Program Requirements

About the Major

English majors must complete a minimum of 30-33 semester credit hours. Courses will introduce you to literary study and explore authors, genres, history, culture, and language in literature. The program also requires experiential study, which could include an internship, independent study, research, service-learning, or other options.

About the Minor

A minor in English requires at least 15 semester credit hours.

Departmental Honors

Junior English majors who want to take their writing to the next level, dive deep into an exciting project, or pursue graduate school are encouraged to apply for departmental honors.

Students seeking departmental honors will select a topic for their honors project and work closely with a faculty advisor throughout their senior year while enrolled in ENG 488 (Independent Study for Honors in English).

Upon completion, students will present their projects publicly at BEAR Day, a regional conference, or, in special cases, to a select group of Mercer faculty.

Students must maintain a 3.50 GPA in upper-division English classes to achieve honors. Additional information, including the application, is available to current students on the English Students page in Canvas.

Secondary Teacher Certification

Teacher certification in English for teaching sixth through 12th grades is available. Students planning to teach English in secondary school should notify their advisor and contact the chair of teacher education in the Tift College of Education.