Requirements for CCS Literature Students

1. Core courses provide a solid foundation in literature. CCS literature courses numbered 110-114 are core courses. Many literature courses in the College of Letters and Science (L&S) also count for core credit. These must be upper-division literature courses in departments such as all of the foreign language departments, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Chicana and Chicano Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, Dramatic Arts, English, Women’s Studies. In addition, core courses must have substantial reading, substantial writing (at least 15 pages), and opportunities for discussion. (Note: large L&S lecture courses do not qualify as core classes.)

2. If an L&S class does not satisfy these requirements, a student may work out a contract with the instructor. The contract is an agreement to do extra work in order to reach the minimum requirements cited above in item 1. Final say in these matters rests with faculty advisors. (Note: large L&S lecture courses are not open to contracts.)

Academic: 18 core literature courses of which 6 must be in the departments listed in section #1 above. Of these 6 classes, 3 must be in a field of specialization (e.g., medieval studies in Italian, English, Spanish, and History). This track is suitable for students intending to apply to MA and PhD programs.

Creative: 18 core courses and at least 7 creative writing classes (3 of these 7 creative writing classes count for core credit). Students on this track must declare a specialization (e.g., poetry, narrative prose, translation, essay, by the end of their junior year and submit a portfolio of work in that specialization to a committee of their own choosing during their senior year. This track is most suitable for those intending to apply to MFA programs, but it also prepares students for journalism schools, credential programs, editing positions, and writing jobs.

Academic/Creative Writing: 18 core literature courses of which 3 must be classes in the departments listed in section #1 above, and 3 must be creative writing classes. Transfer students who choose this track must also take 3 creative writing classes. This track is suitable for students interested in shaping a program to fit their own needs. It also suitable for those intending to apply to MFA programs, MA programs, journalism schools, credential programs, and, among others, law schools.

Submit a one-page personal statement, an unofficial transcript, and a writing sample at the beginning of your sophomore year for a mid-residency review.

Take 2 classes related to, but not required by, your track, and at least 8 4-unit courses unrelated to literature and broadly distributed in diverse areas of study. Within these eight unrelated courses, no more than two may be from any one field of study unless you are completing a minor or a double major, in which case the maximum breadth/GE courses from any one field would be three.

All students must also fulfill the American History and Institutions and Ethnic Studies requirements described in the UCSB general catalog. If courses chosen to fulfill these requirements are unrelated to literature, these courses may also fulfill one or more of the breadth requirements mentioned above.