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Joint Honours English

Many students of literature are interested in other subjects too, and your ability to analyse literature benefits from knowledge you can bring from other disciplines. The Joint Honours Plan is for students who want to concentrate equally on two subjects, whether to explore connections between them or to develop a broader array of skills.

The English Joint Honours Plan offers all of the same opportunities as the Major—the chance to explore some of the classics of prose, poetry, and drama, alongside popular forms such as children’s literature and fantasy, as well as newer cultural forms like graphic novels—but with fewer courses overall and lighter historical distribution requirements. It still offers ample scope for broadening your knowledge of literary art from different nations and periods, and for encountering diverse voices within contemporary culture.

The Joint Honours Plan features at least one small-class experience at every level of the program, and many courses invite students to do Creative Writing as well as analytical and research-based work.

Career Prospects with a Joint Honours in English

English Joint Honours students graduate with skills that are highly valued in an array of careers: clear and effective communication, critical thinking, precise textual analysis, and independent research. Many English Joint Honours students pursue careers in education, freelance writing, publishing, consulting, civil and diplomatic service, and an array of fields that involve writing and communication. The Medial is also a good fit for education students, who must develop two teachable subjects.

Testimonials from a Current English Joint Honours Student

Grace DuncansonGrace Duncanson

Year of Study: Fourth Year

Degree: English/Classics Joint Honours

“Class discussions are uniquely fun and engaging, and the assignments offer so much room for creativity!”

Joint Honours 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 medial in the English Languages and Literature program, please use the English Joint Honours page in the Queen’s University Digital Calendar.

Program: Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Plan Code: ENGLXXXX-A or XXXXENGL-A (where XXXX stands for the code of the other Joint Honours subject)

Requirements: 42.0 ENGL units in combination with 42.0 units in another subject, plus sufficient electives to total 120.0 units (114.0 units for students admitted prior to September 2017). To qualify for the English Joint Honours, students must distribute their ENGL units according to the following rules.

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

These two courses are prerequisites for upper-year English courses, so they must be taken in second year.

  • 3.0 to 6.0 ENGL units on an array of topics: children’s literature, Indigenous literature, genres such as fantasy, or thematic courses such as literature and gender or literature and the environment. Medials may also take English Substitutions, including creative writing.
  • The Department recommends that English Joint Honours students take ENGL 292/6.0 Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism, particularly if they are interested in pursuing graduate study.

Year 3

  • Two full-year period/nation surveys:
    • one pre-1800
    • one post-1800

Year 4

  • Two upper-year seminars on diverse topics
  • Joint Honours have the option to write a Senior Essay in place of one seminar, if they meet the eligibility criteria. This is an option, not a requirement, and does not necessarily confer any advantage in graduate or professional applications.

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). Joint Honours can count up to 6.0 units of English Substitutions toward their Plans.

For a full list of English Substitutions, see the English Medial Plan page in the Queen’s University Digital Calendar.

Creative Writing Courses

Our program offers a wide variety of creative writing courses, all of which count towards the program requirements. Joint Honours students 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.