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

UMA degrees are flexible. Here’s a sample of how you could complete your English degree:

Sample Curriculum

During their first year, students typically take ENG 101: College Writing, designed to prepare students for a variety of academic writing. This is followed by ENG 102: Introduction to Literature, which introduces fundamentals of literary analysis through close reading of poetry, short fiction, and drama. These two courses show students writing as a process, introduce research methods, and model critical reading skills.

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

In their second year, students 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.

Students may also take upper-level ENG courses, such as a required Cultural Diversity Elective, or begin to focus on a concentration.

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

Students 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 301W: History of the English language is also recommended in students’ third year, as it covers the development of English and its rise as an international world language.

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 301W: History of the English Language
ENG 3XXs: Upper Levels

In their fourth year, students may continue with upper-level courses for a concentration in cultural studies or writing, or complete upper-level English courses that coincide with specific interests, including Native-American Literature, Graphic Storytelling, or Shakespeare. During their final spring semester students must complete 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. Students also plan and participate in our annual Undergraduate English Conference.

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.