English

Through interdisciplinary course offerings, innovative theoretical models, and accomplished instructors, the English major exposes students to a wide and diverse body of knowledge and provides them with the tools to think, analyze, and write with confidence.

The Department of English offers a wide range of literature and writing courses that introduce students to significant global literary works and trains them in the careful analysis of texts, ranging from traditional novels to emerging electronic communication. English faculty specialize in the study of animals in culture, law and humanities, digital humanities, literature and health, and Islam and the West. Working through a variety of theoretical approaches, students will learn how to analyze the heavily textualized world around them, communicate their ideas effectively, and prepare themselves for numerous professions.

Note: English majors are required to maintain an ePortfolio that archives their course and other relevant writing which they will deliver in an oral presentation to the faculty during their senior year.

Students wishing to pursue teacher certification in English should complete the major in Secondary Education with a concentration in English. Students pursuing this path are strongly encouraged to complete the highly flexible double major with English and Secondary Education. For more information, speak with the chair of English and see the Secondary Education catalog page.

Students majoring in English can participate in the pre-health graduate school preparation tracks. 

As a result of completing the B.A. in English graduate will be able to

Read texts closely and think critically 

• Comprehend a text’s literal/factual content
• Distinguish between a passage's literal/factual content and its figurative/symbolic/interpretive content
• Analyze a text closely and identify rhetorical strategies therein
• Connect a passage's formal structure and thematic content with the text as a whole
• Extrapolate the larger implications (social, philosophical, ethical, argumentative) of these patterns

Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of literature in English

• Demonstrate familiarity with specified content areas in literature, literary history, theory, and criticism
• Understand literature as a culturally and historically embedded practice 
• Relate literature to other fields of inquiry

Communicate effectively

• Approach writing as a recursive process
• Develop and support claims about literary texts
• Articulate claims in conceptually coherent essays
• Use conventions of standard written English
• Present research findings orally within the conventions of the discipline

Conduct research in literary and cultural studies

• Use bibliographic tools to find source material
• Employ appropriate critical approaches in their research
• Contribute to scholarly conversations about literary and cultural texts and phenomena
• Incorporate and document source material using MLA style
• Communicate in accordance with standards of academic integrity

If you are an exceptional undergraduate student aspiring to a career in medicine, the University of New England HuMed program provides the opportunity that spans your junior and senior years as an undergraduate and your four years in UNE’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. The program makes it possible for you to deepen your learning in English, History, or Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities through a humanities major while you prepare for a career as an osteopathic physician. Requirements for this early assurance program are described at the HuMed website.

During your years as an undergraduate in UNE’s College of Arts and Sciences, you complete the requisite coursework in the natural sciences to prepare for your graduate education, while earning a Bachelor of Arts in English, History, or Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities. As a HuMed student, you are not required to take the MCAT for admission to the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Instead, the College of Osteopathic Medicine requires that you take the University Clinical Aptitude test (UCAT). As a HuMed student, you have an assurance of acceptance contingent upon fulfilling the HuMed curricular requirements and passing the interview process.

Entering students interested in HuMed are encouraged to major in English (History, or Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities) and participate in the pre-health graduate school preparation track. 

A student with a major in another program may minor in English with the permission of the academic director. Eighteen hours of approved course work is required for the Minor in English, including ENG 206 Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism and ENG 334 Methods in Literary and Cultural Criticism.

Note: Students are encouraged take advantage of all courses that it administers and recognizes ENG 110 English Composition and SPC 100 Effective Public Speaking as electives toward fulfilling the credit requirement for the minor.

We offer qualified students the option of graduating with Honors. This includes significant research, scholarship or creative activity under the direction of a faculty member. Interested students should consult with their advisor. 

Courses completed at another accredited college can be transferred to this degree program. Transferred courses must be reasonably close in scope and content to the required courses offered at UNE in order to count as exact equivalents. Otherwise, they may transfer as general electives. All courses completed must be no older than five years. Other restrictions apply. See Undergraduate Admissions.

See Undergraduate Admissions.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include books and housing. For more information regarding tuition and fees, please consult the Financial Information section of this catalog.