Explore these tabs to learn more about UMA’s English program.

Learning Outcomes

The English faculty delivering the Bachelor of Arts in English degree at the University of Maine at Augusta is committed to the development and enhancement of our students’ skills, abilities, and competencies and anticipates the following outcomes:

  • Think critically about oral, written, and visual texts
  • Write well developed expository, persuasive, and critical essays
  • Design documents to meet the needs of readers
  • Edit documents effectively
  • Understand and evaluate the rhetorical strategies writers use to achieve their purposes
  • Understand the components of poetry, fictions, and drama
  • Have knowledge of works from different periods and genres within the evolving canon of English language texts, including but not limited to texts of women, ethnic and racial minorities, Anglophone authors, and lesbian and gay authors
  • Understand the historical contexts of literature
  • Understand various critical and theoretical approaches to texts
  • Synthesize knowledge and practice through performances, presentations, projects, essays and research papers
  • Locate, evaluate and properly cite primary source material, literary criticism, theory, and other scholarly texts

This is the ideal schedule as would be taken by the student who is completing a degree in four years and taking a full course load each fall and spring semester. Of course, many students cannot do this for a variety of reasons. But the following information will give you a sense of what courses should be taken, in what order, and what the general outline of your program should look like, regardless of its overall time period that you need to complete your UMA degree.   

Sample Curriculum

In your first year, you will take ENG 101: College Writing, followed by ENG 102: Introduction to Literature, the first-year writing sequence for all UMA students. You might precede ENG 101 with ENG 100: Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing to build your skills so that you can succeed in ENG 101 and 102. The rest of your courses will be devoted to fulfilling UMA’s general education requirements.

[ENG 100: Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing]

ENG 101: College Writing
ENG 102W: Introduction to Literature

In your second year, in addition to taking more courses that fulfill general education requirements, you should take a sequence of literature surveys (British literature I and II or American literature I and II.). These classes build on close reading skills and literary analysis, as well as introduce theoretical lenses for examining literature in a particular historical framework.

You may also take upper-level ENG courses, such as a required cultural diversity elective. You may also begin to focus on coursework for your track, such as our writing track.

The British literature survey sequence (ENG 202 and 203) is offered each fall of even-numbered years and spring of odd-numbered years—for example, fall 2024 and spring 2025. The American literature survey sequence (ENG 250 and 251) is offered each fall of odd-numbered years and spring of even-numbered years—for example, fall 2025 and spring 2026.

ENG 202W Survey of British Literature 1 or ENG 250W: Survey of American Literature 1
ENG 203W: Survey of British Literature II or ENG 251W: Survey of American Literature II
ENG 3XX: 300-level electives

At this point, you should have declared your major as English, and now your coursework will be primarily devoted to English studies.

In your third year, you should take ENG 300W: Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism after completing at least one survey sequence. This course deepens the conversation of literary theory and criticism, and literary research techniques. ENG 300 is offered each fall of even-/odd-numbered years.

Students may continue to choose upper-level English courses to satisfy requirements or focus on a concentration.

ENG 300W: Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory
ENG 3XXs: Upper-level courses

In your fourth year, you will continue with upper-level elective courses. In your final spring semester (or the spring before your final year), you must take ENG 499: Senior Seminar. This capstone class gives English majors the opportunity to engage in rigorous research and discussion, culminating in a senior seminar paper. You will also participate in our annual student research conference, where you will present your work. ENG 499 is offered each spring of even-numbered years – for example, spring 2024 and 2026.

ENG 3XX or 4XX upper-level electives for BA in English   OR
ENG 3XX or 4XX upper-level concentrations for Cultural Studies or Writing

ENG 499: Senior Seminar

Courses are subject to change. View the official UMA Catalog here.