Writing Seminars Major Requirements
(Also see Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree)
AS.220.105 Introduction to Fiction & Poetry I or AS.220.108 Introduction to Fiction & Nonfiction and AS.220.106 Introduction to Fiction & Poetry II are courses required for all majors and others who want to take advanced courses in writing seminars. They serve as pre-requisite courses to all other courses offered by the department. Students must take a minimum of 15 credits at the 300-level or higher towards the Writing Seminars major; these fifteen credits can come from any combination of Writing Seminars courses and courses towards the outside requirements (literature, history, philosophy). Majors must receive a grade of C- or better in all courses required for the major and no major requirements may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. If a student opts to take a First-Year Seminar (AS.001.1xx) cross-listed with the Writing Seminars and earns an S grade, the course may apply as an elective class towards major requirements even though it is graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory and is at the 100 level. Courses taken at another institution that are not directly equivalent to a JHU course, including those taken through study abroad, may not apply towards the twelve Writing Seminar Department courses (AS.220.xxx) required of the major without permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Writing and Communication in the Major
Students must complete at least 6 credits of Writing and Communication foundational ability coursework in one major. For this major, students can fulfill this requirement by completing 220.105 and 220.106, each of which is a required 3 credit courses for the major.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.220.105 | Introduction to Fiction & Poetry I | 3 |
| or AS.220.108 | Introduction to Fiction & Nonfiction | |
| AS.220.106 | Introduction to Fiction & Poetry II | 3 |
| Two courses in literature 1 | 6 | |
| Two courses (at least 3 credits) in philosophy (AS.150.xxx or cross-listed with AS Philosophy) | 6 | |
| Two courses (at least 3 credits) in history (AS.100.xxx or cross-listed with AS History), history of art (AS.010.xxx) or history of science and technology (AS.140.xxx) | 6 | |
| AS.220.200 | The Craft of Fiction | 3 |
| AS.220.201 | The Craft of Poetry | 3 |
| Two Readings courses (with POS-Tag WRIT-READ) | 6 | |
| One fiction course at 300-400 level (with POS-Tag WRIT-FICT) | 3 | |
| One poetry course at the 300-400 level (with POS-Tag WRIT-POET) | 3 | |
| AS.220.400 | Advanced Poetry Workshop | 3 |
| or AS.220.401 | Advanced Fiction Workshop | |
| Three elective courses at the 200-400 level within the department (AS.220.2xx-4xx) 2 | 9 | |
| Foreign language proficiency through the second semester of the intermediate level is required. 3 | 0-14 | |
| Total Credits | 54-68 | |
- 1
Two semesters of literature at the 100-400 level, in the Department of English (060) or cross-listed in English. Courses in literature offered in departments other than English, whether in the original language or in translation, also fulfill this requirement when the department is numbered AS.212-216 (German and Romance Languages and Literatures) and AS.300 (Contemporary Thought and Literature). These courses must be at least 3 credits, though one approved transfer course worth 2.7 credits may be allowed.
- 2
Any Writing Seminars course numbered above "The Craft of Fiction" (220.200) or "The Craft of Poetry" (220.201) may be used to fulfill this requirement. If a student completed an FYS course cross-listed with AS Writing Seminars, it may also apply here. Some courses cross-listed with AS Writing Seminars that have a strong creative writing component may apply with permission of the DUS.
- 3
Languages automatically accepted towards this requirement include: American Sign Language, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish. Students with language proficiency in one of these languages or other languages may obtain waivers for this requirement. The Office of Academic Advising website has some information on this waiver process or you may speak to the DUS for assistance.
Sample Program of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.220.105 | 3 | AS.220.106 | 3 |
| History course #1 | 3 | English literature course #1 | 3 |
| First year foreign language | 4 | First year foreign language | 4 |
| 10 | 10 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.220.201 or 200 | 3 | AS.220.200 or 201 | 3 |
| Philosophy course #1 | 3 | Course with POS-Tag WRIT-FICT at the 200-400 level | 3 |
| Second year foreign language | 3 | English literature #2 | 3 |
| Second year foreign language | 3 | ||
| 9 | 12 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Course with POS-Tag WRIT-POET at the 200-400 level | 3 | Writing Seminars elective course | 3 |
| Readings course #1 | 3 | Readings course #2 | 3 |
| History course #2 | 3 | Philosophy course #2 | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Advanced Fiction or Poetry Workshop | 3 | Writing Seminars elective course | 3 |
| Writing Seminars elective course | 3 | ||
| 6 | 3 | ||
| Total Credits 68 | |||
Honors
A GPA of 3.5 or better in all major requirements is required to earn honors in the major.