Department of English and Foreign Languages

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Joe Cash, Head
Faculty: Badeaux, Blain, Blevins, Bowman, Brown, Cook, Cooper, Costello, Czennia, Fleury,
Goins, Hait, Horner, Joubert, LeJeune, Lowe, McLeod-Porter, Martin, Taylor, Trahan, Walsh, Ware, Whelan-Stewart, Wood, Wyman

Purpose

The basic 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 individuals and increase their multifold usefulness to society. Courses in foreign languages afford students the opportunity for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing 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 cultural heritage.

To these ends, the Department of English and Foreign Languages presents courses in English, French, Greek, Latin, and Spanish and is organized to offer curricula in English, French, Latin, and Spanish.

Degrees

The Bachelor of Arts degree is awarded to those students who complete a four-year curriculum with a major in the fields of English, French, or Spanish, English Education-Grades 6-12, or Foreign Languages Education-Grades 6-12 (certification in one area: French, Latin, or Spanish). Information concerning graduate work in the Department of English and Foreign Languages can be found in the Graduate School section of this catalog.

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 section titled “Graduation Requirements” found in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog. Students must earn a grade of “C” or better for each course in the major field. A student majoring in English Education-Grades 6-12 and Foreign Language Education-Grades 6-12 is responsible for all requirements pertaining to Teacher Education Preparation.

Foreign Language Requirements

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.

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 in the foreign languages program. 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 in the foreign languages program.

Minors

The Department of English and Foreign Languages offers minors in Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, English, French, Spanish, and Writing. Requirements are listed in each program.

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.

Serious deficiencies in undergraduate preparation must be rectified. The necessary courses may be prescribed by the head of the department and the major professor.

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 Head of the Department of English and Foreign Languages, McNeese State University.

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