[Video Portion spoken by Omar Miranda]

Hello, my name is Professor Omar Miranda, and I want to welcome you to USF! I am a professor in the Department of English as well as the Comparative Literature and Culture program. We are the largest major in the Humanities and one of the most popular majors on campus, and we are thrilled to welcome you to our community!

Coming up is a tutorial that will help you select your classes for the semester, so please follow along and, of course, feel free to reach out to us with any questions.


At USF, a student typically registers for 16-18 credits per semester. This usually includes choosing four separate 4-credit courses and perhaps 1 or 2 credits of extracurricular activities.

One of the most important classes to take this semester is the appropriate Rhetoric and Composition class. Developing good writing and speaking skills is absolutely essential to your success in all the classes you will take at USF. Regardless of your other classes, you must take a Rhetoric & Composition class. By now, you should know which class to register for. If you do not, please review the tutorial by clicking on the Tab Rhetoric and Composition.

With regard to the curriculum for the English major, you can choose one of three tracks: Literature, Comparative Literature, or Creative Writing. Keep that in mind, but you do not necessarily need to choose one of the three tracks now.

There is one foundational course for all English majors. For students of Literature and Creative Writing, it is English 192: Introduction to Literary Study. For students in the Comparative Literature and Culture program, you may take CMPL 195 (a first-year seminar) or CMPL 200: Introduction to Comparative Literature. If you are a transfer student you should register for CMPL 295.

Whichever track you choose (Literature, Comparative Literature, or Creative Writing), and -- again -- you do not have to choose one right away so do not worry, each of these introductory courses will also count for your Core Curriculum requirement, Core C1, Literature. As an English major, you don't need to take another course to fulfill the Literature Core requirement.

There are several options for your other classes. We encourage you to consider taking a First Year Seminar or a Transfer Year Seminar. Not only are these classes small but they also fulfill various Core requirements for graduation. Your freshman seminar can be in any core area of your choice -- it does not have to be an English or Comparative Literature course.

As an English major, you are required to demonstrate third semester proficiency in a foreign language. Therefore, we recommend that you start early in your academic career to complete this requirement. In fact, it would be a good idea to start your foreign language classes sooner. In some cases, a student may be able to place out of some of these requirements depending on their level of language proficiency.

If you are on the Comparative Literature and Culture track, you are required to complete two additional semesters of a foreign language at the upper-division level. To determine your level of competency you must complete a placement test; some of these are online exams. And the choice of foreign language is yours! You may choose French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish or Latin.

For your remaining classes, you might choose another Core course such as Philosophy, Ethics or Visual and Performing Arts. Some of these Core requirements can be met through a First Year Seminar, as mentioned before.

You can also enroll in Public Speaking which is an important course to take early in your college career. This course fulfills your Core A1 requirement. 

There are also many 1-2 credit courses that you may like to consider:

* The Ignatian Literary Magazine (ENGL-198), a student-run creative publication
* Writing for the Real World (RHET-325), a student-run publication of essays
* A College success course
* A Physical activity course
* Writing for The Foghorn, the USF Student Newspaper
* A Computer Science course

You can also get involved in the production of a play or you can join a choir or vocal group

Once you have selected your classes, your schedule should resemble something like this:

* RHET 110 
* ENGL 192 Introduction to Literary Study or CMPL 200: Introduction to Comp Lit
* Language course*
* First Year Seminar (your choice of Core area)

Or this if you are a Transfer student:
* RHET 250 Academic Writing at USF
* ENGL 192 Introduction to Literary Study or CMPL 200: Introduction to Comp Lit
* Language course*
* Transfer Year Seminar or Core course

* depends on your language placement

If you are a transfer student, you may have completed some of these courses. It is important for you to review your degree evaluation to determine which courses you need to complete. If you have any questions, please talk to the English department chair before classes begin. The Admissions Office will review your Core courses.

For all English students, spend some time navigating the Schedule of Classes to familiarize yourself with the layout of the website. Look for courses that you would like to register for, including specific sections. You should also keep a backup list in case some classes are closed.

The English department has a minority issues requirement for Literature and Creative Writing students (not required for students of Comparative Literature and Culture), and we have designated a few classes at the 200-level that will fulfill this requirement. They are:

* Engl 203: African American Literary Survey I
* Engl 204: African American Literary Survey II
* Engl 205: Native American Literature and Film
* Engl 208: Survey of Womens Literature I
* Engl 209: Survey of Womens Literature II
* Engl 211: Asian American Literary Survey
* Engl 212: Introduction to Chicano/a Literary Survey
* Engl 230: Literature, Gender, and Sexualities

These classes do not have any prerequisites; so anyone can take them. However, it is critical that you only take a class from the list above. We offer other 200-level classes, but they will only count as electives if they do not appear on this list. Only these 200-level classes listed above will count toward the English major. If you are unsure, contact the English department office or the department chair to get a list of approved classes.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

english.dept@usfca.edu
415.422.6426

We look forward to meeting you during our Orientation to your Major workshop. During this workshop we will review the major and you will have the opportunity to meet faculty and fellow students.

Welcome again to the University of San Francisco!