The following is a summary of the requirements for the English major. For a full description, please refer to the English Language and Literature segment of the Yale College Programs of Study, under Subjects of Instruction.
English Major Roadmap (pdf)
Number of courses
3 foundational courses chosen from ENGL 1025, 1026, 1027, and 1028. At least one course in each of the following four historical periods: Medieval, Renaissance, 18th/19th Century, 20th/21st Century. At least one junior seminar. Up to 5 courses numbered 1014-1030 or below. Up to 2 creative writing courses.
Senior Requirement
Meeting with Yale research librarian in the first term of the senior requirement. Standard major: 2 senior seminars; or 1 senior seminar and 1 senior essay (ENGL 4100); or a two-term senior essay (ENGL 4100 and 4101). Writing concentration: a senior seminar or senior essay, plus the writing concentration senior project (ENGL 4400).
Spring 2026 English Senior Seminar Library Workshop Sign-up
Substitutions permitted
Up to 2 relevant upper-level courses in other departments may substitute for electives in the major; residential college seminars may substitute for electives in the major. A complete year of Directed Studies: Literature or ENGL 1029 and 1030 may substitute for one of the three required foundational courses. For students coming late to the major, two advanced courses covering material overlapping substantially with any one of the foundational courses may be substituted for it. All substitutions require the permission of the DUS.
Writing concentration
Students who enter the creative writing concentration must fulfill the same requirements as all English majors, except that they count 4 creative writing courses toward the major, including ENGL 4400 (The Writing Concentration Senior Project). It is expected that senior applicants will have completed by the end of the fall semester the following: 1) at least two 4000-level ENGL creative writing courses, with at least one of these courses being in the genre in which they plan to complete ENGL 4400 (i.e., either Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, or Drama) and 2) one ENGL creative writing course in another genre at any level. Creative writing concentrators must complete at least 11 literature courses in addition to their creative writing courses.
Foundational Courses
ENGL 1025 Readings in English Poetry I
ENGL 1026 Readings in English Poetry II
ENGL 1027 Readings in American Literature
ENGL 1028 Readings in Comparative World English Literatures