English (BA [International Honours] in English)

The Joint Degree Program in English

The Joint Degree Program in English Language and Literature allows students to gain from both the St Andrews in-depth and progressive approach to the study of English and the more broad-based and interdisciplinary William & Mary approach. The joint degree program in English provides distinctive opportunities for the development of writing skills, increased sensitivity to language, awareness of the aesthetic and intellectual enjoyments of literature, and an understanding of the cultural values reflected in literature. Students will be exposed to a range of historical periods and critical approaches to literature. They can also take creative writing classes. The program serves students who are seeking to teach; students who are preparing for graduate study in English; students who desire a rich intellectual and aesthetic experience in advance of professional study in fields such as law, medicine and business; and students who choose English simply because they enjoy the disciplined study of literature and language. All English majors in the joint program have the opportunity to work on an independent research project as part of their degree, either by writing a dissertation at St Andrews or by taking a senior research seminar at William & Mary. A student who chooses to spend Year 4 at William & Mary may qualify to work on a senior honors project either in literature or creative writing.

Requirements for the Joint Degree Program in English

Note: ENGL is the prefix for English and CRWR is the prefix for Creative Writing courses at W&M; EN is the prefix for English courses at St Andrews

Required Credit Hours

  • 61 credits toward the major, at least 21 of which are completed at William & Mary.
  • Credit Requirements During Honours Years (Years 3 and 4)
  • Students must earn at least 60 (W&M)/240 (StA) credits in Years 3 and 4 combined.
  • Of the 60/240, students must earn 30 (W&M)/120 (StA) credits at each university.
    • With the approval of the Programme Directors and major advisors at both institutions, students may apply up to six (6) 300- or 400-level credits taken at W&M during the summers before Years 3 and 4 toward the total required Honours credits.
    • Of the 60/240, students must earn at least 52.5 (W&M)/210 (StA) credits at the 300(0)-400(0) level in Years 3 and 4 combined. Normally, no more than 7.5/30 credits below the 300(0) level may be earned. No courses below the 300(0) level will be used for St Andrews classification.
      • Of the 60/240 total credits, at least 45 (W&M)/180 (StA) credits must be in the major at the 300(0)-400(0) level.
        • Of the 45/180 major credits, at least 22.5 (W&M)/90 (StA) must be at the 4000 level at St Andrews or at the equivalent level at W&M. Some 300 level courses at W&M will count towards this requirement. See the major advisor for a list.

Major Writing Requirement

Fulfilled by the Capstone Experience requirement of the major.

Major Computing Requirement

Fulfilled by the Capstone Experience requirement of the major.

Capstone Experience:

All JDP students complete a major research project as a capstone experience during year 4, which involves extensive, independent, faculty-mentored research.

At W&M

Students may either complete an Honors Thesis or complete a Research Seminar in English (COLL 400). Students choose one of the following:

ENGL 475 Seminar in English

OR

ENGL 495 Honors and
ENGL 496 Honors

At St Andrews

EN 4399 Dissertation in English Credits (7.5)

Core Requirements

All majors in the joint program are required to take the following:

Plan of Study Grid
First YearHours
Select one of the following: 6
Interpreting Literature
and British Literature II (at W&M)
 
EN1003 Culture and Conflict: An Introduction to 19th and 20th Century Literature
 
 Hours6
Second Year
Select one of the following: 6
Interpreting Literature
and British Literature I (at W&M )
 
EN2004 Explorers and Revolutionaries 1680-1830 AND
 
EN2003 Medieval and Renaissance Texts (at St Andrews)
 
 Hours6
 Total Hours12

Note

A single course can be used to satisfy no more than two of the following requirements.

American Literature
Select one Course or Module in American Literature:3
American Literature: Themes and Issues
Early American Literatures
Literatures of American Nationalism and the Crisis of Slavery
Literatures of Emancipation, Reconstruction, and Incorporation
American Modernism to the 1960s
Early Black American Literature
Modern African-American Literature
Topics in American Literature
Topics in American Literature Before 1920
Afr-Amer Women Writers
EN3210 (St Andrews)
EN4370 (St Andrews)
EN4409 (St Andrews)
EN4418 (St Andrews)
EN4419 (St Andrews)
Upper-Level/Honours
Select one course in two of the three period groupds below?3
Medieval:
Beowulf
Arthurian Literature
Topics in Old English Literature
Medieval Literature
Topics in British Literature Before 1700
EN3111 (St Andrews)
EN3112 (St Andrews)
EN3113 (St Andrews)
EN4311 (St Andrews)
EN4312 (St Andrews)
EN4314 (St Andrews)
EN4315 (St Andrews)
EN4316 (St Andrews)
ME3502 (St Andrews)
Renaissance:
Early Modern British Literature
Renaissance and Restoration
English Renaissance Drama
Topics in British Literature Before 1700 (depending on the topic)
EN3141 (St Andrews)
EN3142 (St Andrews)
EN3143 (St Andrews)
EN4341 (St Andrews)
EN4342 (St Andrews)
EN4343 (St Andrews)
EN4344 (St Andrews)
EN4345 (St Andrews)
EN4346 (St Andrews)
EN4347 (St Andrews)
EN4348 (St Andrews)
EN4350 (St Andrews)
EN4351 (St Andrews)
18th-19th Century:
Enlightenment & Sensibility
The Rise of the Novel
Romanticism and Revolution
English Novel, 1832-1900
Topics in British Literature Between 1700 and 1900
EN3161 (St Andrews)
EN3162 (St Andrews)
EN3163 (St Andrews)
EN3164 (St Andrews)
EN3165 (St Andrews)
EN3166 (St Andrews)
EN4361 (St Andrews)
EN4362 (St Andrews)
EN4363 (St Andrews)
EN4364 (St Andrews)
EN4365 (St Andrews)
EN4367 (St Andrews)
EN4368 (St Andrews)
EN4369 (St Andrews)
EN4370 (St Andrews)
EN4372 (St Andrews)
EN4374 (St Andrews)
EN4423 (St Andrews)
Select one Course on Constructions of Race: 13
Early Black American Literature
Modern African-American Literature
Afr-Amer Women Writers
ENGL 417Topics in Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality3
Topics in Post-Coloniality
EN3213 (St Andrews)
EN4372 (St Andrews)
EN4374 (St Andrews)
EN4424 (St Andrews)
EN4433 (St Andrews)
EN4435 (St Andrews)
Dissertation Module
ENGL 475Seminar in English4
or ENGL 495 Honors
ENGL 496Honors3
or EN4399
Total Hours19
1

Courses in literature and expressive culture by people of color and those that take race as a central conceptual category for critical examination can be counted toward this requirement.  This requirement may be satisfied in combination with one of the courses that satisfy the American literature or period groups requirements above. 

Courses typically satisfying this requirement are listed below, but other courses may satisfy on a one-time basis when content is appropriate. 

Course Specific Requirements

Joint Programme students are required to complete the university’s foreign language, writing, quantitative, and major computing proficiencies and a first-year seminar (COLL 150). All William & Mary home students in their first year, and host students from StA at W&M in their second year, will take a COLL 150 and a 1-credit course in the Fall that will prepare them for the academic culture at W&M. W&M first year home students will also take, in the Spring semester of their first year, a 1-credit course that will prepare them for their first year abroad.

Knowledge objectives:

Every student must take a total of nine credits explicitly labelled COLL 200, with at least one course in each of the three knowledge domains of not less than three credits. In addition, students must take one additional course, of not less than three credits, in each of the three knowledge domains of ALV, CSI, and NQR, for a minimum total of 9 credits.

Knowledge Objectives and Proficiency Requirement Guidelines

College Board Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate examinations, and college-level coursework completed post-high school graduation may be used to satisfy Knowledge Domain objectives (not COLL 200), Foreign Language Proficiency, and Mathematics Proficiency. Note that the credit does not count towards the degree, even if it is used to fulfill these requirements.
The COLL 150 and COLL 200 requirements must be met at W&M.
All other requirements may be met with either W&M or StA coursework.