of three literature and critical studies courses outside of ENGL are allowed.
In lieu of taking courses outside of English, students can complete additional 200-level, 300-level, and/or 400-level English courses to meet the minimum number of courses required for the major.
A maximum of one 100-level ENGL course may count toward the 11 full courses required for the major, but is not required.
FYSP courses do not apply to the major.
Application for a 400-level course will be required of rising seniors in the second semester of the junior year.

Declaring the Major

Before declaring the major in English, students must complete the following, in consultation with an advisor (a faculty member in the department):

a one-page Plan for the Major, including a brief narrative explaining the student’s motivations and goals; and
the declaration of major form (available from the AARC/Registrar’s Office).

These plans are important and will be revisited and revised across the student’s career at Oberlin. There is not a single English major sequence. Instead, students, in consultation with their advisors and other faculty, are asked to co-create a customized track through the major. The plan will be updated regularly, giving the student a chance to articulate choices, goals, and to refine both over time.

Transfer of Credit Toward the Major

No more than three full courses of transfer credit in English literature may be applied to the Oberlin English major. (Note: “English literature” generally excludes basic composition, creative writing, and more than one course in literature not written in English.) To have transfer credit approval toward the major and/or toward meeting prerequisites for upper-level courses, students should consult the faculty member in charge of transfer of credit (inquire at the department office), with relevant materials in hand.

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit

AP/IB transfer credit received for ENGL 600 does not count toward the English major.

Course of Study

The department offers a flexible major that can be customized to student interest, within certain limits of course type and level. Students interested in graduate work in English should consult with their advisors about crafting a pathway to that goal.

Honors in English

The Honors Program in English is an intensive year-long program that will also fulfill the requirement for a 400-level course for the major. The two-semester program will include supervised research with a faculty member, submission of a 35-page essay (or equivalent project), and an oral examination on that project. During the fall semester, honors students may meet in a seminar to discuss their projects and common issues in literary criticism and theory. Successful work in the honors program will render a student eligible for consideration for honors at graduation, but it does not guarantee such honors.

Students hoping to do honors are advised to complete the majority of their major requirements and to have done significant work at the advanced level (in 300-level courses) by the end of their junior year.

Qualified students may apply for the honors program during the second semester of their junior year on the basis of their previous record in English. Students should confer with potential faculty supervisors to design a project proposal. Acceptance into the honors program will be based on a minimum major GPA of at least 3.33, the availability of faculty supervisors, the coherence and feasibility of the proposal, and a strong writing sample.

Detailed Major Requirements

English Major Course Lists

Note: Application for a 400-level course will be required of rising seniors in the second semester of the junior year.

Pre-1800 English Courses

Return to the summary of requirements.

CLAS 222 - Ovid in the Middle Ages ⇒ cross-listed with CMPL 222, ENGL 209
CMPL 304 - Shakespeare and Metamorphosis ⇒ cross-listed with ENGL 304
CMPL 306 - Literature and the Scientific Revolution ⇒ cross-listed with ENGL 306
CMPL 308 - Visuality, Materiality, and Renaissance Literature ⇒ cross-listed with ENGL 308
ENGL 103 - Introduction to World Literature
ENGL 104 - Supervidere: Surveillance Cultures of the American Canon
ENGL 123 - Introduction to Shakespeare
ENGL 140 - Arthurian Fictions
ENGL 203 - Early British Literature: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton
ENGL 206 - Shakespearean Tragedy
ENGL 209 - Ovid in the Middle Ages ⇒ cross-listed with CLAS 222, CMPL 222
ENGL 215 - Thinking with Renaissance Literature
ENGL 218 - Shakespeare and the Limits of Genre
ENGL 227 - Jane Austen and Company: Romantic Revolutions
ENGL 253 - Pens and Needles: Gender and Media in Early America ⇒ cross-listed with GSFS 253
ENGL 289 - Shakespeare in Italy
ENGL 290 - Shakespearean Comedy
ENGL 292 - Shakespeare and Social Justice
ENGL 293 - Acquired Taste: Literature and Colonial American Foodways
ENGL 301 - Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
ENGL 303 - Wonder and Invention in the Renaissance
ENGL 304 - Shakespeare and Metamorphosis ⇒ cross-listed with CMPL 304
ENGL 306 - Literature and the Scientific Revolution ⇒ cross-listed with CMPL 306
ENGL 308 - Visuality, Materiality, and Renaissance Literature ⇒ cross-listed with CMPL 308
ENGL 309 - The Poetry of Love and Seduction in the Renaissance
ENGL 310 - Medieval European Literature: From Virgil to Dante
ENGL 318 - From Don Quixote to Persepolis: History of the Novel
ENGL 343 - American Gothic
GSFS 253 - Pens and Needles: Gender and Media in Early America ⇒ cross-listed with ENGL 253

Approved English Major Courses

Return to the summary of requirements.

Note: Students can complete additional 200-level, 300-level, and or 400-level English courses to meet the minimum number of courses required for the major.