English, BA

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2024-2025. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.00
Total Hours: 120

General Education Requirements
English Composition
See Academic Regulation 3.5
ENGL 1113Composition I3
or ENGL 1313 Critical Analysis and Writing I
Select one of the following:3
Composition II
Critical Analysis and Writing II
Technical Writing
American History & Government
HIST 1103Survey of American History3
or HIST 1483 American History to 1865 (H)
or HIST 1493 American History Since 1865 (DH)
POLS 1113American Government3
Analytical & Quantitative Thought (A)
MATH or STAT course designated (A)3
Humanities (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory Science (L) course
Course designated (N)6
Social & Behavioral Sciences (S)
Course designated (S)3
Additional General Education
Courses designated (A), (H), (N), or (S)10
Hours Subtotal40
Diversity (D) & International Dimension (I)
May be completed in any part of the degree plan
Select at least one Diversity (D) course
Select at least one International Dimension (I) course
College/Departmental Requirements
First Year Seminar
(Transfer students with 15 hours exempt)1
Arts & Humanities
ENGL 2543Survey of British Literature I (H)3
ENGL 2773Survey of American Literature I (H)3
Select 3 additional non-English hours3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
See note 2.b.3
Foreign Language
See note 39
Non-Western Studies
Select at least one course
See note 2.d.
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department
See note 2.c.
Hours Subtotal22
Major Requirements
Select 6 hours of the following:6
Survey of British Literature II (H)
Survey of American Literature II (DH)
Survey of Postcolonial and Indigenous Literatures (HI)
33 hours ENGL (30 hours must be upper-division):
Minimum of 12 hours at 4000-level
ENGL 3243Literary Theory and Criticism3
ENGL 3343Reading Poetry3
3 hours Genre Studies:3
Short Story (H)
Readings in Drama (H)
Readings in Nonfiction
Readings in Narrative
Readings in Popular Fiction
3 hours Cultural Studies:3
Readings in Literature by Women (DH)
Readings in Literature and Other Disciplines
Native American Literature (DH)
Readings in Multi-Ethnic American Literature
Readings in Postcolonial Literature (HI)
African-American Literature (DH)
Readings in the American Experience (DH)
Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in American Film (D)
Television and American Society (DH)
Literature of Diversity
Moving Image Aesthetics (H)
Studies in Native American Literature
Studies in Postcolonial and Multi-ethnic Literature
Culture and the Moving Image
3 hours Literature before 1800:3
Mythology (H)
Literatures of the Ancient World (H)
Shakespeare (H)
Studies in Medieval British Literature
Studies in 16th Century British Literature
Studies in 17th Century British Literature
Studies in 18th Century British Literature
Studies in Early American Literature
Introduction to Old English
Studies in Chaucer or Milton
Single Author or Work Pre-1800
Studies in Shakespeare (H)
3 hours Literature after 1800:3
Studies in 19th Century British Literature
Studies in 20th Century British Literature
Studies in 19th Century American Literature
Studies in 20th Century American Literature
Studies in Romanticism
Studies in Modernism
Single Author or Work Post-1800
3 hours Writing:3
Advanced Composition
Professional Writing Theory
Studies in Professional Writing
Style and Editing
Visual Rhetoric and Design
Fiction Writing
Poetry Writing
Creative Nonfiction Writing
3 hours Language/Linguistics (select 3 hours from the following):3
Special Problems in Language and Literature
History of the English Language
English Grammar
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
ENGL 4063
Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics
Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Studies in Linguistics
Applied Linguistics
Language in America (DS)
English electives:
Select 9 hours of additional ENGL electives (6 hours must be upper-division)9
Select 15 hours of non-ENGL upper-division courses15
Hours Subtotal54
Electives
Select 4 hours4
May need to include 6 hours upper-division general education outside major department (see note 2.c.)
Hours Subtotal4
Total Hours120

 Other Requirements

  • See the College of Arts and Sciences Requirements.
  • Minimum GPA 3.00 in all ENGL courses and a minimum grade of “C’ in each ENGL course (excluding English Composition and free electives).
  • Upper-Division Credit: Total hours must include at least 40 hours in courses numbered 3000 or above.

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

  1. Hours in One Department: For B.A. and B.S. degrees, no more than 54 hours in one department may be required to meet degree requirements. Courses used to satisfy the General Education English Composition, U.S. History, American Government, and Mathematics or Statistics requirements will not count toward the 54-hour maximum required from one department.
  2. A&S College/Departmental Requirements
    1. Arts and Humanities are defined as any course carrying an (H) designation or courses from AMST, ART, DANC, ENGL (except ENGL 3323 Technical Writing) HIST, MUSI, PHIL (except PHIL 1313 Logic and Critical Thinking (A), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (A) and PHIL 4003 Mathematical Logic and Computability), REL, TH, and foreign languages.
    2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences are defined as any course from the following prefixes: ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CS (except CS 4883 Social Issues in Computing), GEOL, MATH, MICR, PBIO, PHYS, and STAT; or courses from other departments that carry an (A) or (N) general education designation.
    3. Six upper-division hours are required from General Education or any CAS courses outside the student’s major department. This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student’s degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    4. Non-Western Studies Requirement for B.A. and B.F.A.; One course in Non-Western Studies (N.W.). This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student's degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    5. The College of Arts & Sciences requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major requirements and a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major-prefix courses applied to the degree.
  3. Foreign Language Proficiency
    1. The foreign language requirement for the B.A. may be satisfied by 9 hours college credit in the same language, which must include 3 hours at the 2000-level, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement. Currently Arabic and Mvskoke are not offered at the 2000-level at OSU.
    2. The foreign language requirement for the B.S., B.M. and B.F.A. may be satisfied by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language (passing grades at second-year level of study). It may also be satisfied by 6 hours college credit in the same language, which must include language courses 1713 and 1813, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.
    3. In addition to a. and b., students pursuing teacher certification must meet novice-high foreign language proficiency by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language with no grade below B. Or, students may complete 3 hours college credit in a single language with no grade below C (or pass an advanced standing examination, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or Oral Proficiency Interview developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, equivalent to 3 hours of college credit.) Or, students may meet the requirement by transfer of documentation of meeting the foreign language competency from one of the teacher education programs in the State of Oklahoma approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
  4. Exclusions. Courses with ATHL or LEIS prefixes and leisure activity courses may not be used for degree credit.

Additional State/OSU Requirements

  • At least: 60 hours at a four-year institution; 30 hours completed at OSU; 15 of the final 30 or 50% of the upper-division hours in the major field completed at OSU.
  • Limit of: one-half of major course requirements as transfer work; one-fourth of hours earned by correspondence; 8 transfer correspondence hours.
  • Students will be held responsible for degree requirements in effect at the time of matriculation and any changes that are made, so long as these changes do not result in semester credit hours being added or do not delay graduation.
  • Degrees that follow this plan must be completed by the end of Summer 2030.

Finish in Four Plan of Study

The plan below is an example of how students can successfully complete degree requirements in four years. This suggested class schedule plan may be used as a guide and can be adjusted based on individual needs. Students are required to meet with an academic advisor prior to enrollment each semester to plan their class schedule, and students are ultimately responsible for completing all degree requirements.

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman
FallHours
ENGL 1113
Composition I
or Critical Analysis and Writing I
3
ENGL 2543
Survey of British Literature I (H)
or Survey of British Literature II (H)
or Survey of American Literature I (H)
or Survey of American Literature II (DH)
or Survey of Postcolonial and Indigenous Literatures (HI)
3
General Education courses 10
 Hours16
Spring
ENGL 1213
Composition II
or Critical Analysis and Writing II
3
ENGL 2653
Survey of British Literature II (H)
or Survey of British Literature I (H)
or Survey of American Literature I (H)
or Survey of American Literature II (DH)
or Survey of Postcolonial and Indigenous Literatures (HI)
3
General Education courses 8
 Hours14
Sophomore
Fall
ENGL 3243 Literary Theory and Criticism 3
1713 First Semester Foreign Language 3
General Education courses 9
 Hours15
Spring
ENGL 3343 Reading Poetry 3
1813 Second Semester Foreign Language 3
General Education courses 9
 Hours15
Junior
Fall
2000-level Foreign Language 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 12
 Hours15
Spring
Major, College, and Elective courses 15
 Hours15
Senior
Fall
Major, College, and Elective courses 15
 Hours15
Spring
Major, College, and Elective courses 15
 Hours15
 Total Hours120