Undergraduate Programs of Study

Take up to three graduate classes while you are an undergraduate. Nine credit hours will count towards both a B.A. and M.A. in English.

To start the application process, follow the instructions under "Process." 

The Accelerated BA/MA Concentration offers the following perks:

• Earn an MA with only one additional year of study after you earn your bachelor’s degree in English.
• Use undergraduate financial aid and/or scholarships as partial payment for three graduate courses.
• Save the costs of living by earning an MA more quickly.

You must complete the following:

• Major in English.
• Earn a 3.5 GPA in your English classes.
• Complete 21 hours of English major requirements, including ENG 4013 Approaches to Literary Interpretation, before applying.
• Meet with COAS English Undergraduate Advisor and English Graduate Coordinator at the beginning of your junior year.
• Solicit two UNF Department of English faculty to write recommendation letters.

Graduate classes can replace up to nine hours of undergraduate study (one upper level English class and six hours of free electives). Undergraduate classes must be planned carefully so that the student has the appropriate classes available to replace with graduate courses.

Contact the Graduate Coordinator or more information.

A master's in English opens the door to more careers. Also visit our alumni page that features an career list for our recent M.A. graduates.

See University Catalog page for general information on UNF BA/MA programs.

The Creative Writing Program at UNF offers the following majors and minors: 

• Bachelor of Arts in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing
• Creative Writing Minor

Creative Writing Concentration

The Creative Writing concentration trains students to write imaginatively. They take creative writing workshops alongside courses in literary history and analysis, with options in digital media, film studies and rhetoric. Besides pursuing traditional careers in the discipline—like publishing, teaching, journalism, library science and creative writing — our students succeed in business, law and all fields that value critical and creative thinking. Our students pursue graduate degrees in English, creative writing, rhetoric and technical communication. Interested students should reach out their advisor and to Mark Ari, Creative Writing Coordinator for more information.

Creative Writing Concentration Program of Study

Creative Writing Minor

The Minor in Creative Writing offers students the chance to explore the full spectrum of literary genres including fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and creative nonfiction. For English majors, the sequence connects the study of literature to the process that produces it. For students in any major, it is an opportunity to develop writing and general communication skills and to enhance both critical and imaginative thinking that find application in any endeavor. And for students who seek a writing life, it is a good beginning: they learn to read as writers, develop and revise works for peer review, and refine their efforts for possible submission to journals or for a graduate school application portfolio. They and all of our students have exciting opportunities to participate in a community of writers through readings, events, and publications.

Creative Writing Minor Program of Study

Scholarship & Award Opportunities

Amy R. Wainright Scholarship Awards for Creative Writing

Creative Writing Scholarship

Lovee K. Kliman Scholarship for Artistic Expression

Publications

The Talon Review

Flock

EAT  

Mudlark

Readings & Events

River House: Creative Writing at UNF

Word by Word Reading Series

The Film Program at UNF offers the Interdisciplinary Studies Film Major and the Film Minor.

Why study film?

Film is often considered the only new art form produced in the 20th Century. The 21st Century has witnessed the explosion of moving images into nearly every sphere of contemporary life, and advances in technology have made film/video/audio technology widely and easily available. The question is not why study film, but why not?

Film functions as a unique art form, a social barometer, a cultural artifact, an historical record, a political argument, an agent of change, and a good time. It's complex in construction and function, and yet directly powerful in its effect.

Because film is multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary, the Film Minor invites students from all and any majors to join in the study-and production-of film in the English department.

• English majors can add audio and visual components to their textual analysis.
• Music majors can consider how their music could interact with film.
• Engineers will recognize the technology and design required at every level of filmmaking.
• Advertising majors can explore the impact of images in communication.
• Business majors can study the economic transformation of film industries.
• Art and Design majors might be eager to make films to test and transform their own media.
• Political scientists or anthropologists might want to study or make films in their capacity to preserve, document, or change culture.
• Education majors can learn the history of cinema to order to use it as a tool to teach art, history, politics, and culture.
• Photography majors can consider the image afresh by putting it in motion.
• Biologists can consider film as a document of the natural world.
• Historians can engage cinema history as well as recognize film as a document of history itself.
• Philosophers might bring the topics of ethics, phenomenology, and meaning into their study of film.

Because the reach of film is so wide, the film minor thrives as a community when students come from varied perspectives and fields of study. To study film is to study image, sound, motion, and time in a way that can encompass all of the above perspectives and many more. Its capacity for complexity is as great as its capacity for lucidity.

Film Major Programs of Study Film Minor Program of Study

To be accepted into Honors in the Major, English majors must have an overall GPA of 3.4 (or higher) or be admitted at the discretion of the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator. Once in the program, they must complete two experiences that fall within the following categories.

• (a) complete a research project, or a creative project, in a 3000-or 4000-level course with the prefix AML, CRW, DIG, ENC, ENG, ENL, FIL, LIT, THE, TPP, and present it in a public venue as part of a presentation that is not already a requirement of that course;*
• (b) participate in a study-abroad trip led by a member of the UNF English or Foreign Languages and Cultures faculty or a semester-long experience involving upper-level coursework in English, either through a UNF exchange, a third-party provider, or direct enrollment at a foreign university;
• (c) complete an internship for academic credit through the course DIG 4944 (Digital Humanities Internship), ENC 4940 (Writing Internship), FIL 4945 (Film Production Internship), or complete an independent research project supervised by a faculty member in the context of an ENG 4930 or LIT 4905 Directed Independent Study course;
• (d) complement the major in English with a minor in one of the following areas: African-American Diaspora, Creative Writing, Digital Humanities, Film, Literature, Professional & Public Writing, Spanish, French, or Chinese;
• (e) complete at least 40 hours of participation in leadership or service activities through involvement with the UNF chapter of Sigma Tau Delta (the International English Honor Society), Talon Review, Flock, EAT Poems, Swoop Troupe, Spinnaker, or other on-campus clubs or community organizations and institutions.**

Additional options may be available, in consultation with the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator of the Department of English.

As each of the categories (a) - (c) above involves an activity that bears at least three hours of credit, the minimum number of hours associated with Honors in the Major for the English B.A. will generally be six. As categories (d) and (e) do not involve coursework, however, a student selecting these options could potentially complete Honors in the Major with fewer than nine hours of credit. With proper planning, any credit hours related to the Honors in the Major for the English B.A. will count among the required or elective coursework for the major. 

*Examples of public venues include a UNF-affiliated undergraduate research showcase (e.g., SOARS, International Research Symposium), an outside conference or publication, or a special event on campus or in the community.

**Students should consult with the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator of English for approval of activities, for information on tracking hours, and to sign a waiver prior to participating in off-campus activities that will count toward completion of this requirement.

Assuming that the student has completed LIT3213, she, he, or they can apply for Honors in the Major during Sophomore year. Early in the Junior year is the ideal time to apply. Late in Junior year is the last opportunity. Senior year is too late.

Applicants should write a letter to the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator, Chris Gabbard (cgabbard@unf.edu) that briefly describes and explains their personal/professional goals. The letter should indicate where they are in their academic progress (first-year, sophomore, junior, senior) and what is their overall GPA. Lastly, the letter should indicate which two of the five experiences (a)-(e) they hope to complete or have completed.

Upon completion of the Honors in the English Major requirements, the student will receive a certificate. They will then be able to cite Honors in the English Major as one of their achievements in application letters for graduate school, internships, and employment.

Starting in Fall of 2021, Honors in the English Major will be cited on the student’s graduating transcript.

Dr. Chris Gabbard, Undergraduate Studies Coordinator
cgabbard@unf.edu
Lassiter Hall, Room 2023

The Literature Minor provides students with the opportunity to design a five-course curriculum suited to their interests. Do you have an interest in different kinds of literature--American, British, and/or world literature? Do you have an interest in a combination of drama and creative writing? Would you like to focus on literary criticism and theory? Are there five courses in our department that would supplement your major in some way? Do you have an interest in acquiring advanced writing and editing skills--which business leaders across the country say are a top consideration for them when they are hiring? Are you pre-med or pre-law? (Medical and Law schools look very favorably on students with literature backgrounds.) Do you just plain love literature? Whatever your reasons, we welcome you to the Literature minor. 

Literature Minor Program of Study

Note:

Students should consult with Academic Advisors each semester to ensure that they are meeting the appropriate requirements of the minor. College of Arts & Sciences Advising: Building 51, Room 2500, (904) 620-2797.

The Department of English offers a minor in Professional and Public Writing to prepare students to write confidently and effectively in professional situations and for public and community action. Students can choose to focus on professional writing, where they analyze and produce genres required by employers; public writing, where they study and engage in meaningful social action through written and digital texts; or a combination of courses tailored to students' own interests.

Surveys of business leaders indicate that as many as 85% or more employers are not looking to hire someone who has majored in a particular field. They are looking for smart, well-educated individuals who have 21st-century skills, including (i) the ability to present information well orally and in writing, (ii) the ability to support a claim with pertinent evidence, (iii) the ability to approach problems systematically, (iv) training in analyzing the component features of problems quickly and accurately, (v) and the capacity to reach smart conclusions that give themselves and others a solid basis for making a decision and taking action. The Professional and Public Writing Minor provides students with opportunities to develop these skills.

There will always be employment opportunities for people with strong analytic and writing skills. The market (local, national, and global) needs people who can read critically, analyze quickly and accurately, translate their ideas in ways others can readily grasp, and write clearly and persuasively. The Small Business Administration has long recognized that the key factor in business success is communication skill, and that the major sub-factor is being able to write well. Communication and writing abilities are, in a world, foundational for someone who wants to thrive in an information and communication-based economy.

Professional & Public Writing Minor Program of Study