The English and Literary Studies Major at Ramapo College: Read Your World, Write Your Life.

English and Literary Studies majors are ready to embark on any number of exciting careers and graduate studies. English and Literary Studies students excel in the areas of publishing, government, business, law, and science—wherever articulate and creative expression is valued.  The study of literature is also an excellent preparation for elementary or secondary teaching.

Ramapo’s English and Literary Studies majors make valuable connections in the community and professional world through coursework, internships, cooperative education, and service learning. They thrive in the worlds of publishing, writing, law, journalism, diplomacy, public relations, higher education, and library sciences.

Visit our Success Stories page and meet our graduates and current students: https://www.ramapo.edu/major-literature/success-stories/.

The English and Literary Studies major does more than prepare students for the working world; it fosters thoughtful, informed engaged individuals. Students develop the critical thinking, reading, research, and writing skills essential in our increasingly interconnected world. As literary critic M. H. Abrams writes, the study of literature “shows you possibilities you haven’t thought of. It enables you to live the lives of other people than yourself.” Our students engage their imaginations through the study of literary texts that contain the history of our world.

The program balances American, British, world literatures, and creative writing through survey, seminar, and workshop courses.  Students study genre, form, period, and theme; they develop skills in reading, criticism, and writing. Courses emphasize the interdisciplinary and multicultural dimensions of literature and life, firing the imagination and promote critically critically informed global citizens.

Besides English and Literary Studies, students may pursue the track in teacher education and concentrate in Creative Writing or Specialized Studies. Our students also edit Trillium, the college’s literary magazine. The Literature Club visiting writer’s series and Ramapo’s Chapter of the national English Honor Society are ways our students engage our program on campus.

The College’s liberal arts mission is central to the English and Literary Studies program, the heart of which is the focus on n interdisciplinarity, multiculturalism, and global connectivity.  The major is offered by the School of Humanities and Global Studies and leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree.  For students out the major the program offers minors in English and Literary Studies or Creative Writing.  Please visit: https://www.ramapo.edu/major-literature/ to learn more about the major, minor, and concentrations.

“Literature is the most astonishing technological means that humans have created, and now practiced for thousands of years, to capture experience.” —Stephen Greenblatt

Goal 1: Read diverse literary works and be able to articulate their aesthetic qualities, and historical and human insights.

Outcome 1: Students will practice close reading.

Outcome 2: Students will demonstrate the ability of the interconnectedness of authors, literary traditions, theoretical approaches, and forms.

Goal 2: Develop an understanding of the formal, historical and theoretical aspects of literature and the English language.

Outcome 3: Students will write well and creatively.

Outcome 4: Students will perform literary research accessing primary, secondary, and visual source materials in various ways, including electronic databases.

Outcome 5:  Students will speak effectively in scholarly and creative contexts.

Outcome 6:  Students will apply the tools of digital humanities to the study of literature.

Outcome 1: Students will be proficient in key aspects of craft in the production of particular genres of Creative Writing, including Poetry, Fiction and Personal Essay.

Outcome 2: Students will demonstrate ability to provide critique of peer work that includes particular craft terminology.

1. Students take 12 courses to complete the major.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement in the major (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES MAJOR

Creative Writing Concentration

(The Creative Writing concentration is only available to those majoring in English and Literary Studies.)

1. Students take 12 courses to complete the major.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

Specialized Studies concentration serves students who wish to deepen a particular aspect to their major. A specialized study is a flexible self designed four course area of concentration developed in consultation with a faculty advisor. Examples of specialized studies are: Editing and Publishing, Gaming, Philosophy and Theory, Gender and Sexuality, or an interdisciplinary area of research.

This concentration requires students to develop a contract specifying the area of specialized study and the specific courses. Possibilities include specialized studies in a particular genre, period, or national literature, or by working with CA in publishing, theater/drama, etc.  

1. Students take 12 courses to complete the major.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES MAJOR: Teacher Education Track

1. Students take 12 courses to complete the track.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

Teacher Education Track with Creative Writing Concentration 

(The Creative Writing concentration is only available to those majoring in English and Literary Studies.)

1. Students take 16 courses to complete the track.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description

Specialized Studies concentration serves students who wish to deepen a particular aspect to their major. A specialized study is a flexible self designed four course area of concentration developed in consultation with a faculty advisor. Examples of specialized studies are: Editing and Publishing, Gaming, Philosophy and Theory, Gender and Sexuality, or an interdisciplinary area of research.

This concentration requires students to develop a contract specifying the area of specialized study and the specific courses. Possibilities include specialized studies in a particular genre, period, or national literature, or by working with CA in publishing, theater/drama, etc.

1. Students take 16 courses to complete the track.
2. Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.  Waivers do not apply to Major Requirements.
3. Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.  Check with your advisor.
4. Writing Intensive Requirement (five courses):  two writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: Critical Reading and Writing II and Studies in the Arts and Humanities; the other three required courses in the major marked (W).
5. At least three courses in the major must be at the 300-level.
6. No courses can “double count” to fulfill more than one course category.
7. Not all courses are offered each semester.  Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
8. The Career Pathways Program requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Visit the Cahill Career Center.

1. Students are required to take 5 courses to complete the minor.
2. Courses fulfilling the requirements for the primary or second major may count towards the requirements of the minor, but may not exceed one-half of the credits required in the minor. A School core does not need to be completed for a minor.  Minors are open to students regardless of school affiliation.

ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES MINOR

1. Students are required to take 5 courses (20 credits) to complete this minor.
2. Courses fulfilling the requirements for the primary or second major may count towards the requirements of the minor, but may not exceed one-half of the credits required in the minor. A School core does not need to be completed for a minor.  Minors are open to students regardless of school affiliation.

As is the case with the study of any art, the studio experience enhances the scholarly experience. In order to complement the scholarly study of literature for students majoring in other areas, the English and Literary Studies program offers a minor in Creative Writing. The minor provides students the opportunity to explore the discipline of literature by focusing on the production of literary works with courses in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. By creating literature, students are asked to embody and express the formal, aesthetic, and thematic concerns that we share with the scholarly aspects of literary study. Additionally, the Creative Writing minor fosters the knowledge and talents of students who have demonstrated promise as writers and allows others to find talents they did not know they had.

A focused curricular and co-curricular experience, the Creative Writing minor is available for students majoring in areas other than English and Literary Studies. For students majoring in English and Literary Studies, a concentration in Creative Writing is available. The English and Literary Studies Program invites you to join our community of writers.

CREATIVE WRITING MINOR

In some circumstances, another course can be substituted for one of the above courses.  See the Convener.

General Education Requirements
Four Year Plan
Graduation Requirements
English and Literary Studies Major Website
School of Humanities and Global Studies Website
Faculty Profiles