Learning Outcomes

By the successful completion of a semester of First-Year Writing, students will be able to demonstrate:

By the successful completion of their Literature Core course, students will be able to demonstrate:

  • an ability to close-read, interpret, and analyze texts;
  • an ability to write clear, coherent, organized, grammatically correct and stylistically competent prose;
  • an awareness of literary genres and terminology;
  • a recognition of the historical and cultural specificity of literary texts; and
  • an appreciation of the human imagination.

By the successful completion of the English major at BC, students will be able to demonstrate:

  • an ability to write clear, coherent, organized, and stylistically correct papers;
  • an ability to close-read, interpret, and analyze texts (including poetic texts);
  • a knowledge of literary genres and appropriate use of critical terminology;
  • a recognition of the historical specificity of literary works and/or other cultural products;
  • an awareness that there are a variety of critical approaches to literary and cultural texts.

The English MA program at °¬¿ÉÖ±²¥ College provides students a challenging intellectual experience that maintains a core focus on exploring the richness of literary study. It also offers plentiful opportunities to acquire skills applicable to a wide range of academic and professional settings. Through their course of study, candidates should be able to:

  • read texts closely;
  • write more capably;
  • demonstrate familiarity with varied and current theoretical approaches;
  • gain more knowledge about advanced research practices;
  • attain a thorough understanding of historical periodization.


The English MA program is explicitly designed to be a two-year standalone degree program. In the second year, selected applicants have the opportunity to design and teach their own college writing course both semesters, for which they receive training, °¬¿ÉÖ±²¥mentoring, and ongoing support and instruction. Students also have the opportunity to work with accomplished °¬¿ÉÖ±²¥in literature courses, gaining hands-on experience teaching literature, administering complex assignments, and designing specific lessons.

Upon completion of the Ph.D., graduates will be able to:

  • Write academic articles and reviews at the scholarly level in informed, intelligible prose.
  • Research, design and be examined on two long reading lists in major and minor fields of literary study of their construction and choice.
  • Demonstrate mastery of an individual chronological or national literary field of their choice.
  • Choose or define a question in their chosen field of literary study, and write an effective dissertation on it.
  • Teach effectively courses in English, both at the introductory and advanced level, in the community college, four-year college, or university setting.
  • Publish their research in peer-reviewed journals and present papers at conferences.
  • Secure an academic or teaching position.