English

  • Overview
  • LAE Award

Offers the opportunity to study literature and to write and think critically and creatively. It provides a strong foundation for students considering a major or minor in English.

This program can be completed fully online.
What You'll StudyCourse Sequencing
LAE

Beyond the standard Liberal Arts core, you’ll take 200-level courses in English literature that span many time periods and traditions. Standard survey courses like American Literature, British Literature, Women in Literature, and Shakespeare are complemented by genre-specific courses, including Gothic Literature, Modern Poetry, and The Short Story. You’ll understand the achievements of the writers at hand as well as the contexts that inform their work. You’ll also acquire strong analytical and creative writing skills as you learn to interpret and appreciate literature in a scholarly way.

Please note that transfer to many four-year colleges and universities may require the completion of four sequential semesters of World Languages. Transfer specialists recommend using electives to start language requirements at the community college prior to transfer.

Curriculum Documents

To plan degree completion, see the course descriptions in the academic catalog which specify the planned semester(s) in which required classes are to be scheduled.

This is just one way you might complete the English program in 4 semesters over 2 years of full-time study, or 8 semesters over 4 years of part-time study. (Sample course sequences assume that all pre-requisites have been satisfied and the student is prepared for college-level work.) For a detailed list of required courses, optional electives and program information, download the English program description from our official academic catalog.

Course descriptions are also available in the catalog. Find courses

Sample 2 Year Sequence of Courses
Fall 1Spring 1Fall 2Spring 2

ENG Comp. I
HIS course
ANT 103
PSY 101
GEO course

ENG Comp. II
PCS course
MAT 117
PSY 200 level course
BIO course

ENG 200 level survey course (2)
ENG 200 level genre course
World Language course
ENG 195

ENG 200 level genre course
ENG 200 level course (2)
World Language course

Sample 4 Year Sequence of Courses
Fall 1Spring 1Fall 2Spring 2

ENG Comp. I
HIS course
ANT 103

ENG Comp. II
MAT 117
PSY 101

PCS course
ENG 200 level survey course

BIO course
ENG 200 level survey course

Fall 3Spring 3Fall 4Spring 4

ENG 200 level genre course
ENG 195
PSY 200 level course

ENG 200 level genre course
GEO course

ENG 200 level course
World Language course

ENG 200 level course
World Language course

Program Learning Outcomes

Students completing a course of study in this program will be able to:

In their own ways, all English courses use writing, reading, and critical thinking to cultivate habits of mind that are both intellectual and practical and that will support students’ success in school, work, and the wider world.

Curiosity the desire to know more about the world
Openness the willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking in the world
Engagement a sense of investment and involvement in learning
Creativity the ability to use novel approaches for generating, investigating, and representing ideas
Persistence the ability to sustain interest in attention to short- and long-term projects
Responsibility the ability to take ownership of one’s action and understand the consequences of those actions for oneself and others
Flexibility the ability to adapts to situations, expectations, or demands
Metacognition the ability to reflect on one’s own thinking as well as on the individual and cultural processes used to structure knowledge
Cultural Awareness the ability to explore literary voices of different cultural heritages and to study these voices in context of history and theory; to find relevance in a global awareness of environmental/ political/ social/ spiritual/ gendered realities that shape experience
Collaboration a willingness and desire to work with others offer feedback, solve problems, and create
Pleasure a willingness to experience life of literature and the arts through the senses of taste, touch, sight, sound and smell

 

What's Next

Transfer to a Baccalaureate program. Future careers may include writing, editing, publishing, education, public relations, advertising, business, media communications, information technology, law, and politics.

Consider this program if

  • You want a broad as well as deep understanding of English literature.
  • You want to pursue careers in writing, editing, publishing, education, public relations, advertising, business, media communications, information technology, law, or politics.
  •  You want to pursue higher academic study in English literature.

By taking classes in a Liberal Arts option, students complete courses that help develop 100 and 200 course level knowledge and skills in a particular field. If you don't satisfy the requirements of a specific Liberal Arts option, you may still be able to fulfill the requirements of another option, or fulfill the requirements of the Liberal Arts General degree. Students are advised to work closely with their GCC advisor to select the specific courses that will help meet their career or transfer goals. Note: Students who complete a Liberal Arts option will graduate with the degree "Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts." Your area of concentration is reflected only in your transcript, not your diploma.

GCC's English Department annually grants the LAE/English Award at Commencement to the Liberal Arts/English graduate judged as demonstrating outstanding achievement in the field of English. Criteria include cumulative grade point average in English courses and a writing sample evaluated by a committee of volunteers from the English Department and the Liberal Arts English Option advisor.

Past award winners

  • 2018 Carissa Fuller
  • 2017 Marissa H. Dean
  • 2016 Rachel M. Carkhuff
  • 2015 April A. Albrecht, Alexandra G. Werbicki
  • 2014 Cameron A. Medeiros
  • 2013 Samantha T. Supnet
  • 2012 Justin S. LaFrenier
  • 2011 Seth D. Hoffsommer
  • 2010 Nicole R. Crosby
  • 2009 Nicole E. Kapise
  • 2008 Zachary A. Johnson
  • 2007 Sarah J. Gaulden
  • 2006 Erica L. Coutu
  • 2005 Rebecca Wall
  • 2004 Olivia P. Judd
  • 2003 Michael W. Clapp