Frequently Asked Questions
Department of English Requirements
- What are the minimum and maximum number of credits in English?
- What is the difference between a film specialization and a film studies option?
- How does a film option affect maximum number of credits?
- Which courses do not count toward the major in English?
- May ENG 490 (Independent Study) and ENG 493 (Internship) be used to complete the requirement for three upper-level courses?
- May transfer courses be used to complete the English and cognate requirements?
- How do majors in English fulfill the Tier II writing requirement?
College of Arts and Letters Requirements
- What is the foreign language requirement?
- May students take their language requirement at another institution?
- What is the language proficiency test?
- May American Sign Language be used to fulfill the foreign language requirement?
- What is a cognate?
- What are the requirements for cognates, and what are allowed for cognates?
- How does a student declare a cognate?
- How many credits does the student need in upper-division courses in order to graduate?
MSU/General Education/Integrative Studies (CIS) Requirements
- What are the integrative studies/general education requirements?
- How can transfer students complete the rest of their general education requirements?
- What is the math requirement?
Additional Questions
- May students take courses credit/no credit (C/NC)?
- May students take courses at other universities during their junior and senior years?
- What is the procedure for MSU students wishing to take credits at another institution?
- Do students have to retake courses in which they receive a 1.0?
- May students repeat courses in which they have not completed the work satisfactorily?
Department of English Requirements
What are the minimum and maximum number of credits in English?
The English major requires a minimum of 36 semester credits, except for students accepted into the teacher education program, which requires 39. The maximum number of English credits is 40 semester credits. Any credits over 40 will necessitate the student taking an equal number of credits beyond 120 (or 123 if the student had to take MTH 1825) to graduate. Occasionally, the college advising office will allow a few additional credits in English, if the student has a well-rounded undergraduate program. However, the associate chair will need to request special permission from the college office for the student under those circumstances.
What is the difference between a film specialization and a film studies option?
A film option is completed through the English department and results in a B.A. in English with an option in film studies. Unlike the films studies option in English, a film specialization is not an undergraduate major. The specialization is administered through the College of Arts and Letters and is available to any student in a bachelor's degree program. Students pursuing the specialization take 18 credits of film-related courses across a variety of departments. Details and requirements for both programs can be found on the film studies Web site.
How does a film option affect maximum number of credits?
All versions of the English degree require a total of 36–40 English credits for graduation (except for teacher education, which requires 39). The film option, however, entails more required courses and fewer electives. English majors using film studies as a cognate must take 12 credits in that cognate in film courses offered by departments other than English.
Which courses do not count toward the major in English?
Currently, students may not use ENG 203, 204, 205, 206, 221, 226, or 232 to fulfill requirements for the English major. English majors may apply only one 100-level English course to their 36 credits of English.
May ENG 490 (Independent Study) and ENG 493 (Internship) be used to complete the requirement for three upper-level courses?
ENG 493 may not be used to complete the requirement for three 400-level courses (or for the four 300- or 400-level courses required for the film studies option). ENG 490 may be used only with prior permission from the 490 professor and from the department adviser or associate chair. If both the professor and adviser agree, a note to that effect must be placed in the student's file; the note must be signed and dated by the professor teaching the independent study.
May transfer courses be used to complete English and cognate requirements?
Yes. Transfer credits that are not used to fulfill general education requirements may be used for English or cognate requirements if they are appropriate. The student must receive at least a 2.0 in a course at another institution in order to receive transfer credit. See the adviser for application of specific transfer credit..
How do majors in English fulfill the Tier II writing requirement?
Tier II writing is fulfilled by taking one of the ENG 310 courses and one 400-level English course.
College of Arts and Letters Requirements
What is the foreign language requirement?
The student must demonstrate second-year proficiency in a second language. Usually, the requirement is met by successfully completing the 100- and 200-level language courses or by placing into the third year on the language proficiency test. Students who want certification of second-year proficiency in a language that is not taught at MSU will need to find a professor who is fluent in that language and ask for verification of second-year proficiency from that professor. Such verification should then be sent to the Department of English for our records.
May students take their language requirement at another institution?
The language requirement may be taken at a community college or other university. If taken at a community college, the courses will not transfer to MSU if the student has more than 60 credits (junior status). In that case, the student may send to the adviser a grade report sheet indicating a passing grade in the fourth semester of the language at community college or take the language proficiency test in the testing office to become certified. In both of these instances, the student fulfills the proficiency requirement without actually transferring course credit.
What is the language proficiency test?
The language proficiency test is offered through the MSU Testing Office. Students may take an online placement exam to determine what level of course they should register for. But, in order to count as a demonstration of proficiency for the language requirement, this exam must be proctored. Contact the Testing Office (517-355-8385) to make arrangements for a proctored exam.
May American Sign Language be used to fulfill the foreign language requirement?
American Sign Language requires five courses at MSU (CEP 341, 441A, 441B, 442A, and 442B) or an equivalent sequence through Sign IV at another institution. However, there is an extremely high demand for second-year sign language courses at MSU, and students sometimes find that they are unable to complete their second year of language study. Lansing Community College offers American Sign Language classes but does not accept students from MSU who have already completed their first year of study in sign language. Students interested in pursuing sign language are advised to take the entire sequence of Sign Language I-IV at LCC.
A cognate is an area of concentration outside of the student's major. The College of Arts and Letters requires two 12-credit cognates; at least one must be outside the college.
What are the requirements for cognates, and what are allowed for cognates?
Under the semester system, two cognates are required, a minimum of 12 credits each. At least one cognate must be outside the College of Arts and Letters; the second may be inside or outside. At least one course in one of the cognates must be at the 300- or 400-level. Cognates are normally composed of courses from a single academic discipline, although other logical and interesting combinations are possible, such as interdisciplinary cognates in Women's Studies, Jewish Studies, Post-Colonial Studies, Classical Studies, etc. Neither one-credit Kinesiology (KIN) courses nor one-credit music activity courses can be used to fulfill cognate requirements. Language proficiency courses cannot be double-counted toward both the language requirement and the cognate. However, students may take more language courses beyond the 200 level to fulfill the cognate requirement, or they may take 100- and 200-level courses in a second foreign language.
How does a student "declare" a cognate?
The student and the adviser work together to determine an appropriate sequence of courses to fulfill the cognate requirement. A proposed cognate must be approved by the adviser.
How many credits does the student need in upper-division courses in order to graduate?
Of the 120 credits required for graduation, a minimum of 30 semester credits must be at the 300 or 400 levels.
MSU/General Education/Integrative Studies (CIS) Requirements
What are the Integrative Studies/General Education Requirements?
Students are required to take four writing credits in WRA and 24 credits in CIS/general education. Integrative studies (CIS) requires: 8 credits: Arts and humanities (IAH), including one “A” course (numbered (201– 209) and one “B” course (numbered 211 or higher with letter (example 211A, etc.)) 8 credits: Social sciences (ISS), including one 200-level and one 300-level course 8 credits: Biological and physical sciences (ISB/ISP), including one ISB course, one ISP course, and two lab credits.
How can transfer students complete the rest of their General Education requirements?
If transfer students have general education deficiencies, they must complete the rest of their general education requirements by taking integrative studies courses. No other substitutions are allowed.
Beginning with the freshman class that matriculated Fall 1995, students, including transfers, will meet the math requirement either with a designated math placement test score or by completing MTH 103 and 114; MTH 106, 110, 112, 116, 120, 124, 132, 152H, or 201; or STT 200 or 201. (Arts and Letters majors often prefer MTH 110 or STT 200 to other courses.) Only freshmen entering MSU in 1993–94 or earlier may meet the math requirement through high school courses. Credits in MTH 1825 are included in the computation of grade point average and in the total number of credits earned, but the credits are NOT included in the total minimum credits required for graduation. Therefore, students who complete this three-credit remedial course will need to earn a minimum of 123 credits for graduation.
Additional Questions May students take courses credit/no credit (CR/NC)?
Except for general education requirements and courses in the student’s major, any course may be taken as CR/NC. The limit is one course per semester, for a maximum total of 20 credits overall. Neither English classes nor general education courses may be taken CR/NC. The student must earn a 2.0 in the course to be able to receive credit for it. Students wishing to take a class credit/no credit should enroll normally and then notify the Registrar's Office by the first week of classes to change the course status to CR/NC.
May students take courses at other universities during their junior and senior years?
Students may take and transfer a maximum of 10 of their last 30 credits for graduation from another four-year institution. Students of junior or senior status will be allowed to transfer credits only from other four-year institutions. A guest application form (available in the Registrar's Office) must be filled out before taking the credits elsewhere.
What is the procedure for MSU students wishing to take credits at another institution?
Students may use the Admissions Credit Transfer System (ACTS IV) to view MSU course equivalencies for commonly transferred credit. Please note that MSU may accept additional courses for credit; this Web site merely details transfer credit that MSU has accepted in the past. Students must have prior permission from the MSU department that will be accepting the transfer credits. Students wishing to take an English course not listed in ACTS IV at another institution (either in the United States or abroad), for example, must have the associate chair in English fill out the guest application form (available through the Registrar's Office) to determine course equivalencies for transfer purposes. Students planning to transfer any courses are urged to consult with the English adviser before enrolling in the class in order to ensure that the course will transfer appropriately.
Do students have to retake courses in which they receive a 1.0?
In most courses, 1.0 is a passing grade. In order to graduate, a student's overall cumulative GPA and major GPA must both be 2.0 or higher. A grade of 1.0 in either a general education class or in an English class is therefore satisfactory provided that the cumulative GPA and the English GPA remain at least a 2.0.
May students repeat courses in which they have not completed the work satisfactorily?
Students may repeat up to 20 credits of work in courses in which they received below a 2.0. Their transcripts will indicate both grades, but the grade received in the repeat course will be the one that is figured into the GPA.
