English, Associate of Arts

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The English degree program is designed for students interested in focusing on literature and writing in an interrelated academic environment. The program features a broad range of courses in English language, literature, and composition, including introduction to literature and literary theory, linguistics, survey courses, genre courses, diversity-based and interdisciplinary courses, and writing-intensive courses. The program will enable interested students to begin their major in English at RVCC and to transfer to a four-year institution to continue their academic advancement on the baccalaureate level.

Graduates are able to:

write clearly, grammatically and fluently with focus and continuity in standard American English
demonstrate clarity, analytical skill, and organization to present and support ideas in take-home papers and in-class writings
articulate their evolving point of view about literature, authors, diverse cultures and periods, and or about compositional artistry, creativity, and style
write research papers that explore critical inquiry on works and authors studied in a given course; employ, when practicable, technological tools; and responsibly use and document sources
appreciate, discuss and write about major writers, movements, cultures, and works covered in a given course in ways that demonstrate analytical competency and compositional skill
appreciate the interrelatedness of literature, literary theory, language, and composition

Curriculum – A.A. Degree

First Semester

ENGL 111 - English I 3 Credits
Social Science 3 Credits ¹
Mathematics 3-4 Credits ^2,3
Appreciation of the Arts 3 Credits ¹
Foreign Language 3 Credits ⁴

Second Semester

ENGL 112 - English II 3 Credits
Social Science 3 Credits ¹
Technological Competency 3-4 Credits ³
Communication 3 Credits ¹
Foreign Language 3 Credits ⁴
FITN 115 - Dynamics of Fitness & Wellness 1 Credit ⁵

Third Semester

Science (lab) 4 Credits ³
History 3 Credits ¹
Free Elective 3 Credits ⁸
English Elective 3 Credits ⁶
English Elective 3 Credits ⁶

Fourth Semester

Mathematics or Science (lab) 0-4 Credits ^3,9
History 3 Credits ¹
Global & Cultural Awareness 3 Credits ⁷
English Elective 3 Credits ⁶
English Elective 3 Credits ⁶

Total Credits 61 - 65

¹ Select a course from the appropriate category of the General Education list.

² Mathematics by official Placement Test. Students may not take courses below placement level. Exceptions by permission of department chair.

³ Select a course from the appropriate category of the General Education list. For the Math, Science and Technological Competency General Education requirements, students must take a minimum of 12 credits. This must include at least one lab science course, one math course and satisfaction of the technological competency requirement by either passing the technological competency test (no credit) or taking a technological competency general education course. If a student passes the technological competency test, another course must be selected from Math, Science or Technological Competency General Education, so that the student has earned at least 12 credits in those categories.

⁴ A two semester sequence is required. Placement by examination is required for students who wish to continue studying a language previously studied. Students may not take courses below their placement level. For more information, see Foreign Language Placement Testing & Degree Requirements in the College Catalog.

⁵ Elements of Physical Fitness (FITN 142 ) or Exercise Physiology (FITN 146 - pre-req Human Biology) may be substituted.

⁶ English Electives
Must take one course from Category A: Introduction to Literature (ENGL 201 ); Introduction to Literary Theory & Criticism (ENGL 202 ); or Language, Mind & Society (ENGL 205 ).
Choose one course each from three of the four categories B-E, for a total of 12 credits as follows:
Category B: Survey Courses (one) from among the following: American Literature: Colonial Period through the Civil War (ENGL 221 ); American Literature: Post-Civil War to the Present (ENGL 222 ); Masterpieces of Early World Literature (ENGL 211 ); World Literature Since the Renaissance (ENGL 212 , English Literature: Middle Ages through the Eighteenth Century (ENGL 235 ); English Literature: Romantic Period to the Present (ENGL 236 ).
Category C: Genre-based Courses (one) from among the following: The Short Story (ENGL 224 ), Introduction to Poetry (ENGL 226 ), Drama (ENGL 262 ), Shakespeare (ENGL 233 ), Science Fiction (ENGL 227 ), The Modern Novel (ENGL 281 ), The Victorian Novel (ENGL 282 ), Autobiography (ENGL 213 ), Literature of Comedy (ENGL 234 ).
Category D: Diversity-based or Interdisciplinary Courses (one) from among the following: History & Literature of the Vietnam War (ENGL 259 ), Psychology & Literature (ENGL 228 ), Masculinity in Literature (ENGL 291 ), African- American Literature (ENGL 231 ), Women in Literature (ENGL 290 ), Global Patterns of Racism (ENGL 207 ), Shakespeare on the Page & On the Screen (ENGL 237 ), Ethnic Writers in America (ENGL 223 ), Law & Literature (ENGL 206 ), Race in American Literature & Popular Culture (ENGL 214 ).
Category E: Writing Intensive Courses (one) from among the following: Creative Writing I (ENGL 248 ), Creative Writing II (ENGL 249 ), Business Writing & Management Communication (ENGL 263 ), Technical Writing (ENGL 250 ) and Rhetoric & Writing Studies (ENGL 247 ).

⁷ Any General Education course that is listed as a Global & Cultural Awareness (GCA) course. If a course satisfies both the Global & Cultural Awareness Requirement and another General Education requirement in Social Science, Humanities or Communication, the student may select any course from the General Education list.

⁸ Any college-level course.

⁹ If the student has already completed 12 credits in the Math, Science and Technological Competency categories, the student does not need to take a course here.