Department Chair: Donovan Braud, 847.376.7026, dbraud@oakton.edu

The following Pre-major is recommended for students who are considering completing a Bachelor’s degree in English after transferring to a four-year institution. It is designed for students who have not decided upon a specific four-year college or university. Once a transfer school is selected, students are strongly encouraged to consult the Office of Advising, Transitions, and Student Success and the transfer institution’s catalog to select courses that will meet both Oakton and transfer institution requirements.

The English Department recommends pairing English courses with courses that have similar content based on student’s interests. For example, students interested in Women and Gender Studies, may take Women and Creativity. Students interested in Ecological Literature, may take Introduction to Environmental Science. 

Students may consider an option of taking a modern language course in semesters 3 and 4. Study of language is required by some 4-year institutions and students can consult those institutions to find out whether an Oakton language course will meet that requirement. Please be aware that only Intermediate II (202) language courses meet General Education Humanities and Global Studies requirements.

For more information on course selection or program-specific advising, contact the department chair. Part time students should also consult the Office of Advising, Transitions, and Student Success for part-time Pre-major recommendations. General Education courses should be selected from the list of IAI General Education Courses.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Semester OneHours
EGL 101 Composition I 3
SPE 103 Effective Speech 3
MAT 125
General Education Mathematics
or Elementary Statistics
4
Select one Life Science course: 3-4
Note: At least one science course with lab is required for degree completion
EGL 221
American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865 1
or British Literature I (from Anglo-Saxons To 1800)
3
 Hours16-17
Semester Two
EGL 102 Composition II 3
EGL 129 Introduction to Literature 3
Select one Social and Behavioral Sciences course 3
Select one Physical Science course 3-4
Note: At least one science course with lab is required for degree completion
EGL 221
American Literature I: Beginnings to 1865 1
or British Literature I (from Anglo-Saxons To 1800)
3
 Hours15-16
Second Year
Semester One
EGL 115 Introduction to Fiction 3
PHL 205 World Religions 2 3
EGL 222
American Literature II (from The Civil War To The Present) 1
or British Literature II (from 1800 To The Present)
3
EGL 130
Introduction to Global Literature 2
or Introduction to Shakespeare
3
Select one Social and Behavioral Sciences course 3
 Hours15
Semester Two
Select one of the following: 3
Introduction to African-American Literature 1
Introduction to Native American Literature 3
HUM 127
Introduction to Philosophy
or Ethics
3
Select one Social and Behavioral Sciences course not taken previously 3
Select one English course not taken previously 3
Select one Fine Arts course 3
 Hours15
 Total Hours61-63
1

Course fulfills the U.S. Diversity Studies requirement. At least one U.S. Diversity Studies course is required for degree completion.

2

Course fulfills the Global Studies requirement. At least one Global Studies course is required for degree completion.

3

Course fulfills both, the Global Studies and U.S. Diversity requirements.

Note: Pre-major is a recommended sequence and selection of courses. See Associate in Arts (A.A.) page for degree requirements.