English Major/Minor

How to Declare a Major or Minor in English

Students wishing to declare a major or minor in English should obtain an Academic Program Changes form. When accessing the electronic copy, be sure to complete the form with your student information. Send the completed form to the Director of Undergraduate Studies during their posted office hours or to foxp@georgetown.edu with the subject line “English Major Declaration.”

At that point, the “Academic Program Changes” form will be reviewed, and students will be assigned an advisor. Advisors make sure students understand the Major requirements, help design a course of study, and ensure students are on track toward completing their Major requirements.

Majors who have specific questions about the completion of their major requirements (i.e. transfer credits from other institutions, registration, or major requirements, etc.) should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Pamela Fox at foxp@georgetown.edu to schedule an appointment.

Note: Effective Fall 2023, all main campus courses have been renumbered using a new 4-digit numbering system.

https://schedule.georgetown.edu/course-renumbering-crosswalk/e/#engl

English Majors must complete the following ten courses:

Foundation Courses

  • One Critical Methods course (ENGL 090)
  • One History of Lit, Media, Culture I course (ENGL 091)
  • One History of Lit, Media, Culture II course (ENGL 092)

Foundation Courses do not fulfill the HALC (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Cultures) requirement.

Electives

  • Six English electives total
    • Two out of the six electives need to be upper-level electives (ENGL 304–459) [Prerequisites: Students must take one Foundation Course (ENGL 090, 091, or 092) to register for an upper-level elective]
    • The other four electives can be fulfilled by any ENGL course (ENGL 100–499). 

Senior Seminar

  • One Senior Seminar (ENGL 460–499)

Other Requirements

At least one of the six electives or the Senior Seminar must be focused on pre-1800 literatures (ENGL 100–139, ENGL 304–349, ENGL 460–469). We do not recommend saving this requirement to coincide with your senior seminar, as we offer a very limited number of senior seminars each year.

Foundation Courses should be taken as early in the major as possible. The Senior Seminar should be taken in one’s senior year.

English Minors must complete the following six courses (please note that four out of the six courses must be ENGL courses taken in this department):

Two Foundational Courses

  • One Critical Methods (ENGL 090)
  • One History of Lit, Media, Culture I (ENGL 091) OR one History of Lit, Media, Culture II (ENGL 092)

Remember, Foundation Courses do not fulfill the HALC requirement.

Four Electives

  • Four electives at any level (ENGL 100–459)

Descriptions of Foundation Courses, Lower-Level and Upper-Level Electives, and Senior Seminars can be found under The Curriculum.