Undergraduate Program Requirements

Clarifications  

• While a single course can cover more than one distribution requirement, no course can be used to cover more than one genre or geographical category.  
• Up to two Barnard English courses can count identically to Columbia English courses; additional Barnard coursework must be approved by the DUS.  

Upcoming Changes

Students who declare an English major in 2025 and after will have a modified set of distribution  requirements, as follows.  Note that the total number of courses in the major will still be TEN.  Also note that these new requirements WILL NOT apply to those who declared their majors before 2025 (those students should follow the guidelines listed in the bulletin at the time of their major declaration).  

• ENGL 2000 (Approaches to Literary Study)
• Two courses focused on literature pre-1700
• One course focused on literature 1700-1900
• One course focused on literature 1900-present
• One course focused on Ethnicity and Race
• One course focusing on each of the following:  poetry, prose, drama/film/new media
• One course focusing on each of the following:  British, American, and Global/Comparative
• A “capstone experience” centered on a substantial piece of original research and/or writing.  Students can fulfill this requirement by writing  a Senior Essay, taking a 4000-level seminar (at any point) or both. 

Fulfillment of the English major requires the completion of at least TEN courses in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, with a grade higher than D. 

One of the ten courses used to fulfill the English major must be Approaches to Literary Study ENGL UN2000, along with the accompanying seminar section ENGL UN2001. ENGL UN2000 and ENGL UN2001 comprise a single course. Students may take this course in any year, although majors are urged to take it as early as possible, preferably in the freshman or sophomore year. ENGL UN2000 does not fulfill any distribution requirements.

Of the remaining nine courses, two may be taken outside the English and Comparative Literature Department (please consult the “Options and Restrictions” section). Courses taken within the department, however, must satisfy the following distribution requirements: 
 

PERIOD DISTRIBUTION

Three courses dealing primarily with periods before 1800
Restriction: only one course in Shakespeare may be used toward this requirement
 

GENRE DISTRIBUTION

One course in each of the following three generic categories: poetry, prose fiction/narrative, drama/film/new media
 

GEOGRAPHY DISTRIBUTION

One course in each of the following three geographical categories: British, American, comparative/global

 

NOTE:

A single course may fulfill more than one distribution requirement.  For example, a single lecture in medieval poetry would fulfill the following three requirements:  the period distribution "pre-1800", the genre distribution "poetry", and the geographical distribution "British." This does not, however, reduce the total number of required courses (ten for majors, eight for concentrators). 

Course Distribution Lists for the current term are available on the website and can be found in hard copy in the department office. An archive of past courses, and the distribution requirements they fulfill, can also be found on the same Course Listings webpage. If you feel that a course is not designated correctly (for instance, a course is not designated as fulfilling the poetry requirement, but in fact it covered a great deal of poetry), please contact the DUS to discuss.

Undergraduates matriculating in Fall 2023 or later will have the option of minoring in English (this will replace the concentration for those matriculating in 2024 or later).  The English Minor will consist of ENGL2000 (Approaches to Literary Study) plus four additional Columbia English courses (carrying the designation ENGL or CLEN), in any area.  Credit for transfer courses, summer courses, and Barnard courses should be determined in consultation with the DUS. 

Fulfillment of the English concentration requires the completion of at least EIGHT courses in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, with a grade higher than D. 

One of the eight courses used to fulfill the English concentration must be Literary Texts, Critical Methods ENGL UN3001, along with the accompanying seminar section ENGL UN3011. ENGL UN3001 and ENGL UN3011 comprise a single course. Students may take this course in any year, although concentrators are urged to take it as early as possible, preferably in the freshman or sophomore year. ENGL UN3001 does not fulfill any distribution requirements.

Of the remaining seven courses, two may be taken outside the English and Comparative Literature Department (please consult the “Options and Restrictions” section). Courses taken within the department, however, must satisfy the following distribution requirements: 
 

PERIOD DISTRIBUTION

Two courses dealing primarily with periods before 1800
Restriction: only one course in Shakespeare may be used toward this requirement
 

GENRE DISTRIBUTION

One course in two of the following categories (two total): poetry, prose fiction/narrative, drama/film/new media
 

GEOGRAPHY DISTRIBUTION

One course in two of the following literatures (two total): British, American, Global/Comparative

 

NOTE:

A single course may fulfill more than one distribution requirement.  For example, a single lecture in medieval poetry would fulfill the following three requirements:  the period distribution "pre-1800", the genre distribution "poetry", and the geographical distribution "British." This does not, however, reduce the total number of required courses (ten for majors, eight for concentrators). 

Course Distribution Lists for the current term are available on the website and can be found in hard copy in the department office. An archive of past courses, and the distribution requirements they fulfill, can also be found on the same Course Listings webpage. If you feel that a course is not designated correctly (for instance, a course is not designated as fulfilling the poetry requirement, but in fact it covered a great deal of poetry), please contact the DUS to discuss.

Courses that DO NOT count toward the major/concentration:

• Core classes such as University Writing (ENGL C1010 or F1010) and Literature and Humanities

• Courses taken Pass/Fail, or receiving a grade of D;  note, however, that the first course taken in the department can be taken P/F, and can count toward the major or concentration, so long as it is not LTCM 

Courses that DO count toward the major/concentration:

• English Department courses used to satisfy the Global Core requirement
• Barnard English courses; there is no limit to the number of Barnard courses that can apply towards the major or concentration, and these can also fulfill distribution requirements, in consultation with the DUS
• Up to two courses offered through Creative Writing, comparative literature (these will have course numbers beginning with CL), and foreign language departments (if they are upper-level courses concentrating on literature, rather than language proficiency);  important: courses taken outside English do not fulfill any distribution requirements; note, however, that Comparative Literature courses with the designation CLEN are in fact English Department courses; there is, therefore, no limit to how many can be taken, and they do fulfill distribution requirements
• Up to two summer classes 
• The Senior Essay, or an independent study course (although there is no limit to the number of independent studies you can take in the department, only one of these can count toward the major or concentration) 
• Transfer and Study Abroad credits (in consultation with the DUS)