English (ENGL)

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The Department of English offers a major leading to the B.A. degree. English majors are required to take courses in several areas but are encouraged to explore the range of literary and linguistic study and allowed to proportion their work as they and their department advisers find appropriate through course selection within groups. Because of the number of courses available and the variety of professional opportunities related to the English major, students are encouraged to plan their curricula in consultation with the department adviser for majors.

The department offers a minor in English and participates with the Department of Communication in offering a minor in applied communication and with the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in offering a minor in comparative literature. The department also participates in the interdisciplinary minors in black studies, classical studies, Latino/Latin American studies, linguistics, and women’s studies.

The department offers internship opportunities in writing, editing, and training. Students may receive credit and, in some cases, payment for these internships. Interested students should consult the department coordinator of internships.

The department offers an honors program for its majors and regularly offers courses for the University Honors Program. Several English courses can be used by non-majors toward fulfilling the humanities and the arts area requirement in the university’s general education program. The department also offers several courses in composition beyond the required freshman English courses for both majors and non-majors.

Department Requirements

The GPA in the English major and minor is calculated by using all and only those English courses at NIU numbered 110 or higher, specifically excluding ENGL 103, ENGL 104, and ENGL 105.

Students with a major or minor in English must demonstrate competence in the fundamentals of English grammar by successfully completing ENGL 207 or by passing an exemption examination. Students should satisfy this requirement as early as possible. Students who pass the exemption examination will be required to substitute another English course at the 100-400 level, taken at NIU or elsewhere, to complete the 39 required semester hours in the major or the 18 semester hours required in the minor. Failure to pass the exemption examination on the first attempt necessitates that a student successfully complete ENGL 207.

ENGL 103, ENGL 104, and ENGL 105 are not counted toward the 50-semester-hour maximum hours allowed in a single department, as described in “Special Requirements in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.”

English Faculty

Philip E. Eubanks, Ph.D., University of Illinois, professor, chair
Gulsat Aygen, Ph.D., Harvard University, associate professor
William Baker, Ph.D., University of London, Distinguished Research Professor, Board of Trustees Professor
Scott Balcerzak, Ph.D., University of Florida, assistant professor
Alexandra G. Bennett, Ph.D., Brandeis University, associate professor
Betty J. Birner, Ph.D., Northwestern University, professor
David Bywaters, Ph.D., Washington University, associate professor
Susan F. Callahan, Ph.D., University of Louisville, associate professor
Edward Callary, Ph.D., Louisiana State University, professor
Jeffrey P. Chown, Ph.D., University of Michigan, adjunct professor
Nicole Clifton, Ph.D., Cornell University, associate professor
Michael J. Day, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, professor
Deborah C. De Rosa, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, associate professor
Susan E. Deskis, Ph.D., Harvard University, associate professor
Sue W. Doederlein, Ph.D., Northwestern University, associate professor
Jeffrey Einboden, Ph.D., University of Cambridge, assistant professor
Keith Gandal, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, professor
Ibis Gómez-Vega, Ph.D., University of Houston, associate professor
David Gorman, Ph.D., Columbia University, associate professor
Jeffrey Johnson, Ph.D., University of Missouri, professor
William C. Johnson, Ph.D., University of Iowa, Distinguished Teaching Professor
Mark Kipperman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, professor
John V. Knapp, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, professor
Amy K. Levin, Ph.D., City University of New York, professor 
Doris M. Macdonald, Ph.D., Louisiana State University, associate professor
Brian T. May, Ph.D., University of Virginia, associate professor
Amy Newman, Ph.D., University of Ohio, Presidential Research Professor
Bradley T. Peters, Ph.D., University of Iowa, professor
Kathleen Renk, Ph.D., University of Iowa, associate professor
Jessica L. Reyman, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, assistant professor
Timothy Ryan, Ph.D., University of Nevada-Reno, assistant professor
John D. Schaeffer, Ph.D., St. Louis University, professor
Sean N. Shesgreen, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Distinguished Research Professor
Diana L. Swanson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, associate professor
Mark W. Van Wienen, Ph.D., University of Illinois, professor

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