General Requirements:

  • At least one-half of the English major must be completed at New Paltz.
  • Composition credits (ENG160 Composition IENG170 Writing and RhetoricENG180 Composition IIENG206 Advanced Writing and RhetoricENG207 Intermediate Composition ) do not count toward the major requirement.
  • Courses taken S*/U* (student-elected Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) or receiving a grade below C- will not count toward the major.

Note: Students who transfer 3-credit courses that are equivalent to 4-credit ENG courses at New Paltz may need to take more English electives than are noted in the plans of study below. All students majoring in English (Liberal Arts) must complete at least 37 credits; English majors with a concentration in Creative Writing must complete at least 38 credits.

Major in English: Liberal Arts

(37-40 credits)

Foundational Courses (16 Credits)
ENG300Seminar in Critical Practices4
ENG303Introduction to British Literature4
ENG333Introduction to American Literature4
ENG343Transnational Literature4
or ENG353 Multiethnic and Diasporic Literature
Theory Requirement (4 Credits)
ENG420Literary Criticism 4
or ENG423 Contemporary Literary Theory
Capstone Course (4 Credits)
ENG451Senior Seminar 4
English Electives (13-16 Credits)
Select one of the following upper-division courses in literature before 1800:3-4
The Bible
Medieval Literature
Elizabethan Literature
Shakespeare I: Selected Works
Shakespeare II: Selected Works
Seventeenth-Century Literature
Eighteenth-Century English Literature
The Rise of the Novel
The Epic Tradition
Early American Literature
Major Authors (if appropriate)
English Selected Topics (if appropriate)
Select one of the following upper-division courses in literature before 1900:3-4
The Bible
Medieval Literature
Elizabethan Literature
Shakespeare I: Selected Works
Shakespeare II: Selected Works
Seventeenth-Century Literature
Eighteenth-Century English Literature
The Rise of the Novel
Nineteenth-Century English Novel
The Romantics in England
Victorian Literature
Early American Literature
Nineteenth-Century American Literature
The American Renaissance
Literature and Culture in the Age of Darwin
Major Authors (if approprate)
English Selected Topics (if appropraite)
Select one 400-level course in English 14
Select one additional course in English 23-4
Total Credits37-40
1

excluding ENG445 Creative Writing Workshop II , ENG448 Writing the Novel, ENG452 The Craft of Fiction , ENG453 The Craft of Poetry , ENG454 The Craft of Creative Non Fiction , ENG455 The Craft of Dramatic Writing

2

excluding ENG160 Composition I, ENG170 Writing and Rhetoric, ENG180 Composition II, ENG206 Advanced Writing and Rhetoric, ENG207 Intermediate Composition , ENG224 Expository Writing , ENG226 Practical Grammar , ENG345 Creative Writing Workshop I , ENG348 Dramatic Writing Stag and Scrn, ENG445 Creative Writing Workshop II , ENG448 Writing the Novel, ENG452 The Craft of Fiction , ENG453 The Craft of Poetry , ENG454 The Craft of Creative Non Fiction , ENG455 The Craft of Dramatic Writing

Major in English with Concentration in Creative Writing

(38-39 credits)

Required Foundational Courses (12 Credits)
ENG303Introduction to British Literature4
ENG333Introduction to American Literature4
ENG343Transnational Literature4
or ENG353 Multiethnic and Diasporic Literature
Introductory Creative Writing Workshops (7 Credits)
ENG345Creative Writing Workshop I 3
ENG445Creative Writing Workshop II 14
Craft Courses (8 Credits)
Select at least two of the following: 28
The Craft of Fiction
The Craft of Poetry
The Craft of Creative Non Fiction
The Craft of Dramatic Writing
Elective Courses (11-12 Credits)
Select two 400-level courses in English 38
Select one 300-level or above course in English 43-4
Total Credits38-39
1

Portfolio review: All Creative Writing majors are required to submit a portfolio for review after taking Creative Writing Workshop II. You must pass the portfolio review before you are permitted to take the Craft courses. Instruction and dates for portfolio submission are available in the English Department office. 

2

taken only after passing the portfolio review

3

 excluding ENG452 The Craft of Fiction , ENG453 The Craft of Poetry , ENG454 The Craft of Creative Non Fiction , ENG455 The Craft of Dramatic Writing

4

excluding ENG348 Dramatic Writing Stag and Scrn, ENG452 The Craft of Fiction , ENG453 The Craft of Poetry , ENG454 The Craft of Creative Non Fiction , ENG455 The Craft of Dramatic Writing