UMass Boston

Apply for Admission

Please review the first-year and transfer apply pages for important information about application requirements, deadlines, and application status check.

Apply as a First-Year Student

Apply as a Transfer Student

Early action deadline: November 1; Regular Decision Deadline: June 15

Financing Your Education

Become a Beacon and pursue your passion in UMass Boston’s diverse, supportive environment. Many students across our 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs receive financial aid—providing access to an education that’s exceptional and affordable. Click below to learn more about financial aid opportunities and deadlines.

Financial Aid Deadlines & Application Process 

Scholarships for First-Year & Transfer Students

For additional information regarding tuition and fees, please visit the Bursar’s Office or send an email to Bursar@umb.edu.

Foundational English Courses (9 Credits)

• ENGL 200 - Introduction to Literary Studies 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 201 - Five British Authors 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 202 - Six American Authors 3 Credit(s)

Advanced Electives (18 Credits)

Take a total six advanced English electives at the 300-level or higher including the following categories.

Pre-1660 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

• ENGL 326 - Stage and Page: Drama Before 1642 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 382 - William Shakespeare’s Early Works 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 383 - William Shakespeare’s Later Works 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 385 - John Milton 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 401 - The Medieval Period 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 402 - The Renaissance in England 3 Credit(s)

1660 to 1900 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

• ENGL 320 - Memoir and Autobiography 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 327 - Stage and Page: Drama, 1660-1900 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 332 - Comedy 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 351 - Early African-American Literature 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 354 - Race in American Literature 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 365 - The British Novel and the Nineteenth Century 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 366 - Women and Men in Nineteenth-Century Literature 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 371 - The Coming-of-Age Novel 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 375 - Literature of the American Civil War 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 396 - Jane Austen 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 406 - The Victorian Age 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 408 - American Romanticism 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 409 - American Realism 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 440 - History of the English Language 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 470L - New England Literature and Culture 3 Credit(s)

Post-1900 Literature

Take at least one course from the list below.

• ENGL 328 - Stage and Page: Drama, 1900-Today 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 331 - Satire 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 334 - Science Fiction 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 335 - Children’s Literature 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 341L - Gender and Film: Multidisciplinary Perspectives 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 343 - Literature, Culture and Environment 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 345 - Literature of the American South 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 352L - Harlem Renaissance 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 369 - Post-1945 American Fiction 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 410 - The Modern Period 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 411 - Postcolonial Literary Studies 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 412 - Contemporary British Fiction and Film 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 438 - Reading the Graphic: Texts and Images 3 Credit(s)
• ENGL 489 - Terrorism and the Novel 3 Credit(s)

Capstone

Take one course from English 461 to 499 as a capstone course. English majors in the Teacher Licensure Program may count their practicum semester as a capstone experience. Students completing the creative writing concentration in English may use their required writing portfolio as the capstone experience. English majors who have an internship approved by the English Department’s internship supervisor may count their semester as an intern as a capstone experience if they enroll in either ENGL 475 or 476.

Additional Electives (6 Credits)

Take two additional English electives. At least one course must be at the 200-level or higher.

For more information on curriculum, including course descriptions and degree requirements, visit the Academic Catalog.

Upon completing their BA as an English major, graduates will be able to:

• Engage in the study of literature, language, film, and visual, digital, and multimodal texts and develop new habits of mind and new forms of critical thinking

• Close read and interpret both primary and secondary texts, creating new insights and arguments
• Write effective analytical arguments
• Develop research methods using library and database resources
• Organize, develop, and support research-based arguments
• Practice writing as a form of thinking, including creative writing, analytical writing, professional writing, and digital writing
• Connect creative thinking and analytical thinking, becoming both creators of texts and critics of texts
• Draw complex connections between diverse texts and their historical contexts, cultural environments, and literary histories
• Understand and analyze the creative, imaginative, and aesthetic elements of literature, language, film, and visual, digital and multimodal texts

Students may also choose to add a concentration to the major which will add additional requirements that can be used to fulfill major electives.

• Creative Writing Concentration
• Professional Writing and New Media Concentration
• English Teaching Concentration
• Irish Studies Concentration
• Literary History Concentration
• Race, Ethnicity, and Literature Concentration

If this is the student’s only or primary major, the degree requirements below must be completed for graduation. See graduation requirements for more information.

University Requirements

College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Bachelor of Arts

Degree Requirements

Complete 33 credits from eleven courses including three foundational English courses, six advanced electives, and two additional electives.

Students may also choose to add a concentration to the major which will add additional requirements that can be used to fulfill major electives.

Grade: No courses with a grade below C- may be applied toward the major
Pass/fail: No courses taken pass/fail may be applied toward the major.
Residency: At least six courses for the major must be completed at UMass Boston.

Jessyca Doyle, Undergraduate Programs
Office: Wheatley Hall, 6th Floor, Room 012
617-287-6736
english.department@umb.edu