The English Major and Minor

The undergraduate program in English Language and Literature provides students with the opportunity to study works of literature and other expressive media. Courses address fundamental questions about topics such as the status of literature within culture, literary history, the achievements of a major author, the defining characteristics of a genre, the politics of interpretation, the formal subtleties of individual works, and the methods of literary scholarship and research.

The study of English may be pursued as preparation for professional disciplines (law, medicine, business, etc.) and for graduate work in literature. Students in the Department of English Language and Literature learn how to ask probing questions about a large body of material; how to formulate, analyze, and judge questions and their answers; and how to write in clear, cogent prose. These skills are essential to virtually all careers, and they are cultivated in every course offered by the English Department.

There are two tracks through the English Major. The Standard Track requires 12 courses, one of which may be taken outside the English Department. The Intensive Track qualifies students for Departmental Honors and requires 14 courses, two of which can be taken outside the English Department. Students on the Intensive Track may complete the major by either taking two advanced seminars or writing a BA Project (Thesis). Students writing a BA Project will enroll in ENGL 21312 Research Methods and ENGL 29900 Independent Paper Preparation.

Students in both the Standard Track and the Intensive Track will write a statement of academic concentration within the major to be submitted by the end of the third week of Spring Quarter of a student’s third year. The program presupposes the completion of the general education requirement in the humanities (or its equivalent), in which basic training is provided in the methods, problems, and disciplines of humanistic study. 

Note: The requirements outlined below go into effect automatically for students entering the College in the 2025-2026 academic year onward. Current majors who have matriculated earlier will have the option to be "grandfathered" into the new major design, or remain with the previous design of the major. For more information, pleazse reach out to the Student Affairs Administrator.

The Standard Track

• Twelve English courses meeting the following distribution requirements (a single course may satisfy no more than one genre requirement and one historical period requirement) (1200 credits)
  • One Introductory genre course (Fiction, Poetry, Drama, or Literary Criticism)
  • One English course in Fiction
  • One English course in Poetry
  • One English course in Drama
  • One English course in Literary or Criticism/Theory
  • One English course in Medieval/Early Modern Literature
  • One English course in 18th/19th-century Literature
  • One English course in 20th/21st-century Literature
  • Four to eight English electives*
• Statement of Concentration in the Major**
• Total units: 1200

The Intensive Track with Consideration for Departmental Honors

• Twelve English courses meeting the following distribution requirements (a single course may satisfy no more than one genre requirement and one historical period requirement) (1200 credits)
  • One Introductory genre course (Fiction, Poetry, Drama, or Literary Criticism)
  • One English course in Fiction
  • One English course in Poetry
  • One English course in Drama
  • One English course in Literary or Criticism/Theory
  • One English course in Medieval/Early Modern Literature
  • One English course in 18th/19th-century Literature
  • One English course in 20th/21st-century Literature
  • Four to eight English electives*
• Statement of Concentration in the Major**
• One of the following options (200 credits):
  • Option A: BA Thesis
    • One English Research Methods course (ENGL 21312)
    • One Independent BA Paper Preparation course (ENGL 29900)
  • Option B: Advanced Seminars
    • Two Advanced graduate-level Seminars (ENGL 30000-level or above
• Total units: 1400

*Generally, per student, no more than one petition for non-ENGL courses will be approved. 

**See Concentration Statement section below

Students majoring in English must receive quality grades (not Pass/Fail) in all courses (12 for the Standard Track and 14 for the Intensive Track) taken to meet the requirements of the program. Non-majors may take English courses for Pass/Fail grading with consent of instructor.

The purpose of the concentration statement is to help students organize and give coherence to their individual program of study. Students will design a concentration of at least five courses that share a conceptual focus.  By the end of the third week in Spring Quarter of their junior year, students submit a one-to-two page statement to their faculty Departmental Advisor and the Student Affairs Administrator outlining their interests in and describing how at least five completed and/or proposed future courses coheres as a cluster. Up to two of the five courses in the cluster can be courses offered outside of the Department of English.

Some past examples can be found here. 

Students are encouraged to declare an intention to major in English to their College Advisers as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the second year of study. Interested sudents must meet with the Student Affairs Administrator in English to discuss Major requirements, faculty advising, and course options. After this, students should meet with their faculty advisor at least twice a year in year three, and once in year four, to discuss their academic interests, progress in the major, and long-term career goals. The Student Affairs Assistant and Director of Undergraduate Studies are also available to assist students. Students should meet with the Student Affairs Administrator early in their final quarter to be sure they have fulfilled all requirements.

The student must meet with the Student Affairs Administrator, who will advise on petitioning the Director of Undergraduate Studies for course approval. This meeting should ideally take place before the student enrolls in courses outside the English Department for credit toward the major. Such courses may be selected from related areas in the University (Philosophy, Art History, Comparative Literature, Romance Languages and Literatures, advanced language courses, etc.) or they may be taken from a study abroad program.

Four total Creative Writing (CRWR) courses may be counted toward the elective requirement without a petition. However, students double majoring in English and Creative Writing must adhere to a different policy. Please see the Double Majors in English Language and Literature and Creative Writing section below for further details.

Transfer credits for courses taken at another institution are subject to approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and are limited to a maximum of three courses. Transferred courses do not contribute to the student's University of Chicago grade point average for the purpose of computing an overall GPA, dean's list, or honors. NOTE: The Office of the Dean of Students in the College must approve the transfer of all courses taken at other institutions, with the exception of courses taken as part of a University-sponsored study abroad program. For details, visit the Transfer Credit page.

Students pursuing double majors may double-count four courses maximum between the English and Creative Writing majors.

Undergraduate students who are not majoring in English or Creative Writing may enter a minor program in English and Creative Writing. The minor requires six courses (600 units). At least three of the required courses must be creative writing courses, with at least one being a beginning workshop, at least one being an advanced workshop, and at least one being a fundamentals course. Three of the remaining required courses may be taken in either the Department of English Language and Literature or the Program in Creative Writing; these courses may include technical seminars or arts general education courses. General education courses cannot be used for the minor if they are already counted toward the general education requirement in the arts. In some cases, literature courses outside of English language and literature and creative writing may count towards the minor, subject to the director of undergraduate studies’ approval. Students who elect the minor program in English and Creative Writing must meet with the Student Affairs Administrator for Creative Writing before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor.

Enrollment in ENGL 29700 Reading Course or ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation requires approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. These courses may count as requirements for the major if they are taken for a quality grade (not Pass/Fail) and include a final paper assignment. A student may only take one Independent BA Paper Preparation course. No student may use more than two reading courses in the major, with the Independent BA Paper Preparation course counting as one of the two. 

Intensive-Track BA Project writers will register for ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation after arranging with the department for appropriate faculty supervision. ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation counts as an English elective but not as one of the courses fulfilling distribution requirements for the major.

Students registering for a Reading Course must submit the College Reading and Research Course Form to the Student Affairs Administrator. 

Completion of an Intensive Major (with either a BA Project or Advanced Seminars) does not alone guarantee a recommendation for departmental honors. For honors candidacy, a student must have at least a 3.25 grade point average overall and a 3.6 GPA in the major (grades received for transfer credit courses are not included into this calculation).

To be eligible for honors, a student's BA Project must be judged to be of the highest quality by the WARA, faculty advisor, and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Honors recommendations are made to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division by the Department, and it is the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division who makes the final decision.