books header

English

Bachelor of Arts
  • 120 Credits
  • School of Liberal Arts
  • Bronx
  • Online
  • Westchester
English Majors

English Overview

The English major provides Mercy University students with one of the most personally-meaningful and professionally-viable degrees possible. Students of English can pursue one of five different degree pathways: either the standard English major path, which provides the most flexibility, or paths concentrating on creative writing, cultural studies, literature, or writing & rhetoric.

No matter which path they pursue, English majors explore a range of writings and cultural texts ranging from ancient epics through contemporary digital media. Students hone their skills of reading, analyzing, interpreting, and researching; and develop a practice of process-based writing. Overall, the English major attunes students to the power of the written word, and teaches students to communicate effectively, responsibly, and creatively in a multicultural and multimodal world. This preparation historically and still today translates to potential success in a variety of careers.

English opportunities

Career Opportunities

Representative career opportunities include law, medicine, arts and entertainment, public relations, public information, writing, editing, publishing, sales, marketing, advertising, management and personnel relations, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, federal, state, or local government, teaching, and administration.

Icon/Nova/lightbulb

70% of Students

with humanities degrees have

deeper interest in their work over business & social sciences students
Shape

5 Year BA & MS

English Undergraduates can

enroll towards earning an English teaching degree.
Icon/Nova/calendar-alt

120 Credits

Total Credits to Earn Your Degree

Classes in creative writing, world literature & media and technoculture

Want More Info?

We'd like to hear from you! Get more information.

Books

The Mercy Advantage

•  SAT & ACT optional

•  RED HYACINTH — student run journal

•  Some courses completely online

•  Nationally recognized PACT program

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, faculty are always ready to help students with questions about what courses to take, the sequencing of courses, and career opportunities, including internships and cooperative education.

The English major is one of the most versatile degrees you can earn with the potential to lead to dozens of different careers paths. For ideas, inspiration and more information on what awaits our graduates, please visit our Mercy English blog.

Full-time students can complete the 120-credit degree program in four years.

Yes. Many of our major courses are taught online on a rotating basis.

Any student can declare English as their major or minor, especially students who enjoy reading, writing, self-expression, and exploring ideas.

Faculty banner

Program Outcomes

file-edit-alt

Produce writing in a variety of rhetorical modes using appropriate grammatical and stylistic conventions

file-check

Read literary texts closely and analytically

Shape

Employ logic, creativity, originality, and interpretive skills in oral, written, and/or online discussions

Shape

Demonstrate a working knowledge of English literary genres and traditions as well as the devices, concepts, and contexts associated with them

desktop-alt

Conduct academic research by evaluating sources and utilizing correct citation methods

Program Details & Curriculum

General Liberal Arts and Sciences

General Education Requirements: 60 Credits
Major Concentration—English: 36 Credits
Open Electives: 24 Credits

Total: 120 Credits

Students of English of any concentration must complete:

  • ENGL 195 - Intro to English Studies 
  • ENGL 400 - Seminar in Literary Research & Writing

For a full curriculum listing visit our catalog.

English majors can earn the English B.A. by completing the requirements listed below. Or, English majors can elect to pursue one of four concentrations within the English major: English Creative Writing, English Cultural Studies, English Literature, or English Writing & Rhetoric. Details about these concentrations, including how to complete each concentration, are listed in the Catalog following this primary entry. Students who complete a concentration in English will have the English B.A. degree and also the concentration listed on their transcript. 

Students must complete the following two core courses (6 credits):

  • ENGL 195 - Intro to English Studies
  • ENGL 400 - Seminar in Literary Research

Students must complete one course (3 credits) from the following category:
Building Foundations: Literary Surveys

  • ENGL 205 - Survey English Lit I
  • ENGL 206 - Survey English Lit II
  • ENGL 207 - American Lit Survey I
  • ENGL 208 - Amer Lit Sur II 1865-Present

Students must complete one course (3 credits) from the following category:

  • Expanding Foundations: Literary Histories
  • ENGL 225 - Classical Literature
  • ENGL 275 - Modern American Fiction
  • ENGL 276 - Contemporary American Lit
  • ENGL 300 - Medieval Literature
  • ENGL 305 - Chaucer
  • ENGL 310 - Renaissance Poetry & Prose
  • ENGL 315 - Shakespeare
  • ENGL 316 - Shakespeare’s Tragedies
  • ENGL 318 - Explorers and Exiles in Paris
  • ENGL 325 - The 17th Century: Poetry/Prose
  • ENGL 330 - The Eighteenth Century
  • ENGL 335 - The Major English Romantics
  • ENGL 340 - The Major Victorians
  • ENGL 353 - African-American Literature
  • ENGL 365 - American Romanticism
  • ENGL 370 - American Realism
  • ENGL 385 - Masterpieces of European Lit

Students must complete one course (3 credits) from the following category:
Gaining Perspective: Culture, Identity, & Difference

  • ENGL 214 - Cyberpunk/Technoculture
  • ENGL 224 - LGTBQ+ Experiences & Lit
  • ENGL 234 - Literature by Women
  • ENGL 236 - Hip Hop Literature & Culture
  • ENGL 239 - American Studies I
  • ENGL 240 - Literature to Film
  • ENGL 257 - Latin American Literature
  • ENGL 267 - Caribbean Literature
  • ENGL 268 - Harlem Renaissance
  • ENGL 269 - Hispanic Latino Lit

And students must complete one course (3 credits) from the following category:
Developing Your Voice: Writing, Rhetoric, & Style

  • ENGL 209 - Writing for the Professions
  • ENGL 210 - Cultural Rhetorics
  • ENGL 217 - Creative Writing : Fiction
  • ENGL 218 - Creative Writing: Poetry
  • ENGL 219 - Creative Writing: Nonfiction
  • ENGL 265 - Introduction to Playwriting
  • ENGL 304 - Mod Engl Writing with Style
  • ENGL 306 - Secret Life Words & Sentences
  • ENGL 319 - Advanced Creative Writing

Additionally, students have 18 major-elective credits to complete. These credits can be drawn from any combination of the above categories and the two elective categories listed below:

Exploring Further: Genre Studies & Textual Transformations

  • ENGL 212 - Science Fiction
  • ENGL 220 - The Short Story
  • ENGL 223 - Murder, Mystery, & Suspense
  • ENGL 235 - True Stories:Memoir,Essay& Bio
  • ENGL 249 - American Gothic
  • ENGL 271 - Modrn British Novel:1900-Prsnt
  • ENGL 280 - History of Drama
  • ENGL 281 - Modern Drama
  • ENGL 285 - Modern Poetry
  • ENGL 301 - Utopian Literature
  • Crossing Borders & Disciplines
  • ENGL 215 - Literature and Medicine
  • ENGL 222 - The Graphic Novel
  • ENGL 230 - The Bible as Literature
  • ENGL 238 - Sport Literature
  • ENGL 242 - Literature and Psychology
  • ENGL 259 - Oral Performance of Literature
  • ENGL 263 - Black Atlantic:Lit/History
  • ENGL 290 - World Lit-Beyond Borders

Foreign language requirement: English majors must complete 6 credits of a foreign language. The 6 credits do not have to be in the same language, but it is recommended that they be. 3 of these credits will come from the student’s Gen Ed Language & Cultural Perspectives disciplinary group requirement; the other 3 will be drawn from either the student’s Gen Ed Liberal Arts Electives or from Open Electives.

Notes
ENGL 195 should be taken as soon as possible, preferably in the semester immediately following completion of ENGL 112 or ENGL/HONR 192. Transfer students should ideally take ENGL 195 in the first semester upon transferring in.

ENGL 400 is the capstone course, meaning the final course in the English major. It should be taken in the final semester of the program, or at least in the penultimate semester if a student foresees scheduling conflicts for the final semester.

ENGL 294 Major Authors and ENGL 295 Special Topics are generic course codes under which can run a number of new or experimental courses.  ENGL 397 Independent Study is a course code by which a student might, in rare and special circumstances, pursue a unique course of study. Courses running by these codes will default to working as major electives. If a course running by one of these codes makes sense as a substitution for a category requirement, though, students can request of the Program Director that a substitution be allowed to let the course count for the category requirement.

The English program highly recommends that English majors earn a minor to complement their English major. Students can earn a minor in another field such as Media Studies, History, Design & Animation, or Communication Studies (to name just a few) by completing 15 credits in that field. English majors have a total of 42 non-major elective credits to spend (24 Open Elective credits plus 18 General Education Liberal Arts & Sciences Elective credits) and so have ample opportunity to earn a minor. To learn more, speak with your PACT mentor or contact the English Program Director.

ENGL 380 Workplace Experience I, and ENGL 381 Workplace Experience II, are internship codes that allow students to complete internship experience. Such internship credits count as Open Elective credits. Students interested in seeking internship opportunities should speak with the Mercy College Office of Career & Professional Development, the Chair of the Department of Literature and Language, and/or the Director of Undergraduate English.

The English major has an 18 credit residency requirement.

Full-Time Faculty

Part-Time Faculty

Faculty Emeritae/i

Additional Staff