<p>I'm trying to get some input regarding the English Major at Columbia, but I noticed that although there are many such threads in the HYP forums, I can't seem to find any about Columbia - and that's the place I most want to know about.</p>
<p>So, is there any student/recent graduate/someone-who-would-know who could provide input on majoring in English at Columbia, especially regarding the intensity of the program, class sizes and quality of faculty? Thanks very much in advance.</p>
<p>Hello there,</p>
<p>I’m a passionate English Major, and I have plenty of lovely things to say about the department.</p>
<p>The English Major is 30 credits (roughly 9 classes), which is definitely on the low end of the spectrum (Biochemistry is around 70 credits). So, you’ll be able to take plenty of courses in other departments if you want. That said, I’m completely hooked on English classes and I will have taken 12 already at the end of this semester (I’m a Junior, by the way).</p>
<p>One of the best things about the English Major is its flexibility. There are three distribution requirements (copied from the English Department bulletin): </p>
<p>1.Period distribution: Three courses primarily dealing with periods before 1800, only one of which may be a course in Shakespeare.</p>
<p>2.Genre distribution: One course in each of the following three generic categories:</p>
<p>Poetry
Prose fiction/narrative
Drama and Film</p>
<ol>
<li>Geography distribution: One course in each of the following three geographical categories:</li>
</ol>
<p>-British
-American
-Comparative/Global (comparative literature, postcolonial, global English, trans-Atlantic, diaspora)</p>
<p>This may seem like a lot, but one course will often fulfill multiple requirements. You’ll probably be able to knock out most of these just by taking classes interest you.</p>
<p>Otherwise, there is only one required class (Literary Texts, Critical Methods), and it’s not even a prerequisite for other English classes. For example, I still haven’t taken the class, despite having fulfilled all my other requirements. You do eventually have to take the course, though.</p>
<p>The English Department is <em>stacked</em> with unbelievable professors. Out of the 9 English professors I’ve taken classes with (including Lit Hum), 8 have been life-changingly-awesome. Seriously. Take a class with any of these professors and prepare to be blown away: Erik Gray, Nicholas Dames, Eleanor Johnson, Andrew Delbanco, Philip Kitcher, James Shapiro, Michael Golston, and Ann Douglas. These recommendations are based solely on my experiences, so don’t view this list as complete. I’ve heard great things about other professors in the department, too.</p>
<p>The combination of loose requirements and an abundance of excellent professors will allow you to create schedules consisting solely of great courses. My friends are all jealous of my course selections. I haven’t taken a bad course since freshman year.</p>
<p>As for class types, there are two kinds: lectures and seminars. A lecture class (worth 3 credits) is exactly what it sounds likes. The professor teaches for the whole class (twice a week), and you soak it up/take notes. They can range in size from 30 to 100 students, depending on the popularity of the professor and the allure of the subject-matter (Science Fiction always attract a large following). Often, a discussion section will be required alongside a lecture, where you discuss the reading with a small section of your class. Usually, grad students run these discussion sections. Also, these grad students will probably grade your papers. There are exceptions, though. I’ve been in a discussion section led by the professor himself (Andrew Delbanco, who’s an academic rockstar), and I’ve taken classes where the professor graded every paper himself (in a class of 100 students).</p>
<p>Seminars are round table discussions led by a professor. You need to apply to get into them, and there are usually 10-20 students admitted. Generally, these classes are populated with Juniors and Seniors, because they are considered upper-level courses (worth 4 credits). However, I was admitted to four seminars in my sophomore year, so don’t be afraid to apply. These are my favorite classes. They are very intimate, so you will get to know your professor and your classmates really well. You will also get lots of feedback on your writing and your ideas. Plus, they only meet once a week (for two hours), so you can free-up a lot more out-of-class time.</p>
<p>I’ve got to run to class. I hope this is helpful. :-)</p>
<p>You should also look at the Comparative Literature program. It is a very, very interesting major, but the language requirements mean you need to choose it very early on (unless you have some unusual language background).</p>
<p>@tirakon: Wow. That was certainly absolutely thorough. Seeing that information on Columbia’s English Department is scarce on CC, I appreciate it a lot. The only other thing I’d like to ask about is your English Major classmates. Are people generally excited about the courses and the major, making for high quality classes/seminars and interesting discussion? Also, is being the same major as someone else a strong basis of socializing? Again, thank you very much. The reason my questions are a bit detailed is that I am considering applying ED to Columbia, a decision I want to be absolutely sure about.</p>
<p>@ivyalum: I’ll be sure to do so. Thank you for the advice.</p>
<p>@Smacking: The Columbia English department is pretty phenomenal, and I’d say almost all English majors are excited about the courses/major. But I think that’s true of Poli/Sci, History, Anthropology (my major, which is even more flexible than English!), and other Humanities/Social Science majors as well.</p>