English - Missouri Baptist University

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Program Level
  • Bachelor's
Degrees Offered

BA in English
BS in English
Writing Certificate in English

Format
  • Traditional
Department
  • College of Arts & Humanities
  • School of Humanities & Theology
English Program Overview

In accordance with the mission statement of Missouri Baptist University and the academic program, the English faculty seeks to maintain a curriculum that provides standard English skills, permits students to meet the requirements for professional certificates and prepares English majors for the pursuit of advanced degrees.

  • The student will demonstrate written and oral communication skills by presenting ideas in clear, coherent, correct and mature style.
  • The student will demonstrate critical thinking by identifying logical fallacies and by using inductive and deductive reasoning in essay writing and textual analysis.
  • The student will demonstrate multi- and cross-cultural understanding by engaging in cultural enrichment events and then critically relating them to the themes and concerns of the course.
  • The student will identify key literary terms, genres and movements in British, American and world literature and apply them to literary analysis.
  • The student will effectively use research methods and technology to pose questions, synthesize knowledge and create documents that meet professional standards.
  • The student will analyze and critique literary texts from a Christian perspective, thereby demonstrating an integration of faith and learning.

English Bachelor’s Requirements

The student must complete the following requirements plus select and complete one or more of the following concentration areas (39 hours). Students may not overlap concentration requirements.

Required English (ENGL) courses (27 hours):
ENGL 283 Techniques for Writing Tutorials
ENGL 333A American Literature I (Colonial America to 1865)
ENGL 333B American Literature II (1865 to present)
ENGL 353A British Literature I (Middle Ages through the Restoration)
ENGL 353B British Literature II (1800 to the present)
ENGL 363 Critical Theories
ENGL 443 Senior Research Seminar in English
ENGL 453/553 History of the English Language
ENGL 473 Advanced Grammar

CONCENTRATION AREAS: (12 HOURS)

LITERATURE CONCENTRATION
ENGL 333C American Literature III (1945 to present)
ENGL 373 Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton
ENGL 433/533 C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien
ENGL 463/563 Multicultural Literature

WRITING CONCENTRATION
COEN 223 Basic Reporting and Writing for Journalism
ENGL 403 Creative Writing I (Poetry and Fiction)
ENGL 413 Creative Writing II (Drama and Nonfiction)
ENGL 433 Business Writing

SECONDARY EDUCATION CONCENTRATION
Three (3) hours from the Writing Concentration
EDEN 453/553 Teaching Language Arts and Composition in the Middle and Secondary Schools
EDEN 463/563 Teaching Literature within the Curriculum
ENGL 463/563 Multicultural Literature

English Minor Requirements

Students minoring in English must complete at least 21 hours in English, exclusive of any composition or literature courses taken to complete the general education or baccalaureate degree requirements.

Required English (ENGL) courses:
ENGL 333A American Literature I (Colonial America to 1865)
ENGL 333B American Literature II (1865 to 1945)
ENGL 353A British Literature I (The Middle Ages through the Restoration)
ENGL 353B British Literature II (Since the Restoration)

Electives:
9 hours of English (ENGL, EDEN, or COEN) courses

Writing Certificate in English Requirements

The writing certificate program will help students become familiar with all types of writing, including journalism, expository, business, radio, television, and creative. This is not a teaching certificate in English and does not fulfill requirements for state teacher certification.

Students must complete at least 18 hours from the following:

Required English (ENGL) courses:
ENGL 123 English Composition II
ENGL 363 Critical Theories

Total: 6 Hours

Elective (ENGL, COEN, COMJ, COMT) courses:
COEN 223 – Basic Reporting and Writing for Journalism
COEN 323 – Advanced Reporting and Writing for Journalism
COMJ 433 – Opinion Writing
COMT 353 – Convergent Media
ENGL 403 – Creative Writing I (Poetry and Fiction)
ENGL 413 – Creative Writing II (Drama and Nonfiction)
ENGL 433 – Business Writing
ENGL 443 – Senior Research Seminar in English

Total: 12 Hours

Possible Careers

Students who study English are prepared for careers in the following fields:

  • Teaching (at all levels)
  • Journalism
  • Creative writing
  • Technical writing
  • Speech writing
  • Advertising
  • Editing/proofreading
  • Library
  • Public relations
  • Personal counseling
  • Web design
  • Higher education administration
  • Business administration

English is also an ideal major for writing-intensive graduate studies, such as theology and law.

Four-Year Sample Plan

View a four-year sample plan for English.