English BA

Major: English
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 181.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 23.0101

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 25-1123

Secondary Education Concentration

English majors who select the concentration in Secondary Education benefit from the full range of courses and opportunities that we offer. These include core courses taken by all our majors, offering a strong foundation in textual and rhetorical analysis along with writing skills. Students receive a strong grounding in English to prepare for a career in teaching.

The concentration offers additional courses, including coursework and student teaching through the School of Education, that prepare students to meet the certification requirements for a career as a high school English teacher.  

For more information about this program, please visit the Department of English & Philosophy web page.

Degree Requirements

University Requirements
CIVC 101Introduction to Civic Engagement1.0
COOP 101Career Management and Professional Development *1.0
ENGL 101Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research3.0
or ENGL 111 English Composition I
ENGL 102Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing3.0
or ENGL 112 English Composition II
ENGL 103Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres3.0
or ENGL 113 English Composition III
UNIV H101The Drexel Experience1.0
UNIV H201Looking Forward: Academics and Careers1.0
College of Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum **
Developing Quantitative Reasoning **6.0-8.0
Two courses in MATH based on placement exams OR
Symbolic Logic I
Symbolic Logic II
Engaging the Natural World **6.0-8.0
Understanding Society and Human Behavior **6.0-8.0
Analyzing Cultures and Histories **6.0-8.0
Cultivating Global Competence **6.0-8.0
Perspectives in Diversity **3.0-4.0
Language Requirement (two consecutive courses in a foreign language, reaching at least 103) ***8.0
Major Requirements
Core Courses
English Seminars
ENGL 195English Freshman Seminar3.0
ENGL 490Seminar in English and American Literature3.0
ENGL 492Seminar in World Literature3.0
Language at Work (choose 1)3.0
Intro to Rhetorical Theory
Intro to Digital Humanities
Writing
WRIT 195Threshold Concepts in Writing Studies3.0
WRIT 200Language Puzzles and Word Games: Issues in Modern Grammar3.0
WRIT 225 [WI] Creative Writing3.0
Literature
ENGL 207 [WI] African American Literature3.0
ENGL 315 [WI] Shakespeare3.0
ENGL 325Topics in World Literature3.0
ENGL 355 [WI] Women and Literature3.0
Education Seminars
EDUC 106First Year Seminar: A Case of Schools and Cities1.0
EDUC 107First Year Seminar: Exploring Pedagogies1.0
EDUC 108First Year Seminar: Designing Learning Spaces1.0
EDUC 205Sophomore Pedagogy Seminar1.0
EDUC 305 [WI] Junior Pedagogy Seminar1.0
EDUC 405Senior Pedagogy Seminar1.0
English Education Concentration
English Education Language & Methods
COM 230Techniques of Speaking3.0
EDUC 358English Teaching Methods3.0
INFO 101Introduction to Computing and Security Technology3.0
LING 101Introduction to Linguistics3.0
WRIT 211Advanced Composition3.0
Literature Surveys (choose 3)9.0
Classical to Medieval Literature
Renaissance to the Enlightenment
Romanticism to Modernism
Survey of World Literature
Post-Colonial Literature
American Literature I
American Literature II
British Literature I
British Literature II
Young Adult Literature3.0
Young Adult Fiction
Education Certification
ECON 201Principles of Microeconomics4.0
EDEX 142Special Education Foundations: Referral and Assessment3.0
EDEX 344Inclusive Practices3.0
EDEX 368 [WI] Literacy and Content Skill Development PK-123.0
EDLT 325Design for Learning with Digital Media3.0
EDUC 101Foundations in Education I: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective3.0
EDUC 123Adolescent Development3.0
EDUC 308Creating a Positive Classroom Climate3.0
EDUC 312Educational Policy, Law & Advocacy3.0
EDUC 322Evaluation of Instruction3.0
EDUC 409 [WI] Teaching Seminar I9.0
EDUC 410 [WI] Student Teaching9.0
HIST 201United States History to 18154.0
or HIST 202 United States History, 1815-1900
or HIST 203 United States History since 1900
MATH 173Introduction to Analysis C3.0
or MATH 107 Probability and Statistics for Liberal Arts
NFS 100Nutrition, Foods, and Health2.0
or NFS 101 Introduction to Nutrition & Food
SOC 335Sociology of Education3.0
Total Credits181.0-192.0
*

Co-op cycles may vary.  Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

See Core Curriculum List for complete list of course options.

Students taking the Education Concentration should select the following Core Curriculum courses in order to complete their education certification requirements in a timely manner:

***

Select two consecutive courses at the 102-499 level within the same subject code: ARBC, CHIN, FREN, GER, JAPN, KOR, SPAN.

Language courses may count toward the College Core Curriculum requirements in Cultivating Global Competence, in which case students may take a corresponding number of free electives.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

4 year, 1 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
EDUC 1013.0CIVC 1011.0EDEX 1423.0VACATION
EDUC 1061.0EDUC 1071.0EDUC 1081.0 
ENGL 101 or 1113.0EDUC 1233.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
ENGL 1953.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0ENGL 2073.0 
UNIV H1011.0WRIT 2003.0MATH 1733.0 
Developing Quantitative Reasoning (recommend MATH 171)3.0-4.0Developing Quantitative Reasoning (recommend MATH 172)3.0-4.0WRIT 1953.0 
 14-15 14-15 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
EDEX 3443.0INFO 1013.0COOP 101*1.0ECON 2014.0
EDUC 2051.0LING 1013.0EDEX 3683.0EDUC 3223.0
EDUC 3123.0Foreign Language4.0EDUC 3051.0ENGL 3153.0
WRIT 2253.0Literature Survey3.0Analyzing Cultures and Histories (recommend ARTH 101 or 102 or 103)3.0-4.0HIST 201, 202, or 2034.0
Literature Survey3.0Understanding Society and Human Behavior (recommend PSY 101)3.0-4.0Analyzing Cultures and Histories (recommend MUSC 130)3.0-4.0Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0
Perspectives in Diversity (recommend EDUC 365)3.0-4.0 Foreign language4.0 
 16-17 16-17 15-17 17-18
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCECOM 2303.0ENGL 3043.0
EDUC 3583.0Literature Survey3.0ENGL 3253.0SOC 3353.0
  ENGL 4903.0Engaging the Natural World (recommend ENVS 260)3.0-4.0
  UNIV H2011.0Engaging the Natural World (recommend PHYS 181)3.0-4.0
  WRIT 2113.0WRIT 212 or ENGL 2503.0
  Understanding Society and Human Behavior (recommend PSY 320)3.0-4.0 
 3 3 16-17 15-17
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
EDUC 3083.0EDLT 3253.0EDUC 4051.0 
EDUC 4099.0EDUC 4109.0ENGL 3553.0 
  ENGL 4923.0 
  NFS 1002.0 
  Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0 
 12 12 12-13 
Total Credits 181-192
*

Co-op cycles may vary.  Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5 year, 3 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
EDUC 1013.0CIVC 1011.0COOP 101*1.0VACATION
EDUC 1061.0EDUC 1071.0EDEX 1423.0 
ENGL 101 or 1113.0EDUC 1233.0EDUC 1081.0 
ENGL 1953.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV H1011.0WRIT 2003.0ENGL 2073.0 
Developing Quantitative Reasoning (recommend MATH 171)3.0-4.0Developing Quantitative Reasoning (recommend MATH 172)3.0-4.0MATH 1733.0 
  WRIT 1953.0 
 14-15 14-15 17 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEEDEX 3683.0ECON 2014.0
  EDUC 3051.0EDUC 3223.0
  Analyzing Cultures and Histories (recommend ARTH 101, 102, or 103)3.0-4.0ENGL 3153.0
  Analyzing Cultures and Histories (recommend MUSC 130)3.0-4.0HIST 201, 202, or 2034.0
  Foreign Language4.0Foreign language4.0
 0 0 14-16 18
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCECOM 2303.0ENGL 3043.0
EDUC 3583.0 ENGL 3253.0SOC 3353.0
  ENGL 4903.0Engaging the Natural World (recommend ENVS 260)3.0-4.0
  WRIT 2113.0Engaging the Natural World (recommend PHYS 181)3.0-4.0
  UNIV H2011.0Literature Survey3.0
  Understanding Society and Human Behavior (recommend PSY 101)3.0-4.0 
 3 0 16-17 15-17
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEEDEX 3443.0INFO 1013.0
  EDUC 2051.0LING 1013.0
  EDUC 3123.0Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0
  WRIT 2253.0Literature Survey3.0
  Literature Survey3.0Understanding Society and Human Behavior (recommend PSY 320)3.0-4.0
  Perspectives in Diversity (recommend EDUC 365)3.0-4.0WRIT 212 or ENGL 2503.0
 0 0 16-17 18-20
Fifth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
EDUC 3083.0EDLT 3253.0EDUC 4051.0 
EDUC 4099.0EDUC 4109.0ENGL 3553.0 
  ENGL 4923.0 
  NFS 1002.0 
  Cultivating Global Competence3.0-4.0 
 12 12 12-13 
Total Credits 181-192
*

Co-op cycles may vary.  Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Program Level Outcomes

  • Demonstrate knowledge of major genres, authors and the cultural and historical contexts of literary periods.
  • Demonstrate critical thinking, writing and textual analysis skills
  • Demonstrate research skills and facility with terms and methods of critical analysis and synthesis
  • Demonstrate strong analytical, communication, technological and writing skills that enable students to make intertextual connections between material in their coursework and examine the relationships between literature and the world.
  • By virtue of their coursework, internship and coop experience, be prepared for careers or graduate work in the humanities, law, teaching, professional writing and other fields

English Faculty

Kenneth Bingham, MA (Temple University). Teaching Professor. First-year writing; engineering ethics; literature of baseball.
Valerie Booth, PhD (Emory University). Associate Teaching Professor.
Jakeya Caruthers, PhD (Stanford University). Assistant Professor. English and Africana Studies. Black popular culture, literature, and media representation; black feminist theory; anti-carceral feminism; art and visual culture.
Paula Marantz Cohen, PhD (Columbia University) Distinguished Professor, Dean of the Pennoni Honors College. Co-editor, Journal of Modern Literature; Host of the Drexel Interview. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century English and American literature; film studies.
Lisa DiMaio, MEd (Temple University). Teaching Professor. English as a second language
Dan Driscoll, MA (Temple University) Coordinator, Writing Curriculum Initiatives, University Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Associate Director, University Writing Center: Curricular Initiatives. Co-Director, Minor in Writing. First-year writing.
Nomi Eve, MFA (Brown University) Director of the Creative Writing MFA Program. Assistant Teaching Professor.
Robert Finegan, MFA (University of Pittsburgh). Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; technical and creative writing.
Edward Fristrom, PhD (State University of New York-Albany). Associate Teaching Professor. Professional writing, creative writing, multimedia, and writing education.
Keunah Han, PhD (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. English as a Second Language (ESL)
Cassandra Hirsch, MFA (Rosemont College). Associate Teaching Professor. Writing fiction and memoir; mentoring; community-based learning.
Jonathan Hobratsch, MFA (Texas State University). Assistant Teaching Professor.
Henry Israeli, MFA (University of Iowa) Director of Drexel Writing Festival, Director of Jewish Studies. Associate Teaching Professor. Founder and editor of Saturnalia Books, a publisher of contemporary poetry.
Elizabeth Kimball, PhD (Temple University). Assistant Professor. Rhetorical theory; writing studies; engaged learning; multilingual practice; community-based learning; writing program administration.
Miriam Kotzin, PhD (New York University). Professor. Founding Editor, Per Contra. American literature; genre studies; creative writing; communications.
Roger Kurtz, PhD (University of Iowa) Department Head. Professor. Postcolonial and world literatures, East African literature and culture; trauma theory.
Deirdre McMahon, PhD (University of Iowa). Teaching Professor. 19th-century British literature and culture: empire, critical race studies and analyses of material culture.
Jill Moses, MFA (University of Oregon). Associate Teaching Professor. Contemporary poetry; feminist literature; creative writing.
Christopher T. Nielson, PhD (Purdue University). Teaching Professor. Shakespeare; Drama; early modern literature; British Renaissance literature; medieval literature; world literature; composition studies.
Karen Nulton, PhD (Rutgers University) Director, Writing Assessment. Teaching Professor. Writing assessment; work-integrated-learning (WIL); reflective writing.
Margene Peterson, MA (Rhode Island School of Design). Assistant Teaching Professor. Multilingual learners; mentor; visual rhetorical analysis; anti-racist pedagogy.
Maegan Poland, PhD (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). Assistant Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing; fiction; memoir.
Elizabeth Polcha, PhD (Northeastern University). Assistant Professor. English and Digital Humanities. Black Atlantic Literature; digital humanities; early American studies; postcolonial and settler colonial studies; gender sexuality studies; environmental studies; history of science; history of the book.
Abioseh Porter, PhD (University of Alberta, Canada) Director of Africana Studies. Professor. Comparative literature; postcolonial literatures
Donald Riggs, PhD (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill). Teaching Professor. Cinematic monsters; science fiction and fantasy literature and film; Renaissance literature; creative writing; first-year writing.
Donna Rondolone, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Teaching Professor. Medieval literature; Arthurian legend; first-year writing.
Gail Rosen, JD (Temple University). Teaching Professor. Literature and law; first-year writing.
Doreen Alvarez Saar, PhD (SUNY Buffalo). Professor. Early American literature; Eighteenth-century America; race and gender studies.
Sheila Sandapen, PhD (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) Director, First Year Writing Program. Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; cultural studies;Black British literature; Cultural Studies; Contemporary British literature; Feminist literature.
Fred A. Siegel, PhD (New York University) Director, First-Year Writing Program. Teaching Professor. Popular theater; dramatic literature, creative non-fiction; first-year writing.
Matthew Ross Smith, MCW (University of Auckland). Assistant Teaching Professor.
Scott Stein, MFA (University of Miami) Director, Drexel Publishing Group. Teaching Professor. Creative writing; fiction and novels; satire and humor; publishing, Kafka; superheroes; first-year writing; Founding Editor, Write Now Philly.
Eva Thury, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Associate Professor. Classical and world Mythology; classical literature; Superheroes; Vampires; Popular Culture; Mythology and film, Educational software.
Kathleen Volk Miller, MA (Rutgers University). Teaching Professor. Co-Editor,Painted Bride Quarterly (PBQ); creative writing; publishing, literary magazines, writing and neuroplasticity; healing through writing; journaling; personal essay.
Maria Volynsky, EdD (Temple University) Associate Director, First-Year Writing Program; ESL Coordinator. Associate Teaching Professor. TESOL, linguistic diversity, multilingualism, online teaching, social emotional learning, language acquisition, assessment.
Scott Warnock, PhD (Temple University) Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Professor. Teaching with technology, online writing instruction; writing administration; learning assessment; faculty development.
Robert A. Watts, MA (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. Creative writing; first-year writing.
Vincent Williams, PhD (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. First-year writing; the intersection of race, gender, class and urbanism.
Jennifer Yusin, PhD (Emory University) Director Women's and Gender Studies. Associate Professor. LGBTQ+ studies; trans studies; psychoanalytic studies; philosophies of race and gender; global modernisms.

Emeritus Faculty

Jan Armon, PhD (University of Michigan). Associate Teaching Professor. Academic functions of personal writing, composition.
Valarie Arms, PhD (Temple University). Professor Emeritus. Rhetoric and Composition
Richard Astro, PhD (University of Washington) Distinguished Professor. Provost Emeritus. Twentieth-century American literature; literature and sports.
Raymond Brebach, PhD (University of Illinois). Professor Emeritus. Modern British fiction; the novel; textual studies.
Stephen Mandell, PhD (Temple University). Professor. First-year writing; technical writing; speech; American literature.
Harriet Levin Millan, MFA (University of Iowa) Director, Certificate in Writing and Publishing. Associate Teaching Professor. Poetry.