Department of English

• Faculty
• Field Description
• The Major
  • Program Learning Goals
  • Major Course Requirements
• The Minor and Courses
• Special Program - The Sidney Harman Writer-In-Residence Program
• Advice for Students Registering for English Composition Courses
• Courses
  • Courses in English (ENG)
• Department of English Web Site

Field Description

Language is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of educated men and women. English is the discipline where students encounter works of fiction, poetry, and drama that unlock the richest potentialities of language. Students are also afforded a range of opportunities for developing their own writing to the fullest: critical essays on literature in a variety of courses, workshops in creative writing (poetry, fiction, and nonfiction), and the art of the essay. Language is also approached through linguistics, the history of English, and global English.With advanced training in English increasingly necessary for business and professional careers, this course of study is universally recognized as an ideal "preprofessional major"---one that opens career possibilities in such fields as law, publishing, teaching, and community service.

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The Major

The English major offers a rich variety of courses for students interested in literature, creative writing, and language and society. Among the interdisciplinary offerings are courses in film, linguistics, and global studies.

Students may prepare for the study of literature on the graduate level. Concentrated work in English will be of great value to students preparing for such business and professional careers as editing, publishing, science and technical writing, advertising, public relations, and communications. The literature courses are designed to help students sharpen their reading and writing skills, gain new insights into human nature and cultural diversity, and achieve increased flexibility in their own approach to life.

Students preparing for graduate study in literature should have some knowledge of the range of English, American, and non-Western literature and should be acquainted with such major figures as Chaucer and Shakespeare. Because most graduate schools have foreign language requirements and candidates must sometimes demonstrate competence in several languages, prospective graduate students are urged to undertake their study of foreign languages as early as possible.

Students in English are encouraged to broaden their base of knowledge in as many fields as possible, many of which will resonate with interdisciplinary approaches in their English courses. Courses in comparative literature, foreign languages, communication studies, history, art, music, religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and education are especially recommended.

Program Learning Goals

Upon completion of a major in English, students will be able to:

1. Read closely works in the major literary genres (narrative, poetry, drama, essay) and comprehend individual works' themes, formal organization, and stylistic features.
2. Write cogent essays developing a persuasive interpretation of a literary work and arguing for that interpretation through commentary on the text; formal, thematic, or stylistic analysis; and contextualization in terms of literary, cultural, political, or intellectual history.
3. Comprehend the broad historical outlines of British, American, and global literatures in English, including concepts of periodization (like Medieval, Elizabethan, Restoration, Romantic, American Renaissance, Modernism) and some major events corresponding to those periods.
4. Find critical works on specific texts or topics through library and internet research and make salient comparisons between competing interpretations and contrasting critical approaches.
5. Make connections between literary studies and related fields of inquiry such as aesthetics, cultural studies, film, gender, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, and queer theory.

Major Course Requirements

Program Prerequisites   
No credit toward the major/specialization

Major/Specialization:    30 credits

Required Courses      15 credits

Electives    15 credits

Choose five additional courses for 15 credits. Electives must be selected from Department of English offerings numbered at the 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000-levels. Courses offered by the Harman Writer-in-Residence are also included.

Note: Interdisciplinary courses, such as Feit Seminars (

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The Minor

Advanced training in English language and literature is increasingly necessary for business and professional careers. Students who choose to develop their intellectual abilities in these areas may select two courses numbered 3000 or above from the offerings of the Department of English. To complete their minors, they enroll in an appropriate capstone course. All 4000-level offerings in the Department of English or an approved 3-credit Independent Studies course in English may serve as the capstone course.

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Special Program

The Sidney Harman Writer-In-Residence Program

The Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence Program, an endowed residency in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, offers gifted undergraduates the opportunity to enroll in writing workshops taught by distinguished visiting professors. Since its inception in the fall of 1998, Harman Writers-in-Residence have included poets Yehuda Amichai, Agha Shahid Ali, April Bernard, Carol Muske-Dukes, Charles Simic, and Major Jackson; playwrights Edward Albee and Tony Kushner; authors William Finnegan, Philip Gourevitch, Jane Kramer, Mark Kurlansky, and George Packer; fiction writers Paul Auster, Susan Choi, Anita Desai, Francisco Goldman, Colum McCann, Lorrie Moore, Sigrid Nunez, Francine Prose, Joseph O'Connor, and John Edgar Wideman; and graphic novelist, Ben Katchor.

Harman courses vary in numbering and in subject, depending on the choice of the visiting writer. Interested students of all majors are encouraged to submit transcripts and writing portfolios for review to Professor Esther Allen, 646-312-4214; e-mail: Esther.Allen@baruch.cuny.edu .

Harman classes can be taken for honors credit and students can use the Harman courses to fulfill their honors course requirements. The courses also can be used in the Journalism major and minor and in the English major and minor.

Additional information on the Harman Residency is available at www.baruch.cuny.edu/wsas/harman.

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Advice For Students Registering For English Composition Courses

All students are required to take:

and

Requirements for Placement into ENG 2100:

• A minimum score of 480+ on the SAT Verbal OR
• 20+ on the ACT English OR
• 75+ on the NY State Regents exam OR
• 56+ on the CUNY Assessment in Writing (CATW) and 70+ on the CAT in Reading.

Special requirements for second-degree transfer students from universities in which English is not the language of instruction: Prior to their first semester at Baruch, all such transfer students must take a writing placement test administered by the Department of English. Students who pass the test will be awarded any and all composition credits to which they are entitled. Students who do not pass the writing placement test or who have earned fewer than 6 credits in composition will be placed in an appropriate English course.

Exemption Criteria

Students who earn a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition or AP English Literature and Composition exam will receive credit for ENG 2100: Writing I. No advanced placement credit is available for ENG 2150 for first-year students.

Advanced students with over 60 hours who transfer to Baruch may be eligible for exemption from ENG 2100 and 2150 under certain circumstances. For exemption determination, please contact Writing Director Lisa Blankenship in the Department of English.

For questions about transferring courses which may count as ENG 2100 and 2150 equivalents, please contact the Admissions Office or Dr. Blankenship, Writing Director.

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Courses

Courses in English (ENG)

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