Literature

This concentration includes a focus on British and American literature, but the degree is flexible enough to allow students to explore a wide range of literary studies, including Mexican American Literature, African American Literature, Postcolonial Literature, and Gay/Lesbian Literature. The major includes exciting student groups such as Sigma Tau Delta (the English honors society) and the Shakespeare Club as well as student-led publications such as the UH literary journal Glass Mountain. Each May, the department holds an Honors Day to acknowledge student accomplishments and grant awards. For example, the Gentile Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student in recognition of an excellent literary critical essay completed for a course in the major.

Creative Writing

Undergraduates majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing benefit tremendously from workshops taught by our distinguished UH Graduate Creative Writing Program faculty and graduate teaching fellows. The concentration explores poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and selected topics such as playwriting. All undergraduate workshops are capped at 20 students to assist students with constructive feedback as they develop as writers. Students are also invited to attend readings featuring both emerging and established writers throughout the academic year. Students also have the opportunity to work with the university’s undergraduate literary journal, Glass Mountain, and participate in the annual Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers.

Each year, numerous prizes are awarded through CLASS and the Department of English, including Provost Prizes for Prose & Poetry, the Sylvan N. Karchmer Fiction Prize, Howard Moss Poetry Prize and the Bryan Lawrence Prize in Nonfiction.

Applied Linguistics

The Applied Linguistics concentration offers students a wide base of theoretical and practical knowledge in several fields of the study of language. Advanced courses in the degree focus on sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological approaches to language use, language teaching and learning, language and migration, language in politics/the politics of language, and language online & in multiple modes.

Minor in English

The Department of English offers three minors that provide students not majoring in English, the opportunity to pursue a course of study in Applied Linguistics, Creative Writing, and traditional English that can be used in future career professions.

Applied Linguistics

• The Applied Linguistics minor is designed for students interested in pursuing the systematic study of language. Students earn this minor by completing 18 hours of English courses with Linguistic content at the 3000 and 4000 level. At least nine of the advanced semester hours must be completed in residence. A 2.00 minimum grade point average is required in all courses attempted at the university in the minor field excluding the required freshman course.

Creative Writing

• Students interested in the Creative Writing minor are to complete coursework in English-Creative Writing that consist of 18 hours. Students should begin with 9 hours of Introductory courses, 3 hours of Advanced Literature, then submission of a portfolio for full admission is required before students can enroll in the last 6 hours of any 4000-level Creative Writing course. Students may focus on poetry, fiction, or nonfiction as their preferred specialization.  At least nine of the advanced semester hours must be completed in residence. A 2.00 minimum grade point average is required in all courses attempted at the university in the minor field excluding the required freshman course.

English

• The traditional English minor consists of 15 semester hours of English above the 1000 level with at least 12 at the 3000 and 4000 level. At least nine of the advanced semester hours must be completed in residence. A 2.00 minimum grade point average is required in all courses attempted at the university in the minor field excluding the required freshman courses. Courses to be applied to the minor must be approved by the Department. 

Teaching English as an Additional Language (TEAL), Certificate

The TEAL Certificate program equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach English to non-native speakers. It includes 15-hours of coursework in Linguistics, language acquisition, teaching methodologies, and cultural competency ending with a supervised practicum teaching course. The certificate is designed for both prospective teachers and those seeking to enhance their qualifications in diverse educational settings locally and internationally.