English

Application Deadline
- Spring: December 8
- Summer: April 12 (early sessions
- Fall: July 26
Class Begins
- Spring: January 8, 2024
- Summer: May 6, 2024 (early sessions)
- Fall: August 19, 2024
Degree Awarded
Bachelor of Arts
in English
WSU College
College of Arts and Sciences
What You’ll Learn
Along with gaining practical communication knowledge and writing expertise, you’ll learn how to be a critical and analytical consumer of information. You’ll learn how to communicate information to others effectively and persuasively, in a wide variety of contexts and settings, both textually and visually. You will also gain direct experience and training in digital tools and multimedia modes for research, writing, and publication. Graduates will be well-prepared to enter the job market as professional or technical writers in a wide variety of fields, including business, public service, law, science/technology, media/public relations and more.
Program of Study
All courses are available online
All WSU undergraduates must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits of which 40 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level. Students must also complete the University Common Requirements (UCORE). These can generally be satisfied with a direct transfer degree. For a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transferring an Associate Degree web page.
Students must also fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences graduation requirements and the program requirements of the degree. Time to degree completion varies depending on semester of enrollment and course availability. Not all courses are available all semesters. Your academic advisor will help map out the best plan for you.
The major requires 36 credits in ENGLISH course work at 300-400 level courses. Students must also complete at least one Humanities elective.
3 semester credits (select one; additional courses may also be available)
- Humanity 103 – Mythology
- Humanity 302 [HUM] [M] – Humanities in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
15 semester credits
- ENGLISH 301 [WRTG] – Writing and Rhetorical Conventions
- ENGLISH 302 [M] – Introduction to English Studies
- ENGLISH 360 – Principles of Rhetoric
- ENGLISH 362 [EQJS] – Rhetorics of Racism
- ENGLISH 461 [M] – Theory and Practice in Technical and Professional Writing or ENGLISH 460 [M] The Scope of Rhetoric
3 semester credits (select one)
- ENGLISH 373 – 20th and 21st Century Global Literatures in English
- ENGLISH 370 – The Making of English: Literature, Language and Culture Before 1600
18 semester credits (select six; additional courses may also be available)
- ENGLISH 308 [M] – Introduction to Literary Criticism
- ENGLISH 361 – Everyday Rhetoric
- ENGLISH 401 – History of Rhetoric
- ENGLISH 402 [WRTG] [M] – Technical and Professional Writing
- ENGLISH 405 – Advanced Professional Writing and Editing
- ENGLISH 495 – Rhetoric of Science and Technology
- ENGLISH 365 [WRTG] – Proposal Writing
Students must complete the University Writing Portfolio, and two Writing in the Major courses. For online students, the Writing in the Major requirement will be fulfilled with ENGLISH 460 or 461 and ENGLISH 302.
All students, including community college transfer students with an approved transferable AA degree from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona or Hawaii, or students pursuing a second major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will be held to the following additional requirements:
- Foreign Language: Complete 2 years of high school or 1 year of college in a single foreign language
- Additional 3 semester credits of [SSCI], [HUM], or [ARTS] for a total of 12 semester credits of UCORE
- Additional 1 lab credit of [BSCI], [PSCI] for a total of 8 semester credits and 2 labs.
Please review the online WSU Catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements.