Department of English
322 Wheeler Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1030
Main Office: (510) 642-3467
Fax: (510) 642-8738
Chair of the English Department:
Sam Otter
(510) 642-2770
Director of Undergraduate Studies:
Kent Puckett
(510) 642-4061
Undergraduate Adviser:
Ken Mahru
(510) 643-2494
VISIT US ON THE WEB: http://english.berkeley.edu
You’ll find course descriptions and book lists, faculty office hours, Honors, Minor and transfer information, and more.
Course descriptions can be found each semester in The Announcement of Classes. It is available on-line one week before Tele-Bears enrollment begins for the upcoming semester. Seminar and Creative Writing applications are available at the same time in the racks outside of the English Department office. The English Department does not post Summer Course Descriptions.
All students should meet with an Adviser in the College of Letters & Science, as well as an English Department Major Adviser. The information on this handout refers only to the requirements for the English major. Be sure to consult an L&S Adviser (in 113 Campbell Hall) about fulfilling all College requirements (Reading & Composition, Quantitative Reasoning, Foreign Language, Seven-Course Breadth, unit and residency requirements). For information concerning completion of University and Berkeley Campus requirements, please contact the offices listed below:
College of Letters and Science
113 Campbell Hall
(510)642-1483
http://ls.berkeley.edu
Entry-Level Writing
112 Wheeler Hall
(510) 642-5570
http://writing.berkeley.edu
American History & Institutions
120 Wheeler Hall
(520) 642-5006
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/ahi/
American Cultures
120 Wheeler Hall
(510) 642-2264
http://americancultures.berkeley.edu/
DECLARATION OF MAJOR:
To be eligible to declare a major in English, the student must have completed:
To declare a major in English, students must bring a copy of their transcript (unofficial print out from Bearfacts and/or transfer institutions) showing the completion of the pre-requisite course work to a Major Adviser. At that time, students will fill out a Petition to Declare Major and a Major Record Card. After that, English majors should meet periodically with an adviser to monitor their course of study.
THE MAJOR PROGRAM:
The English Major consists of no fewer than 12 courses, of which at least 7 must be upper-division courses. To graduate with a degree in English, a student must achieve at least a 2.0 GPA in: a) all work undertaken at the University of California (all campuses), b) all courses required for the English major, and c) all upper-division courses in the English major.
I. CORE REQUIREMENTS IN ENGLISH
Four Foundational Courses:
The following 6 courses are required of all majors and must be taken for a letter grade:
- English 45A
- English 45B
- English 45C
- A course in Shakespeare (17, 117A, 117B, 117J, or 117S). Students may not use English 117T to satisfy this requirement.
One Pre-1800 Course:
- One upper-division course in British, American, or Anglophone literature from an historical period before 1800. Standard course offerings that would meet this requirement include English 105, 110, 111, 112, 114A, 114B, 115A, 115B, 118, 119, 120, 125A, 130A. Certain designated sections of English 100 and 150 may be used to satisfy the Pre-1800 requirement. English C107, any Shakespeare course, or a course outside the department that does not include a substantial amount of English literature (such as Dante) may not fulfill this requirement.
One Seminar Course:
- English 190. Research Seminar: intensive examination of critical approaches, literary theory, or a special topic in literary and cultural studies. English 190 is research-oriented and designed for upper-division English majors.
- English H195A/B. Honors Course. English H195A/B (fall-spring sequence only) is a year-long seminar that always begins in the fall. The completion of H195A/B satisfies the English seminar requirement. The successful completion of the Honors Course is required to obtain Honors in English. Admission requires a 3.65 GPA in the major (averaging only UC grades in courses for the English major) and a 3.51 overall UC GPA. Enrollment in English H195A/B is by application, due the spring semester before the course is to be taken. Applications are generally available in the racks outside the English Department office in early April. The due date and other requirements are noted in the departmental Announcement of Classes posted on the web and on the application forms.
Students who have completed either English 100 or 150 have satisfied the Seminar Requirement.
II. ELECTIVE REQUIREMENTS IN ENGLISH
The remaining 6 courses are elective:
Six elective courses in the English Department. Elective courses are those that you take based on your personal interest in the study of English. Two of the 6 elective courses for the major may be taken P/NP. This includes 98, 99, 198, 199. The P/NP option in English is subject to the regulations set forth in the L&S Announcement.
Please read the “Additional Information” on page 3 for possible exceptions for electives. All exceptions must be approved by a Major Adviser and noted on your major record card.
Please note: The English Department has one Commencement Ceremony a year in the Spring Semester. Students who complete their major and university requirements are eligible to participate in this ceremony. Students who complete their degrees in the summer or fall may participate either the spring semester before or after completing their degree. There is a smaller University Convocation Ceremony in the fall should students wish to attend it. Commencement information is on-line at: http://english.berkeley.edu/commencement/.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I. INDEPENDENT COURSE WORK:
Supervised Independent Study. A student may use a total of four (4) units of independent study as one of the 6 electives required for the major. The four units need not be taken in a single course. Independent Study courses are taken on a P/NP basis only. Independent study courses are subject to the regulations set forth in the L&S Announcement.
- English 98/198 are student-led DeCal courses (see http://decalberkeley.nfshost.com). Students receive course control numbers directly from their student instructor.
- English 99/199 are Individual Independent Study courses. Students must request an application for English 99/199 in the English Department office. Completed applications signed by the instructor are returned by the student to the department in exchange for a course control number which can be used by the student to register for the class on Tele-BEARS.
Internships. Students wishing to receive academic credit for an internship must coordinate with an English Department faculty member who agrees to sponsor an Independent Study course (99/199) based on the internship. Students should provide the faculty member with official documentation from their internship employers. Credit is based on completion of a critical or creative work on a topic related to the internship. No more than two units will be awarded per internship. Please note that students must register for Summer School Session C for summer internships.
II. EXTRA-DEPARTMENTAL COURSE WORK:
The options below are provided for enrichment and flexibility, not to replace regular semester courses within the department. Students gaining 8 units of credit or more toward the English major from Education Abroad Programs (EAP) will not be permitted to count additional upper-division course work from other UCB departments. With the exception of one UCB English Department summer course, all of the following must be approved by a Major Adviser and recorded on the student’s major record card.
Summer Session Courses. Only one Summer Session course at UCB or another institution may be counted toward the major. A course taken through the English Department at UCB during summer session does not require Major Adviser approval. For courses taken elsewhere (or outside the major – see below), students must petition for approval by providing documentation, including a course syllabus and a transcript showing the completion of the course.
Courses taken outside the department. With the approval of a Major Adviser, students may count up to two upper-division courses in departments other than English for the major. Students will submit a Petition for Approval of Courses Taken Outside the Major to a Major Adviser. This form can be found in the racks outside the English Department office, 319 Wheeler Hall. The student’s request for course approval will include a course syllabus and a compelling intellectual rationale, one that explains how the student’s work for the English major will be enriched through the inclusion of the particular outside course the student wishes to take. There is no pre-approved list of courses. For possible courses outside English, consult the listings for Anthropology, Celtic Studies, Comparative Literature, Ethnic Studies, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Rhetoric, Women’s Studies, etc.
Education Abroad Programs. A faculty Major Adviser determines credit toward the major for coursework completed through an Education Abroad Program on a case-by-case basis. Students should submit documentation (e.g., course descriptions, syllabi, completed exams, papers, and other written work) to demonstrate that the education abroad course is comparable in coverage, rigor, and substance to a UCB upper-division course. This could include up to 2 education abroad literature courses in a foreign language. Although there is no official limit on the number of courses transferred from Education Abroad Programs, generally two courses will be counted easily. Closer scrutiny will be given to subsequent course work. Although the Major Adviser determines the number of courses approved for use towards the major, the College of Letters and Science makes the final determination of unit credit for any and all courses taken abroad.
On-line and Extension Courses. Only one UC Berkeley Extension or on-line course may be counted toward the major. No UC Berkeley Extension on-line course may be used to satisfy a core requirement for the major: 45A/45B/45C (or their upper-division equivalents), Shakespeare, the Pre-1800 course, or the seminar requirement. To count toward the major, UC Berkeley Extension or on-line courses must be comparable in coverage, rigor and substance to department courses. Students seeking to count a UC Extension or on-line course toward the major should submit course materials and other relevant documentation to an English Department Major Adviser or to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
III. EXCEPTIONS:
Course Equivalents for 45A, 45B, & 45C. With approval and in consultation with a Major Adviser, the 45A-B-C requirements may be satisfied by substituting for each course two appropriate upper-division courses. To meet the 45B and 45C requirements, one course equivalent must be in American literature and one must be in British literature in the appropriate historical periods. Any and all courses used to satisfy the 45A, B, & C requirements must be taken for a letter grade.
Additional Exceptions. With the approval of a Major Adviser, additional exceptions to the English major requirements may be approved. These exceptions must be noted on the student’s major record card with the signature of the approving Adviser. Exceptions are only granted for circumstances based on documented student needs and goals.
Last modified: September 23, 2009