English-Education Major

All students take ENGL 301 at the outset of the major to introduce them to the full range of English Studies, to its history and value in culture and higher education, and to the many careers open to those with English degrees.

History is central to English Studies. In order to interpret and create, we must understand how literature, language, rhetoric, and media have changed along with cultural change in their work of representing, critiquing, and imagining, and also how literature, language, rhetoric, and media thereby give us what we know as histories and counter histories. Educators require rigorous background in literary and cultural history as preparation for the wide variety of texts they will teach. Students must take 1 course in at least 5 out of these 6 historical periods:

• Beginning and Medieval
• Early Modern
• Long Eighteenth Century
• Long Nineteenth Century
• Twentieth Century
• Contemporary

Students pursuing a career in the education sector require a background in language, writing, and rhetorical studies. Studying the essential tools of writing, communication, presentation, and persuasion involves working with rhetorical and linguistic principles as well as local discourse conventions and audience beliefs, both past and present. Students in the double major must take 1 course in each of following topics, leaving the remaining 3 credits open for any language, writing, or rhetoric course:
 

• History, Analysis and Theory
• Practice, Performance, and Pedagogy

To allow students to explore additional topics, skills, and encounters of interest, the major includes elective credits, which may be filled by any ENGL or CMLT course.

This last element is a set of co-requirements, meaning that these should be fulfilled in the process of completing Elements 2-4 of the major. That is, students may count the same course toward one co-requirement and one requirement in Elements 2-4. The first two co-requirements prepare students to teach the English Language Arts standards of the United States Common Core Curriculum. The remaining co-requirements guide students toward approaches, skills, and perspectives that inform all areas of English Studies in their efforts to analyze, theorize, and practice literature, language, and media.
 
Element 5 Restriction: Students cannot count the same course for more than one of these co-requirements.

• American Literature (3 credits) In the Common Core Curriculum, educators teach the works of Poe, Dickinson, Douglass, Melville, Ellison, Morrison, and other important American authors. Students therefore require a knowledge of American literary history and are required to take at least one course on American literature.
• Shakespeare (3 credits) Educators teaching the Common Core Curriculum need to be prepared to teach Shakespeare’s works. Students will take at least one course on Shakespeare.
• Differences and Diasporas (3 credits): Literature, language, and media can serve as a crucial means for articulating heterogeneity, for charting local and global networks of belonging, and for pursuing civic engagement and responsibility. Students will take at least one course focusing on minority and other non-dominant voices pertaining to forms of social difference, such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and disability.
• Methods (3 credits): Assumptions about method imbue every analytical and creative engagement with literature, language, and media, shaping decisions about everything from what research questions deserve our attention to what techniques convey and multiply meaning in a poem or a film. These assumptions must become explicit for critics and artists to make informed decisions about their ideas and performances. Students will gain this awareness by taking at least 1 course that foregrounds major approaches within English Studies, including, poetics, critical theory, discourse analysis, critical making, and more.
• Advanced Writing (3 credits): Writing is a fundamental skill in English Studies and is one that students hone in all of their major courses, starting with ENGL 301. But, to ensure that students have dedicated time, space, and guidance in composition and analysis, they must take at least one course designated as Advanced Writing. These courses feature fewer students and a more concerted focus on discussing, workshopping, and practicing writing.

Advanced Writing Restriction: Students cannot count their Fundamental Studies Professional Writing course toward this requirement (or toward the double major more generally).

1. Five-Year Combined Bachelor/Master's in Secondary Education
   This program requires that students major in their selected content area (i.e., English) as an undergraduate; we encourage our English majors to follow the English courses required of English/Education double majors to ensure that they have a competitive transcript for admittance to this program. Prior to finishing the undergraduate degree, students complete 12 graduate-level credits related to teacher certification requirements. Following graduation from the bachelor's program, students spend a fifth year completing a year-long internship as well as additional graduate-level credits to earn the Master of Education and achieve eligibility for certification. Contact the College of Education for more information. 
2. Maryland Master's Certification Program (MCERT)
   This program provides a Master of Education in either elementary or secondary education. Students who already hold a bachelor's degree take 12 graduate-level credits in an intensive summer program before completing a year-long internship. While completing the internship, students take additional graduate credits during the fall (6-9 credits) and spring (6-9 credits). The program is completed with 3 credits fulfilled in the final summer session.
3. Post Baccalaureate Certification (PBC)
   Students interested in obtaining certification (without obtaining a master's degree) may complete this 30-34-credit program in the course of one year. This option is only offered for candidates seeking secondary certification, not elementary or TESOL. Contact the College of Education for more information. 
4. Creative Initiatives in Teacher Education (CITE)
   This program provides a Master of Elementary Education degree and preparation for certification. Students work in collaboration with Montgomery County Public Schools and the University of Maryland over the course of two academic years and one summer.
5. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
   This program includes several means of achieving a master's degree and/or teaching certification, providing training in adapting methods, materials and curricula to a variety of culturally and linguistically diverse settings in the U.S. and abroad.

For more information about these programs, schedule an appointment with an EDCI advisor by calling (301) 405-3120.