English - All Programs

About this opportunity

In ASU’s English literature program, students examine texts from the classics to contemporary, from speculative to satirical, from popular to poetic. The program offers myriad ways to approach literatures and the cultures that produce and circulate them, with specialties in borderland studies, environmental humanities, health humanities, Indigeneity, medieval and Renaissance studies (especially explorations of race in the Early Modern period), translation, and more.

In-person offerings include a BA in English (literature), MA in English with a literature track, and PhD in English (literature). The literature program also facilitates in-person certificates: an undergraduate certificate in health humanities and graduate certificates in translation studies and in critical theory.

The online BA in English and MA in English (English studies) can be customized to include a robust literature core.

Thesis

Students completing a thesis with literature faculty will usually be English majors or minors in the Literature concentration. However, faculty may also agree to work with students who are not English majors or minors, or whose theses will not be in the areas of concentration. The thesis is generally expected to be about 60-80 pages in length, but, in consultation with the thesis director, students can also choose many formats including; creative, applied or media layouts. The minimum number of committee members is two, a director and second committee member. The director must be an ASU faculty member in the English department (tenure-line, lecturer, or instructor). However, a director may insist on stricter requirements (e.g., having a third member, or that all members must be faculty). It is the students' responsibility to formulate the thesis topic, ask faculty to serve on the committees submit the necessary forms, and ascertain and inform the director of the committee of all honors college requirements and deadlines.

Academic Preparation

Students writing a thesis with a faculty member in literature will usually have completed a majority of the requirements for the Literature concentration, including at least one 400-level class. A faculty member in the English department needs to agree to serve as chair on the topic proposed by the student. In consultation with the chair, the student will constitute a mutually agreed upon thesis committee and finalize a prospectus in preparation for the public defense.

Recommended Timeline

Students should begin thinking about their thesis in their junior year and reach out to eligible faculty with whom they have taken classes and who they think would make a good thesis director. They should have a thesis director by the end of their junior year. In consultation with the director, students should then constitute the committee, finalize the topic of their honor's thesis, and submit a prospectus before the start of their senior year. In their senior year, students should write their thesis and regularly meet with their thesis committee to prepare for the defense, which will usually be scheduled in the first half of the spring semester.

Other Honors Opportunities

Many faculty members offer honors enrichment contracts. which are determined by the professor in consultation with the student.

The English department also offers a variety of internship opportunities: for students seeking a general English-related experience and for students in our Writing Certificate Program. We have relationships with local businesses and agencies, including university departments and non-profit agencies. The writing internship coordinator works with students on finding an internship suitable to their needs and on establishing contact with an internship sponsor. Students are also welcome to seek out local internships on their own, as long as they are both professional in nature and writing-intensive. These outside internships should be approved by the writing internship coordinator.

Students in our programs also have access to affiliated centers and initiatives directed and co-directed by our award-winning faculty, including the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands, the Center for Science and the Imagination, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, the Institute for Humanities Research, Project Humanities, and the Environmental Humanities Initiative and BRIDGES Sustainability Science Coalition.