For Current Students
As a current or prospective English major and minor, you may have questions as you navigate your academic career. Please find information on advising, study abroad, the Honors Program, and more below.
Information for Majors and Minors
All English majors are assigned a [full-time] faculty member for advising after their first year. First year students are assigned non-major advisors through the academic advising center. After the first year, majors may request a particular faculty member for advising, and we will honor such requests whenever possible. Although we understand the value of continuity in advising, majors may have a change in advisor when their previous advisor is on leave. Students who have English as their second major or a minor will not be assigned an advisor in the department, but are encouraged to use current professors as a resource.
In order to register, you must first meet with your advisor in the English department. Students who have not yet been assigned an advisor in the English department may see Marla Derosa in Stokes S493 for help with course selection or other questions about the English major.
Your advisor will have a copy of your course audit and will review it with you; you should bring a list of the courses (and alternates) that you are interested in signing up for, as well as a list of any questions that you might have. Advisors will post office hours or a schedule of appointment times for the registration period on their doors each semester. It is the student's responsibility to attend those office hours or to sign up for an appointment at least several days before an assigned registration time. The department cannot provide you with your registration code.
Before meeting with your advisor during the registration period, please review carefully the descriptions of the department's course offerings.
Normally, course descriptions list specific texts covered and provide a sense of the instructor's methods. By reading the listing attentively, you can often distinguish between discussion—and lecture—oriented courses, between survey courses and classes that will deal with a small number of texts in great detail, and between courses that require several exams and those that require journal writing, in-class presentations, and/or essays. Although the department's present course-numbering system does not always reflect the level of course difficulty: 1000-level courses indicate introductory courses that hold seats for sophomores, while 6000-level courses usually designate seminars (15-person courses designed for the more advanced major).
The Drop-Add period presents an opportunity to make some—but only some—changes in your schedule. Although some professors will occasionally provide course overrides for students in special circumstances, large class size dictates that this is not often possible. A student requesting an override must:
Transfer and summer school credits in English
The English department requires that virtually all courses in the major be taken in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences during the fall and spring semesters. Permission to take one English major course during the summer or through the Woods College of Advancing Studies is given only in very unusual circumstances. To request permission to count a summer or evening course toward the major, prior to enrollment, bring a catalog with a description of the course you wish to take, to Marla Derosa in Stokes S493. Summer courses taken abroad and taught by English department faculty will be accepted as major electives.
The English Department offers two options for writing an Honors Thesis: a critical project (roughly 50 pages) or a creative project (a novel, a sustained work of creative nonfiction, a series of short stories, or a collection of poetry). This project is mentored by a faculty member in weekly meetings over the course of the year.
If you have any questions about Honors, please contact Professor Eric Weiskott,the Honors Program Director. You can also download suggestions and a worksheet for generating a topic for an Honors Thesis.
Eligibility for Honors
If you are a junior English major with a GPA of 3.6 or higher in your English courses, we hope you will consider applying to write a senior thesis, either scholarly or creative, under the supervision of a full-time English faculty member. Once admitted to Departmental Honors, you’ll enroll in ENGL 6600.01 both semesters of senior year, fulfilling six (elective) credits toward the major. Accepted candidates add ENGL 6600.01 during drop/add of the fall term.
To be considered for Honors, you need to have completed at least three ENGL courses by the time you apply, one of which must be either Studies in Poetry or Studies in Narrative. Creative writers need to have taken at least two writing workshops, with a grade of A or A-in both; one must be in the genre of the proposed project. For writers of scholarship it’s helpful to have taken a seminar, ideally by spring of junior year, but this is not required. Applications are due by May 1 at 5:00 p.m., even if you’re studying abroad.
Finding an Honors Advisor
All honors theses are advised by a full-time faculty member in the English Department. Most honors applicants start looking for an advisor early in spring semester of junior year. In some cases, especially for creative projects, the process begins even earlier. The application process is highly individual, and the Honors Director is available to help you through it, from developing a topic to finding resources to locating the best advisor for the project. You might begin by approaching a faculty member you know well from a current or past class. (Keep in mind, however, that faculty ordinarily advise only one thesis a year, and professors on leave advise theses only in very unusual circumstances). Familiarizing yourself with faculty members' areas of interest is another good place to begin.
If you’re proposing a creative project, it’s best to begin with an instructor from a current or prior workshop, who knows your writing well. Your instructor can help connect you to a suitable advisor who works in your proposed genre.
Applications to the honors program are due by 5:00 p.m. on May 1st. Admissions to Honors is competitive. An important element in your application is your prospective advisor’s supporting letter (emailed separately to the Honors Director by the application deadline). Be sure, once you have a verbal agreement to work with a full-time faculty member, that you work together on your prospectus and reading list. This early research and writing is as integral to the success of your project as any of the later portions of your work. It’s up to you, as the applicant, to arrange to meet with your prospective advisor, share drafts of your proposal and reading list, and get your prospective advisor’s support and approval well before the deadline.
There are many strong English programs offered through universities overseas. Majors are encouraged to discuss options with their faculty advisors. Some examples of particularly strong programs include: Oxford University; King's College, Cambridge University; University College London (UCL), Queen Mary & Westfield (QMW), University of London; Advanced Studies in England, Bath; Lancaster University; University of Glasgow; University College Dublin (UCD); Trinity College Dublin; NUI Galway and Cork, and University of Paris.
As part of your application checklist for study abroad, you need to procure permission from your major department. In the case of the English department, you have little reason for concern. Please plan to meet with Marla Derosa to discuss your plans. These meetings do not require an appointment unless you cannot meet during regular office hours. Meetings should require no more than 15 minutes.
The reason the Office of Global Education requires you to meet with your major department is, first and foremost, to make sure that you can study abroad and still complete your major requirements in time to graduate. We will pull up your degree audit, look at the classes you have completed (or plan to complete) before studying abroad, determine how many courses the English department will accept from your program, and figure out how many courses you will need to complete upon your return. Assuming you can complete the ten courses required for the major, you will receive departmental approval. This meeting time can also be used to discuss any questions you may have about course approvals, etc.
We can be flexible about the number of courses majors need to complete before studying abroad, so there is no set requirement. However, we strongly recommend that you take Studies in PoetryԻStudies in Narrative before you depart. These classes provide a solid foundation for your studies, and you don't want to have to take them when you return as a senior/second semester junior! Students in the Creative Writing Concentration are strongly discouraged from studying abroad for a full year. Please discuss your plans with the program director.
The number of courses the department accepts from abroad depends on where you go and how long you will be there. In a nutshell, we can accept two courses per semester from an English speaking country, one course per semester from a non-English speaking country. For example, if you study in Ireland for one semester, you can take up to two courses toward the major. If you study in Madrid for the year, you can also take up to two courses toward your major. As a result, you may need to take additional major electives at BC before or after. Please remember that summer courses cannot be counted toward the English major.
Approval for courses taken while abroad is done on an individual basis.
- You will need to provide a description or a syllabus for course approval.
- A general requirement is that the course should include at least 11-12 pages of finished writing.
- If the courses you are taking for major credit change once you register abroad, please fax or mail updated approval forms.
- Credit distribution for courses is determined by the Office of Global Education.
- Journalism and communications courses are not considered English electives unless they are taught within an English department.
- Courses that are not taught in English may be counted as major electives.
- You may take courses abroad to satisfy the pre-1700 and pre-1900 requirements as long as the course focuses on British or American Literature.
If you have any questions about how courses from abroad are listed on your degree audit, please contact the Office of Global Education. If you have questions at any time about how your English courses are listed, or any other questions about your English major and studying abroad, please e-mail Marla Derosa.
Approval for all Morissey College of Arts and Sciences internships is handled by Elizabeth Bracher in the Morrissey Dean's Office.
Undergraduate Writing Awards
Each year, the English department gives several awards recognizing outstanding undergraduate writing and scholarship. Information on nominations and submissions can be found below.
Application or Nomination Required
To be considered for these awards, you must either be nominated by a faculty member or nominate yourself.
Dever Award for Freshman Writing
This cash award recognizes the best essay (at least five double-spaced pages) written by a freshman for any English course. The essay should be submitted by a member of the English faculty with an application form filled out by the faculty member. Instructors may nominate up to two student essays written by members of the current freshmen class or during the previous spring semester by students who were freshmen at that time.
MLL Essay Award
The MLL Essay Award is a cash award for the best essay (of at least 1,000 words) written by an English Language Learner (of any class year) for an MLL section of First Year Writing Seminar or Literature Core. The essay should be submitted by a member of the English faculty with an application form completed by the faculty member. Instructors may nominate up to three essays.
McCarthy Award
Open to juniors and seniors, this cash award is given annually for the best collection of pieces of creative writing (fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction or pieces from several different genres). The submission may total no more than 12 pages per applicant. Prose should be double spaced; poetry may be single spaced). Both published and unpublished work may be submitted; if a work has been published or is forthcoming, please note this at the top. Fragments of longer works are acceptable, but please note them as such. Applicants should nominate themselves.
Randall Award
The Randall Award is a cash award presented in honor of author and Professor John Randall to the undergraduate writer of the best essay in the field of American literature and culture. This may include literary journalism, as well as scholarly essays on American topics. Chapters from relevant Senior Honors Projects from the current academic year are eligible; submissions should be limited to 20 double-spaced pages. Faculty may nominate up to two student essays or chapters written during the current academic year or the previous spring semester by current undergraduates only. Undergraduate students nominating themselves may submit one essay or one chapter written during the current academic year or the prior spring semester.
This substantial grant is awarded in honor of Margaret and Joseph Dever to a graduating senior who proposes to pursue a career in writing. Applicants, who must have published at least one work in a BC publication or in an external one, may nominate themselves.
Cardinal Cushing Award
This cash award is given annually to undergraduates who produce the best work in fiction published in BC undergraduate publications (Stylus,Laughing Medusa, Witness, or other new BC publications).
Bishop Kelleher Award
This cash award is given annually to undergraduates who produce the best work in poetry published in BC undergraduate publications (Stylus, Laughing Medusa, Witness, or other new BC publications).
Kean Memorial Award
Given each year the graduating senior judged by the Kean Award Committee to be the most outstanding English major, this is a cash award.