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Fall 2025 Undergraduate Catalog
English, BA
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 Return to: Majors
Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts in English
Chair: Benedict Robinson
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Susan Scheckel
Department Administrator and Undergraduate Advisor: Margaret Hanley
Office: English Department, Humanities 2096
Phone: (631) 632-7400
Minors of particular interest to students majoring in English: Foreign Languages, Journalism (JRN)
The English Department at Stony Brook combines the high academic standards of a major research university with the intimacy of a liberal arts college. In small classes students have the opportunity to interact closely with faculty who are active scholars and writers. Students can choose among courses that range from ancient epic to contemporary global literature, and they can explore a wide range of themes, including gender studies; poetry and poetics; post-colonialism and immigration; disability studies; humanities and the environment; affect and memory; the relation of literature and science as well as of literature and art, theatre, music, film and digital media.
A degree in English from Stony Brook provides the foundation for success in many fields. Our graduates have pursued careers as lawyers, authors, teachers, doctors, social workers, professors, television writers, computer coders, business CEOs, advertising and public relations executives, publishers, librarians, restaurant owners, and district attorneys.
The Department also offers a BA English Education Program that leads to NYS Adolescence Education certification to teach English in grades 7-12, as well as three minors: English , Film and Screen Studies and Theatre Arts .
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Requirements for the Major in English (EGL)
The major in English leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. All courses used to fulfill the English major/minor requirements must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher. Completion of the major requires 42 credits. 3 Required Survey courses:
Among the required survey courses, students must take at least one American and one British survey. One early literature survey course
either Two survey courses chosen from the following:
One EGL 100-, 200-, or 300-level elective not used to fulfill other requirements for the major.
Upper- Division Requirements (7 courses):
Five electives from
At least 1 course should be pre-1800. Courses must include at least one in each of four topic areas.
With permission of the department, students may use one course to satisfy up to two topic areas. Alternate courses may be substituted with permission of the program director. Genre or Media:
courses may include Single-Author:
courses may include Interdisciplinary Study of Literature:
courses may include Literary or Critical History:
courses may include Notes on Required Courses:
- The following courses may not be used for the English major: EGL 440 , EGL 441 , EGL 449 , EGL 450 , EGL 451 , EGL 452 , EGL 454 , EGL 475 , EGL 476 . Three credits of EGL 488 may be used to apply toward upper-division electives for the major.
- Students must earn a minimum of 9 upper division EGL credits at Stony Brook.
- Among the seven 300-level courses from the courses numbered EGL 300 -EGL 399 , only one of the following courses can be used to satisfy requirements: EGL 385 , EGL 386 , or EGL 387 .
Required non-English Courses: Interdisciplinary Concentration
- Six credits (two courses) in one other department of the student’s choosing (Foreign Language, History, Philosophy, Arts, etc.) above the 100 level.
Upper-Division Writing Requirement:
- Satisfactory completion of EGL 301 with a grade of C or better.
The Honors Program in English
To be admitted into the Honors Program, students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and a GPA in English courses of at least 3.5; they also must submit a sample paper evidencing an appropriate level of skill in literary analysis. Honors students must maintain these grade point averages in order to remain in the program. They will take three Honors Seminars, an Honors Practicum, and EGL 496 . Students should develop their plan for an Honors Thesis with an English faculty advisor, in consultation with the Honors Program Director. Thesis topic must be approved by the Undergraduate Program Committee before the last week of the semester prior to the semester in which the student takes EGL 496 . The completed thesis will be evaluated by the thesis advisor, a member of the Undergraduate Program Committee, and a third reader. Completion of the Honors program in English requires 45 credits. 3 Required Survey courses:
Among the required survey courses, students must take at least one American and one British survey. One early literature survey course
either Two survey courses chosen from the following:
Upper Division Requirements (8 courses):
Three electives from
Among the upper-division courses, students must take at least one pre-1800 course. The upper-division courses must fulfill the following categories.
With permission of the department, students may use one course to satisfy up to two topic areas. Alternate courses may be substituted with permission of the program director. Genre or Media:
courses may include Single-Author:
courses may include Interdisciplinary Study of Literature:
courses may include Literary or Critical History:
courses may include Required non-English Courses: Interdisciplinary Concentration
- Six credits (two courses) in one other department of the student’s choosing (Foreign Language, History, Philosophy, Arts, etc.) above the 100-level.
Upper-Division Writing Requirement:
- Satisfactory completion of EGL 301 with a grade of C or better.
Notes:
- All courses used to fulfill the English major/minor requirements must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher.
- All 400-level English honors courses must be passed with a letter grade of B or higher for the student to graduate with Honors in English.
- Among the 300-level course, only one of the following courses can be used to satisfy requirements: EGL 385 , EGL 386 , or EGL 387 .
- The following courses may not be used for the Honors Program in English: EGL 440 , EGL 441 , EGL 449 , EGL 450 , EGL 451 , EGL 452 , EGL 454 , EGL 475 , EGL 476 , EGL 488 .
SBC Courses
This table illustrates major courses that can also be used to fulfill SBC requirements. (See Note 1 & Note 2) | SBC Category | Required Major Courses | Optional Major Courses (see Note 3) | | ARTS | | EGL 220, EGL 307, EGL 325, EGL 328, EGL 386, EGL 387 | | GLO | | EGL 224, EGL 260, EGL 373, EGL 376 | | HUM | | EGL 217, EGL 218, EGL 220, EGL 224, EGL 243, EGL 260, EGL 261, EGL 266, EGL 274, EGL 276, EGL 284, EGL 290 | | LANG (see Note 4) | | | | QPS | | | | SBS | | | | SNW | | | | TECH | | EGL 317 | | USA | | EGL 217, EGL 218, EGL 274, EGL 367, EGL 369, EGL 378, EGL 379, EGL 399 | | WRT | | | | STAS | | EGL 250, EGL 389, EGL 394 | | EXP+ | | EGL 284 | | HFA+ | EGL 311 | EGL 205, EGL 206, EGL 249, EGL 300, EGL 303, EGL 304, EGL 304, EGL 308, EGL 311, EGL 317, EGL 319, EGL 320, EGL 333. EGL 345, EGL 346, EGL 360, EGL 361, EGL 362, EGL 364, EGL 367, EGL 368, EGL 369, EGL 370, EGL 371, EGL 372, EGL 373, EGL 374, EGL 376, EGL 378, EGL 379, EGL 382, EGL 390, EGL 391, EGL 392, EGL 395, EGL 397, EGL 399 | | SBS+ | | | | STEM+ | | | | CER | | EGL 210, EGL 231, EGL 290, EGL 370, EGL 376, EGL 389, EGL 394 | | DIV (see Note 5) | | EGL 217, EGL 276, EGL 367 | | ESI | EGL 301 | EGL 381 | | SPK | EGL 301, EGL 380 | EGL 317, EGL 380 | | WRTD | EGL 301, EGL 380 | EGL 319, EGL 380 | Note 1: Some course information may be subject to change. Please contact your major advisor for additional consultation. Note 2: For majors that require study in a related area or completion of a minor, visit the respective program’s “Major SBC Courses” page to view expanded SBC options. Note 3: Denotes any course in which students can choose from more than one option. These may include, but are not limited to, major electives, concentration/track/specialization courses, or calculus/physics/chemistry sequences. Note 4: CEAS majors, the Athletic Training major, the Respiratory Care major, and the Clinical Laboratory Sciences major are exempt from the LANG learning objective. Students enrolled in the major in Social Work are exempt from the LANG learning objective, but are required to enroll in and pass with a letter grade of C or higher the first semester of an elementary foreign language course numbered 111, or satisfy through alternate methods. Note 5: Students are responsible for completing the general education requirements published in the Bulletin that was current as of the first semester of matriculation (or rematriculation). The following student groups must satisfy the DIV learning objective as part of their degree requirements: - Freshmen who matriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
- Transfer students who matriculate in the Spring of 2020 or later
- Students who rematriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
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