Nov 24, 2024  
2017-2018 Academic Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Academic Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Department of English and Foreign Languages


Dr. Scott Goins, Department Head

Purpose

The purpose of the Department of English and Foreign Languages is to train students to understand and to communicate ideas through the medium of languages: English, French, Greek, Latin, and Spanish. The department also encourages active engagement in research and/or creative work, and its members help to serve the intellectual and cultural needs of the community. Specifically, English courses give the training necessary for effective writing and correct speaking, provide a well-rounded knowledge of the English language, encourage critical thinking, develop a perceptive approach to literature, and help in the selection of human values that will enrich the intellectual life of students and increase their multifold usefulness to society. Courses in foreign languages afford students the opportunity for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in languages other than their native tongue, acquaint students with the important non-English literature of the world, and introduce individuals to the nature and structure of foreign languages as important parts of the world’s cultural heritage.

Curricula

The Department of English and Foreign Languages offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in English with concentrations in comparative literature, English education grades 6-12, foreign languages and literatures, literature, or writing. The department also offers minors in classical studies, comparative literature, English, French, Spanish, and writing.

Advanced Placement in Foreign Language

Students who enter McNeese University with exceptional high school preparation in a foreign language may be enrolled at an advanced level. If the student’s classroom performance justifies the advanced placement, credit as well as placement will be awarded for previous work in foreign language .

Foreign-born students who have a proficiency in their native tongue will take examinations administered by a representative of the Department of English and Foreign Languages to determine the placement of these students. American students who have not taken foreign language in high school but who have a proficiency in a foreign language will take an appropriate Department of English and Foreign Languages examination to determine their placement.

Graduation Requirements

A student who registers for a prescribed curriculum is expected to take all the courses in the order listed and must complete the total number of hours required in the curriculum.

A student in the Department of English and Foreign Languages must meet all graduation requirements listed in the Degree and Graduation Requirements  section of the Academic Regulations page. Students must earn a grade of C or better in certain courses as stated in the Notes at the bottom of each program. A student concentrating in English education grades 6-12 must also meet all requirements for admission and progression through the teacher education program, student teaching, and graduation as stated on the Burton College of Education  page.

Graduate Studies

The Department of English and Foreign Languages offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in English and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Additional information about graduate programs is available on the William J. Doré, Sr. School of Graduate Studies  page.

Students with deficiencies in undergraduate preparation may be required to take additional courses. Any necessary courses may be prescribed by the head of the department and the major professor.

More specific and detailed information concerning requirements for graduate degrees in the Department of English and Foreign Languages may be obtained by directing inquiries to the Department of English and Foreign Languages.

The McNeese Review

John Griswold, Editor

The McNeese Review, published since 1948, serves as a forum for articles and essays in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Editorial policy and reviewing processes of The McNeese Review are formulated and supervised by an editorial board comprised of faculty in the College of Liberal Arts at McNeese State University.

The editorial board of The McNeese Review welcomes submissions that exhibit high academic standards and the potential to interest educated readers regardless of their academic specialty.

The McNeese Review is funded by the McNeese State University Foundation through an endowment established by Mr. and Mrs. William D. Blake, Mrs. Violet Howell, and Howell Industries, Inc. Submission and subscription information is available from the editor.

Programs

    Bachelor of Arts
    Minor