2019-2020

English, Minor

Department of English

College of Arts and Letters

This flexible minor, with many approved electives, allows students to follow their love of English into the realms of literature, rhetoric, linguistics, or creative writing. The departmental portfolio of coursework is ripe with possibilities for individual interests, including technical writing, poetry, film as literature, folklore, or women writers.

  • A minor is earned in conjunction with a bachelor's degree.

    To receive a minor (18 - 24 units) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject matter areas with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0. At least 12 units of the minor must be unique to that minor and not applied to any other minor.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • Complete individual plan requirements.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

No more than fifty percent of the units used to satisfy minor requirements may be used to satisfy major requirements.

Minimum Units for Completion 21
Major GPA C

Purpose Statement

The minor in English introduces students to various approaches to the English language across the disciplines of Literature, Creative Writing, Rhetoric, and Applied Linguistics.
At the completion of the minor, students will have attained the high-level literacy skills and have practiced the research methods necessary to compete in graduate and professional schools, and to succeed in the workplace.

In the English minor, students have opportunities to develop an understanding of the close weave of logical thought and effective expression, to strive for more persuasive or creative uses of English, to cultivate knowledge and appreciation of literature from a variety of perspectives and cultures, to understand the structure of English and a range of issues related to its learning and use, and to recognize the global contexts of English.  The English Minor can thus help students prepare themselves to become productive, responsible members of the communities in which they live and work

Minors in English are encouraged to discuss upper-division courses with advisors in order to shape the program of study best suited to each student’s interests and long-term plans.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the English minor will demonstrate:

  • knowledge of language as a system, as well as knowledge about language change and variation over time and across demographics, cultures, and geographies,
  • an understanding of how effective writers and speakers adapt language to various purposes, and will show in their own work a knowledge of the operation of discourse features such as rhetorical situation, performative language, style, and diction, and the operation of different kinds of literacy,
  • an understanding of both emergent and established literary traditions, periods, and genres
  • knowledge of basic concepts and terminology in the study of literature, linguistics, rhetoric, and creative writing,
  • knowledge of appropriate traditions and histories across the range of disciplines that make up the study of English, including literary and creative genres, disciplinary-specific canons, practical and professional writing formats and genres, types of rhetorical discourse, types of linguistic phenomena, and media/web format genres as they emerge.

Minor Requirements

  • At least 9 units of upper-division coursework for this minor must be taken at NAU.

    You may be able to use the following English courses to fulfill Northern Arizona University's diversity requirements and requirements for this minor. 

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.