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Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses
ENG-2260	Critical Approaches to Literature	4
ENG-2420	American Literature I, 1500-1865	4
or ENG-2430	American Literature II, 1865-Present
ENG-2520	British Literature I	4
or ENG-2530	British Literature II
ENG-4990	Senior Seminar in English	4
Other Courses 2
Language Courses
ENG-2450	Grammar	4
ENG-3550	Language, Literacy, and Cognition	4
Advanced Writing Course
Select four semester hours of the following:		4
ENG-2060	Introduction to Creative Writing
ENG-3020	Advanced Academic Writing
WRI-3810-9	Selected Topics in Writing
Young Adult Literature Course
EDU/ENG-3185	Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults	4
Selected Courses
Select 8 semester hours of the following:		8
ENG-3500	Contemporary World Literature
ENG-3510	Gender and Literature
ENG-3530	Race and Literature
Education Courses for Secondary Licensure 3
EDU-2100	Foundations of Teaching and Learning	4
EDU-2260	Learning Theories and Applications K-12	4
EDU-3620	Teaching and Assessing Diverse Learners in the Secondary Classroom	4
EDU-3720	Reading Across the Curriculum	4
EDU-4750	Student Teaching	13
EDU-4760	Student Teaching Seminar	2
SPED-2120	Characteristics and Identification of Disabilities and the Law	4
SPED-4620	Collaboration Models for Inclusion	4
Additional Required Courses for Secondary Education English Licensure Students 3
COM-1560	Public Speaking	4
EDU-3200	Content Area Methods for the Secondary Classroom	4
ENG-2260	Critical Approaches to Literature	4
ENG-2450	Grammar	4
ENG-3185	Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults	4
ENG-3550	Language, Literacy, and Cognition	4
Total Credits		103

¹

A 3.0 major GPA is required one semester prior to taking student teaching (EDU-4750 Student Teaching & EDU-4760 Student Teaching Seminar). 

²

Select at least 12 hours at the 3000-level

³

Secondary education candidates will also complete the supplemental major in secondary education.

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

A student who graduates from Aurora University with a baccalaureate degree will have met the following requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for an approved major (with no grades lower than “C”).
2. Overall completion of at least 120 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (a course may be utilized only once in application toward a degree requirement, unless otherwise noted in the academic regulations). The 120 semester hours of coursework must include:
   • At least 52 semester hours completed at a senior college.
   • Residency Requirement - At least 30 semester hours completed at Aurora University, including the last 24 semester hours in the degree, and including at least 18 semester hours in the major. (Portfolio assessment credit, life and vocational experience credit, off-campus experience credit, examination credit, participation credit, and block credit, shall not count toward the residency requirement).
   • Upper-Division Requirement - A minimum of 30 semester hours numbered 3000 or above. Of these 30 semester hours, 15 semester hours must lie within the major and 15 semester hours must be completed at Aurora University.
3. Completion of all General Education requirements (with no grades lower than “C”), as follows:
   • Quantitative and Formal Reasoning competency requirement
   • ENG-1000 Introduction to Academic Writing
   • IDS-1200 Discover What Matters or IDS-3040 Global Justice
   • IDS-1150 First Year Experience - Not required for Transfer or AU Online students)
   • Satisfactory participation in the junior-year mentoring and assessment process designed to guide students to successful completion of their degree and to encourage planning for next steps beyond graduation. (IDS-3500 Junior Mentoring Program I and IDS-3550 Junior Mentoring Program II - Not required for ADC or AU Online students but may be designated electives for AU Online students admitted with fewer than 15 hours of transfer credit.)
   • Distribution Requirements
     Students will complete one approved course¹ from each of the following categories:
     • Artistic Literacy
     • Cultural Literacy
     • Human Inquiry
     • Scientific Inquiry

In addition to the above, ADC and Online students will also complete one approved course¹ from the following category:

• Discovery and Reflection

¹

Only courses that are approved to meet the distribution requirement can be used toward this requirement. See the list of approved courses  for available options. Courses taken to meet distribution requirements are 4 semester hours apiece, with the following exceptions:

• An approved transfer course of at least 2.50 semester hours can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
• Courses with co-requisite laboratory components may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement, provided that the student successfully complete both the three-credit-hour course and the single-credit-hour lab component.

Learning Outcomes

1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of canonical and non-canonical works of literature written in English.
   • Ability to analyze individual works of literature
   • Ability to explain relationships between literary works and the historical or cultural contexts that shape their production and interpretation 
   • Ability to explain the reasons for the evolving nature of the literary canon and its significance
2. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the structures and uses of the English language.
   • Ability to reflect critically upon the operations of components of linguistic structures, such as grammar, linguistic variety, or the social issues surrounding language use
   • Ability to reflect critically upon the processes of language acquisition and literacy and the ways that language in print and non-print media affects cognition
3. The student will compose successful expository, interpretive, argumentative, and research-based writing specific to the discipline of English.
   • Compose writing that is focused, purposeful, coherent, fluid, and articulate
   • Compose successful works of creative, technical, or advanced academic writing
4. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role that literary criticism and critical theory play in the understanding of literature and in the discipline of English.
   • Ability to understand, evaluate, and incorporate literary criticism into one’s reading, writing, and speaking about literary texts
   • Written and oral expression of the individual English Major’s stance as a reader of literature, a critical writer, and a student of the English language

Education Outcomes

1. Candidates will demonstrate content knowledge in their program.
2. Candidates will demonstrate the ability to plan instruction.
3. Candidates will demonstrate success in Clinical Placements.
4. Candidates will demonstrate ability to impact student learning.
5. Candidates will demonstrate the dispositions necessary for professional educators.
6. Programs will demonstrate ability to produce effective educators.