Students can minor either informally or formally. The informal minor is handled solely within the department. The formal minor is recognized by the Graduate School and will appear on the student's transcript.

MA Minors

MA candidates do not usually elect a minor. An MA candidate may opt to declare a minor outside the department, either informal or formal. That minor normally consists of nine credit hours listed or cross-listed in programs other than English (see Electing a Minor in the Master's Degree Requiements section of the Graduate School Handbook). It must be approved by the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (and, if the student wishes a formal minor, by the minor program; appropriate forms for this are available in the Graduate Studies Office).

If the student has a minor field of study, at least one member of the student’s thesis committee must represent the minor program.

Ph.D. Minors

Minors are normally chosen from Groups I-XII as well as the areas of American Studies, Celtic, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Drama, Latina/o Literature, Medieval Studies, the Novel, Poetry, Renaissance Studies, and Women’s Studies (please see approved minors outside Groups I-XII). However, students may petition the Graduate Advisory Committee for an alternative minor). There are two types:

1. Alternative minors within the department (e.g., Anglo-Irish Literature). There are no set number of hours for such minors.
2. Alternative minors outside the department (e.g., history, religious studies). These include at least fifteen credit hours of approved work in a program outside English. Such minors outside the department require faculty members from outside English to submit part of the written Ph.D. exams and to take part in the student’s oral examination. The student’s dissertation committee must also include at least one member from the minor field (Graduate School Handbook).

Students planning to pursue an alternative minor should pick up a copy of the Ph.D. Requirements: Petitioning for an Alternative Minor form from the Graduate Studies Office.

See also approved minors and alternative minors.  
 

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