2014-2015 Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2014-2015 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

English, BA


Emphases within the English Major

  • Elementary/Special Education
  • Literature
  • Professional/Technical Writing
  • Rhetoric and Writing
  • Secondary Education

General Requirements

For all emphases, students, including transfers, must complete at least 15 credit hours with the UCCS English department and at least 18 upper-division credit hours.  English majors must achieve grades of C- or higher in all required English courses.  All English majors are required to pass the portfolio assessment process as determined by emphasis prior to graduation. All English majors are assigned an advisor within the Department; please see details under “Contacts” on the English department website: http://www.uccs.edu/~english/.  All English majors should register for and attend a mandatory English department reception/workshop in their first year at UCCS. The reception/workshop is typically held at the beginning of fall and spring semesters. Please see the English department website for information on how to register for the reception/workshop.

Students Who Contemplate Teaching

Statements of curricular requirements for a Colorado teaching certificate in English may be obtained from the College of Education. Students planning to teach should also confer with a member of the College of Education faculty about the Teacher Education Program. Since requirements for Education and English make a very tight schedule, students should be fully informed as to both departmental and certification requirements by the beginning of the sophomore year.

Note

Students who wish to apply an online course taken outside UCCS towards their English major must secure written permission from the English department chair or designated advisor.

BA in English with Elementary/Special Education Pre-licensure Emphasis


Learning Outcomes

  • Students demonstrate the ability to write clearly, cogently, and thoughtfully.
  • Students demonstrate language control including grammar, mechanics and syntax.
  • Students demonstrate awareness of multiple theories of literacy.
  • Students demonstrate analysis of texts through close & critical reading using multiple theoretical lenses.
  • Students demonstrate the ability to interpret a range of texts representing diversity, various genres and historical contexts.
  • Students demonstrate the ability to find appropriate primary and secondary research materials, apply them in writing to support own arguments, and correctly cite sources. 

Students wishing to major in English to prepare for careers in elementary/special education take a minimum of 33 hours of English, including the following specific requirements:

Course Requirements


Rhetoric and Writing I and II


While these courses are required, they do not count toward the required number of credit hours in English for the major.

Literature Breadth Courses (6 Credit Hours)


Choose tw0 courses from the following, including one American and one British.

Literature Breadth Courses 

Diversity (3 Credit Hours)


Choose one of the following courses:

English Diversity Courses 

English Electives (6 Credit Hours)


Complete 6 hours of ENGL elective courses to meet total and upper-division requirements.

4000-Level Literature Seminar (3 Credit Hours)


Must be taken in residence.

Senior Portfolio (1 Credit Hour)


Complete senior Elementary/Special Education portfolio assessment.

BA in English with Literature Emphasis


Learning Outcomes

  • To be able to interpret a range of literary texts representing cultural diversity, various genres, and historical contexts.
  • To be able to analyze literary texts through the skills of close reading, the context of literary histories, and the lenses of literary criticism and theory.
  • To be able to write cogent, clear, thoughtful essays that demonstrate the student’s control over grammar and mechanics.
  • To be able to use electronic and traditional methods of research effectively.

Students wishing to major in English with an emphasis in Literature must take a minimum of 45 hours of English, including the following specific requirements:

Required (27 credit hours)


Rhetoric and Writing I and II


While these courses are required, they do not count toward the required number of credit hours in English for the major.

Literature Breadth Courses (12 Credit Hours)


Take one course in each of the following four areas:

Literature Breadth Courses 

Diversity (3 Credit Hours)


Choose one of the following courses:

English Diversity Courses 

4000-Level Literature Seminar (3 Credit Hours)


Must be taken in residence.

Senior Portfolio


Complete the senior Literature portfolio assignment.

Electives (18 credit hours)


One of the courses from designated and non-designated electives must be pre-1800.

6 credit hours of Designated Electives (take two of four):

  • Genre/Style/Literary movement
  • Theory
  • Major Author
  • Global/Comparative literature

12 credit hours of Non-Designated English Electives

BA in English with Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) Emphasis


PTW Outcomes Statements

Research (critical thinking, reading, and writing)

Students will show they can

  • Use research methods to gather information
  • Evaluate, analyze, navigate and synthesize appropriate primary and secondary sources
  • Identify reader/user/viewer expectations
  • Interpret findings and articulate results
  • Produce appropriate and ethical text and graphics for displaying research data and findings

Practices and processes

Students will show they can

  • Conduct user/reader/viewer analysis
  • Focus on a defined purpose
  • Meet the needs of the readers/users/viewers
  • Respond appropriately and ethically to different rhetorical situations
  • Understand writing as a collaborative and iterative process of research, discussion, negotiation, writing, and editing
  • Manage projects in stages
  • Evaluate and use appropriate strategies for production, revision, editing, proofreading, and presenting

Knowledge of conventions and genres

Students will show they can

  • Write in multiple genres
  • Evaluate ethically how each genre shapes content and usability
  • Control such features as tone, syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling
  • Identify the main features and uses of writing in a specific field
  • Document resources as defined by a specific field

Collaborative learning

Students will show they can

  • Participate collaboratively with others in the iterative process of research, discussion, negotiation, writing, and editing
  • Participate and communicate effectively in a community
  • Integrate their own ideas with those from various stakeholders
  • Balance the advantages of relying on others with the responsibility of doing their parts

Technological literacy

Students will show they can

  • Critically and ethically choose from a variety of technologies in order to address specific rhetorical situations and a range of readers/users/viewers needs
  • Engage in a critical perspective of technology, its uses and contexts
  • Analyze technology as a physical tool, and as a socially constructed system
  • Use various software for writing, editing, and designing

Students wishing to major in English with an emphasis in Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) must take a minimum of 45 hours in English, including the following specific requirements:

Course Requirements


Composition (6 Credit Hours)


As part of the LAS composition requirement, students must take the following courses. They do not count toward the 45 credit hours of English courses required for the major.

Professional and Technical Writing Coursework (3 Credit Hours)


Diversity (3 Credit Hours)


Take one of the following courses:

English Diversity Courses 

Literature Breadth Courses (6 Credit Hours)


Take one course in British Literature (early or late), and one course in American Literature (early or late) from the following:

Literature Breadth Courses 

Senior Portfolio


 Students must take the following course. See PTW Director for details.

BA in English with Rhetoric and Writing Emphasis


Learning Outcomes

I. Rhetorical Knowledge

  • Students identify and name the elements of a given rhetorical situation.
  • Students apply rhetorical theories to a wide range of situations for analytical and productive purposes.
  • Students evaluate their own or others’ rhetorical choices in light of anticipated consequences.
  • Students understand how genres shape arguments.

II. Writing Process Knowledge

  • Students demonstrate an understanding of the various components of the writing process, including invention, drafting, revision, and editing.
  • Students demonstrate knowledge of the peer-review process and the variety of roles possible within it.
  • Students demonstrate knowledge of various approaches to the teaching of writing.

III. Craft, Genre, & Editing Knowledge

  • Students can compose in a variety of genres.
  • Students organize their written texts in ways that are responsive to the rhetorical situation.
  • Students show coherence and cohesion in their written discourse.
  • Students consider, apply, and control stylistic options (prose style, figurative language, voice, register, tone, word choice, etc.).
  • Students recognize and self-edit errors in syntax, grammar, usage, punctuation, mechanics, and • spelling in written discourse.
  • Students peer-review each other’s work.

IV. Reflective Learning

  • Students consciously synthesize and integrate insights from one writing project and course into another.
  • Students demonstrate awareness of their own writing process.
  • Students can articulate their particular area(s) of interest within rhetoric and writing.

Students wishing to major in English to prepare for careers in Rhetoric and Writing take a minimum of 48 hours of English, including the following specific requirements:

Course Requirements


Rhetoric and Writing I and II


While these courses are required, they do not count toward the hours required for the major.

Literature Breadth Courses (6 Credit Hours)


Take one British Literature Breadth course (early or late), and one American Literature Breadth course (early or late) from the following.

Literature Breadth Courses 

Diversity (3 Credit Hours)


Take one of the following courses (that you have not already taken). ENGL 4860 may be repeated for this requirement with the permission of the department chair.

English Diversity Courses 

Elective Courses


Take five additional English elective courses.

Senior Portfolio


Complete the Senior Rhetoric & Writing Portfolio Assessment.

BA in English with Secondary School Emphasis


Students wishing to major in English to prepare for careers as secondary school teachers of English must take a minimum of 45 hours of English, including the following specific requirements:

Course Requirements


Rhetoric and Writing I and II


While these courses are required, they do not count toward the required number of hours for the major.

Literature Breadth Courses (12 Credit Hours)


Take one course from each of the following areas (one in early British, one in late British, one in early American, one in late American).

Literature Breadth Courses  

Teaching of Writing (3 Credit Hours)


Choose one of the following two courses.

Diversity (3 Credit Hours)


Choose one of the following:

English Diversity Courses  

4000-Level Literature Seminar (3 Credit Hours)


Must be taken in residence.

Elective Courses


Take 3 credit hours of English elective courses.

Senior Portfolio


Complete senior Secondary Education portfolio assessment.