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Minors

The Department of English offers minors that students may use to supplement their majors and make themselves more marketable.  The Latina and Latino Studies minor, Rhetoric minor, Sexuality and Gender Studies minor, and Technical Writing minor all include English courses that may potentially count towards major requirements.

You may view the specific requirements for each of these minors at:

https://bulletins.psu.edu/

Students may enroll in minors on LionPath once they have been accepted in a major and completed at least 60 credits.

English Minor

This minor allows students not majoring in English to select any combination of English department courses to meet their needs. (ENGL 15, 30, 137H, 138T, and 202 do not count towards the minor.) Courses that help students improve their critical reading and writing skills are valuable regardless of students’ future directions.

Professionals in business, science, social service, government, and education need to understand and communicate with people just as they need to understand the technical workings of the marketplace.

  • Literature offers insights into human behavior and aspirations, and provides useful perspectives on our cultural values.
  • Writing requires logical thinking about a body of evidence in order to formulate a point of view and to find the most precise and appealing ways in which to present it.
  • The study of both writing and literature develops analytic skills essential for managerial positions in any field.
  • Select 6 credits from ENGL 200-299 (Sem: 3-8)
  • Select 6 credits from ENGL 400-499 (Sem: 3-8)
  • Select 6 additional credits in English (Sem: 3-8)
  •  

Students may select any combination of literature and/or writing courses that meets their needs. All courses for the minor must be completed with at least a grade of C or better. Students may not count courses used to satisfy General Education Writing/Speaking.

For additional information about the English Minor, please go to https://bulletins.psu.edu//undergraduate/colleges/liberal-arts/english-minor/ or visit the English Department in 434 Burrowes Building.

Creative Writing Minor

This minor offers students not majoring in English the opportunity to explore different forms of creative writing–fiction, poetry, and nonfiction–or to focus primarily on one of them. Students receive instruction and practice in the art and craft of writing in small workshop courses where their own writing is discussed, along with published work by contemporary and classic writers. Students gain skills that translate well into writing across disciplines, learning to be more precise and imaginative writers in the process.

For additional information about the Creative Writing Minor, please go to https://bulletins.psu.edu//undergraduate/colleges/liberal-arts/creative-writing-minor/ or visit the English Department in 434 Burrowes Building.

Technical Writing Minor

This minor responds to the growing need in business, industry, and government for people who can communicate the results of technical work at a level of competence substantially above that usually found in beginning professionals. Indeed, industry and government leaders testify repeatedly that professional success depends both on excellent professional work and on the powerful communication of that work.

English majors may use the same courses to satisfy both the English major requirements and the minor requirements.

Professor in Charge:
Stuart Selber
113 Burrowes Building
Phone: 863-8032
Email: selber@psu.edu

Prescribed courses (3 credits): English 418 – Advanced Technical Writing and Editing

Additional Courses (12-15 credits*):
Students must take credits from each of the following three groups for a total of 12-15 credits:

Select 3-6 credits from:

  • ENGL 470: Rhetorical Theory and Practice (3)
  • ENGL 471: Rhetorical Traditions (3)
  • ENGL 472: Current Theories of Writing and Reading (3)
  • ENGL 473: Rhetorical Approaches to Discourse (3)
  • ENGL 474: Issues in Rhetoric and Composition (3)
  • CAS 452 or 452W: Organizational Communication Theory and Research (3)
  • PHIL 407: Technology and Human Values (3)
  • PHIL 433: Ethics in Science and Engineering (3)


Select 6-9 credits from:

  • ENGL 415: Advanced Nonfiction Writing (3)
  • ENGL 416: Science Writing (3)
  • ENGL 417: The Editorial Process (3)
  • ENGL 419: Advanced Business Writing (3)
  • ENGL 420: Writing for the Web
  • ENGL 421: Advanced Expository Writing (3)
  • ENGL 478: Grant Writing (3)
  • ENGL 480: Communication Design for Writers (3)
  • ENGL 495: Internship (3-6)


Select 3-6 credits from:

  • ART 002: Interactive Learning and Web-Design (3)
  • ART 003: Visual Images on the Web (3)
  • ART 101: Introduction to Web Design (3)
  • GD 100: Introduction to Graphic Design (3)
  • LDT 100: World Technologies and Learning (3)
  • PSYCH 444: Engineering Psychology (3)
  • PSYCH 456: Advanced Cognitive Psychology (3)

 

Supporting Courses and Related Areas (0-3 credits)*:
Students may select a course at the 400-level in a technical or scientific area with the approval of the department.

*Some of the courses in this category may have prerequisites that are not included in the minor.

For additional information about the Technical Writing Minor, please go to https://bulletins.psu.edu//undergraduate/colleges/liberal-arts/technical-writing-minor/ or visit the English Department in 434 Burrowes Building.

Disability Studies Minor

This interdisciplinary minor studies disability as a matter not only of individual physical or mental impairment, but also of social systems and cultural history. Disability Studies explores the many varieties of human embodiment and human consciousness, and examines the institutions, social practices, and built environments that have shaped those assumptions about human norms

Required:

  • ENGL 228 Introduction to Disability Studies in the Humanities
  • RHS 100 Introduction to Disability Culture
  • ENGL 496
  • and three electives selected in consultation with the faculty director of the minor.

For additional information about the Disability Studies Minor, please go to https://disabilitystudiesminor.psu.edu/ or visit the English Department in 434 Burrowes Building.

Latina/o Studies Minor

This minor offers students across the University an opportunity to learn about the diverse histories, cultures, politics, migration patterns, and other aspects of Latina/o populations in the United States.

ENGL courses that count toward this minor include:

  • 226 Latina and Latino Border Theories; and
  • 426 Chicana and Chicano Cultural Production: Literature, Film, Music.

Please go to the following website for additional information:
https://latino.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/

 

Rhetoric Minor

This minor provides students an opportunity to acquire special competence in the history, theory, and criticism of civic discourse and cultural practices. It combines courses from both the Department of English and the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, from which students may learn about the nature and function of rhetoric in politics, the professions, the classroom, and the media.

Required:

  • ENGL 471 Rhetorical Traditions.

Other ENGL courses that count toward this minor include:

  • 415 Advanced Nonfiction Writing
  • 416 Science Writing
  • 417 The Editorial Process
  • 420 Writing for the Web
  • 472 Current Theories of Writing and Reading
  • 473 Rhetorical Approaches to Discourse, and
  • 474 Issues in Rhetoric and Composition.

Please go to the following website for more information:
https://cas.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/minors/

 

Sexuality and Gender Studies Minor

This minor addresses human sexuality and gender as they have been conceptualized and investigated by diverse disciplines:  humanities (including history and cultural studies), behavioral and social sciences, biological sciences, and visual and performance arts.

Required:

  • ENGL 245 Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies.

Other ENGL courses that count toward this minor include:

  • 225 Sexuality and Modern Visual Culture; and
  • 227 Introduction to Sexuality Studies. “Special Topics”

English courses may substitute with approval of the minor director when the topics are appropriate.

Please go to the following website for more information:
https://wgss.la.psu.edu/undergraduate/majors-and-minors/sexuality-and-gender-studies-minor/