Skip to main content

Minor English

Do you love to read literature, and enjoy taking literature courses? You don’t need to make English your primary focus to get the benefits of studying it. The English Minor can be an excellent complement to any Major, both those in other humanities subjects or in one of the sciences or social sciences. Whether your aim is to train your mind to think in different ways, to broaden your experience of different cultures, to develop your communication skills, or simply to explore some fascinating texts, the English Minor can enrich your undergraduate studies.

The English Minor can be combined with a Major in an Honours (4-year) BA or BSc, or can be taken on its own in a General (3-year) BA.

Testimonials from Current English Minor Students

Madison WescottMadison Westcott

Year of Study: Fourth Year

Degree: History Major, English Minor

“The English Department at Queen’s promotes inclusivity and unlocks intrigue through a variety of interesting courses, such as indigenous literature and women writers, to the fantastic and children’s literature. English at Queen’s is a doorway to exploring and falling in love with new literature!

The world is always open, waiting to be discovered.” – Dejan Stojanovic, Circling: 1978-1987.”


Olivia ObonsawinOlivia Obonsawin

Year of Study: Third Year

Degree: French Major, English Minor

“Studying English at Queen’s allows you to explore diverse perspectives and subject matter all while engaging meaningfully with texts and others in the program. English at Queen’s not only helps you develop as a student and academic but as an individual with unique opinions and viewpoints.”

Featured Alumni

Kathleen Wynne

Kathleen Wynne

Former Premier of Ontario, and the first woman to hold the post, has an English Minor from Queen’s University!

Minor Plan Requirements

To help plan out your degree, the Major Maps is a great tool to use. The Academic Advisement Report tool in SOLUS can tell you whether you’re meeting your requirements.

For the most up-to-date and detailed descriptions of all the requirements needed to fulfill a minor in the English Languages and Literature program, please use the Queen’s University Digital Calendar for the English Minor BAH and English Minor BA programs.

Program: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) or Bachelor of Arts (General)

Plan Code: ENGL-Y (Honours BA) or ENGL-G-BA (General BA)

Requirements: 30.0 ENGL units. When combined with a Major in another subject plus sufficient electives, the Minor leads to a BA (Honours). The Minor, with sufficient electives to total 90 units, is sufficient for a General BA. To qualify for the English Minor, students must distribute their ENGL units according to the following rules.

Minors with a minimum grade of B+ in at least 18.0 previous ENGL units may take 6.0 units at the 300 level, if space permits. Minors are not eligible to take 400-level ENGL courses.

What your Degree Might Look Like

Year 1

  • ENGL 100/6.0, an introduction to the techniques for analyzing literary texts, with training in academic essay-writing.

Year 2

  • ENGL 200/6.0 - Note that Minors may take this course at any point in years 2–4: the Department recommends that Minors take it in year 2, but does not require it.
  • Any one-term, 200-level ENGL course

Year 3

  • 1 to 3 one-term, 200-level ENGL courses

Year 4

  • 1 to 3 one-term, 200-level ENGL courses

Note on English Substitutions: A number of courses offered by other units can count toward ENGL Plans: these courses are called ‘English Substitutions’ (ENGL_Subs). Medials can count up to 6.0 units of English Substitutions toward their Plans.

For a full list of English Substitutions, see the Plan page for the English Minor BAH and English Minor BA programs in the Academic Calendar.

Creative Writing Courses

Our program offers a wide variety of creative writing courses, all of which count towards the program requirements. Medials can count up to 12.0 units of CWRI toward their plans.

View our Creative Writing courses

Department of English, Queen's University

Watson Hall
49 Bader Lane
Kingston ON K7L 3N6
Canada

Telephone (613) 533-2153

Undergraduate

Telephone (613) 533-6000 ext. 74446 extension 74446

Graduate

Telephone (613) 533-6000 ext. 74447 extension 74447

Queen's University is situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory.