English

Dinah J. Ryan, Professor

Heidi J. Snow, Professor

Sara J. Wienecke, Assistant Professor

Faculty from other disciplines also support this program.

The English department offers diverse courses, programs, and activities to encourage students to cultivate scholarly, creative, and analytical voices while developing a sense of professionalism in all their work. Students in the major become active participants in a community involved in intellectual and artistic practice. The English department builds this community through a wide range of challenging and engaging classes and regular on- and off-campus special events such as student readings, visits from authors, trips to St. Louis for book talks and readings, and abroad programs. Students may earn a major or minor in English with concentrations in Literary Studies or Creative Writing.

The English major requirements are designed to introduce students to a range of literature, research methods, theories, and writing practices. In planning their major, students may choose from a range of courses from modules including regional/chronological, voices of difference, and genre. At least 18 semester hours of the required courses taken for either concentration of the English major must be at the 300 or 400 level. Students in the Literary Studies concentration must take a creative writing course; students in the Creative Writing concentration may not count a creative writing course as an elective in the major. To complete a major or minor offered by the English department, a student must earn a GPA of 2.0 or higher for all the courses (required and elective) taken for that program.

For a major, transfer students who have not yet attended Principia College must take at least five classroom courses (15 semester hours) from Principia English Department faculty. Four of these courses must be numbered at the 300 or 400 level.

It is recommended that English majors who are considering a career in secondary education take a Shakespeare course and a U.S. literature course as part of their major requirements.

If you have questions about the English major, you can email the department chair.