University Requirements
General Education
The UMKC General Education Core is the university-wide curriculum that all undergraduate students will complete. The 30-credit hour core curriculum includes three course types designated as Anchor, Discourse and Focus and is detailed in the General Education section of the catalog.
Constitution Course
Every undergraduate student must take a course covering the United States Constitution and the Missouri State Constitution before graduation. Course options are included in the program requirements section below.
RooWriter Assessment
Candidates for all baccalaureate degrees must complete the online UMKC RooWriter Writing Assessment after they have passed Discourse 200 (or its equivalent) but before they have attained 90 credit hours. Incoming transfer students with more than 90 credit hours must complete the RooWriter by the end of their first semester of enrollment or within one semester after passing Discourse 200 (or its equivalent). Students who have not completed the RooWriter Writing Assessment within two semesters after passing Discourse 200 (or its equivalent) will be blocked from enrollment until they successfully complete the RooWriter. Additional information is available in the Undergraduate Academic Regulations and Information section of the catalog.
Exit Examinations
Information on exit examinations and/or major field exams is available in the Undergraduate Academic Regulations and Information section of the catalog.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from this program will:
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of poetics or storytelling craft through the production of creative works that are structurally sound, polished, and complete.
- Demonstrate effective problem-solving and revision strategies in the composition of poems or stories.
- Demonstrate a strong, deliberate command of style, grammar, and mechanics.
- Demonstrate a general knowledge of literary history, especially the literary traditions of their chosen genre.
- Demonstrate the ability to analyze texts critically and the ability to recognize how a text displays a writer's artistic decisions.
- Demonstrate a working vocabulary with which to discuss the technical and aesthetic aspects of their craft.
The Bachelor of Arts in English with Creative Writing Emphasis combines intensive writing workshops with courses in literature to foster discovery and mastery in creative writing. Our program is based on the belief that successful writers grow from the study of writing and the study of literature, which enables students to learn the traditions and adapt them to their own art. Students complete a capstone project in their final year.
To graduate with a major in English, students must achieve a grade-point average of at least 2.0 in the 36-hour program described below, but no credit will be given for courses in which the grade is below C-. No course may fulfill more than one requirement. At least 18 hours must be taken in the English Department at UMKC. Students complete a capstone project in their final year. Courses may be offered on a rotation basis. Please consult with advisor for current availability.
Program Requirements
Program Specific Recommendations for UMKC General Education Core Coursework
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor I 1 | 3 | |
| Anchor II 1 | 3 | |
| Anchor III 1 | 3 | |
| DISC 100 | Discourse I: Reasoning and Values (Speech and Writing) | 3 |
| DISC 200 | Discourse II: Culture and Diversity (Writing and Speech) | 3 |
| DISC 300 | Discourse III: Civic and Community Engagement (Speech and Writing) | 3 |
| Focus A (Satisfied in program requirements below) | ||
| Focus B (Satisfied in program requirements below) | ||
| Focus C (May be satisfied by Constitution course requirement below) | ||
| Focus Elective 1 | 3 | |
| 'Total credits' in this section indicates the number of General Education Core credit hours that are not met by the degree specific requirements outlined below. | ||
| Total Credits | 21 | |
| 1 | See the UMKC General Education Core section of the catalog for available Anchor and Focus course options. |
Constitution Course Requirement
Section 170.011.1 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, 2015, states that all candidates for a degree issued by a college or university in the state of Missouri must have “satisfactorily passed an examination on the provisions and principles of the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri, and in American history and American institutions.”
Courses at UMKC that satisfy this state requirement are:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| The Supreme Court And The Criminal Process | ||
| U.S. History to 1877 (Focus C) 1 | ||
| U.S. History Since 1877 (Focus C) 1 | ||
| Constitutional History of the United States | ||
| Honors American Government (Focus C) 1 | ||
| American Government (Focus C) 1 | ||
| Total Credits | 3 | |
| 1 | Course may satisfy both the UMKC General Education Core (Focus C) and Constitution requirements. |
There are a few other ways this requirement can be satisfied for students transferring to UMKC:
- Take an equivalent course from the list above at a regionally accredited institution.
- Earn credit for one of the above courses through AP, IB, or CLEP.
- Take a course that directly satisfies the Missouri Constitution Requirement at another Missouri institution.
- Have a previous bachelors degree (or higher) from a regionally accredited institution.
- Have an Associate of Arts degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Complete the 42 Hour Core at a Missouri institution and have it listed on the official transcript.
College of Arts & Sciences Degree Requirements
Students pursuing the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees must complete a major. Students pursuing the bachelor of liberal arts degree must complete a minor. Additional details are available in the Student Services section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ALEKS Math Placement | ||
| Arts and Humanities Division of CAS 1 | 6 | |
| Science and Math Division of CAS | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences Division of CAS | 6 | |
| Writing Intensive Course (300-level or above; Satisfied in program requirements below) | ||
| Foreign Language (3rd Semester Level) | 9 | |
| MATH 110 | Precalculus Algebra (or any 200-level or above Math/Stat course) 2 | 3 |
| or MATH 116 | Mathematics For Liberal Arts | |
| or MATH 120 | Precalculus | |
| Laboratory Science Experience | 1 | |
| Total Credits | 31 | |
| 1 | ENGLISH 110, ENGLISH 225, COMM-ST 110, and foreign language courses at 211 or below do not fulfill this requirement. |
| 2 | This requirement may be fulfilled by courses from either the UMKC General Education Core or the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements. |
Major Requirements
Students must successfully complete the major requirements below with at least 18 of the 36 required hours taken in the department at UMKC with 12 of those hours at the 300-level or above.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Introduction To Drama | ||
| Introduction To Fiction | ||
| Introduction To Poetry | ||
| The Craft of Creative Writing | ||
| Literature | ||
| ENGLISH 323 | Shakespeare | 3 |
| Select one of the following course pairs: | 6 | |
| American Literature I and American Literature II | ||
| British Literature I and British Literature II | ||
| African American Literature I and African American Literature II | ||
| Language | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Introduction To Linguistics/Language Science | ||
| Structure Of English | ||
| History Of The English Language | ||
| Rhetoric | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Theory And Practice Of Composition | ||
| Language, Literacy, Power | ||
| Rhetorics of New Media | ||
| Rhetorics of Public Memory | ||
| Women And Rhetoric | ||
| History And Principles Of Rhetoric | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| American Social Film:Silver Screen&American Dream | ||
| Radical Changes Since 1945 | ||
| Cluster Course: Race in American Film | ||
| Critical Issues in Women's & Gender Studies | ||
| Ancient World/Cinema | ||
| American Literature I | ||
| British Literature I | ||
| Bible As Literature | ||
| American Literature II | ||
| Arthurian Legends | ||
| Modern And Contemporary Irish Literature | ||
| British Literature II | ||
| African American Literature I | ||
| African American Novel | ||
| African American Literature II | ||
| Contemporary American Literature | ||
| Classical Literature in Translation | ||
| Women And Rhetoric | ||
| Women & Literary Culture: Genre Focus | ||
| Women And Literary Culture: Historical Focus | ||
| The 18th Century Novel | ||
| Special Readings | ||
| Special Readings: Detective Fiction | ||
| The Novel Before 1900 | ||
| Studies in Poetry | ||
| The Modern Novel | ||
| Contemporary Novel | ||
| Contemporary Novel | ||
| Introduction to Latinx Literature | ||
| Asian American Literature | ||
| Old English | ||
| Harlem Renaissance | ||
| Black Women Writers | ||
| Chaucer | ||
| Renaissance Literature I | ||
| Milton | ||
| Restoration And Early 18th-Century British Literature | ||
| The Romantic Period | ||
| Modern Poetry | ||
| 19th-Century American Literature | ||
| Medieval Literature | ||
| Renaissance Literature II | ||
| 18th-Century British Literature II | ||
| The Victorian Period | ||
| Contemporary Poetry | ||
| 20th-Century American Literature | ||
| 18th-Century British Literature | ||
| Histories Of Writing, Reading, And Publishing | ||
| Postcolonial Literature | ||
| Shakespeare and Film | ||
| American Culture | ||
| Girls And Print Culture | ||
| Theory and Criticism in English Studies | ||
| Special Readings | ||
| Shakespeare Comedies And Histories | ||
| Early English Drama | ||
| Modern Drama, 1880-1945 | ||
| The Civil Rights Movement in African American Literature | ||
| Studies In The Novel 1740-1900 | ||
| From Field Shout to Hip Hop: African American Poetic Traditions | ||
| Stages Toward Freedom: African American Dramatic Traditions | ||
| Slave Narratives: Race, Gender, and Writing Freedom | ||
| African American Migrations in Literature | ||
| Special Offerings | ||
| Shakespeare Tragedies And Romances | ||
| Restoration And 18th-Century Drama | ||
| Contemporary Drama II | ||
| Medieval Methods & Paleography | ||
| Studies In The Modern Novel | ||
| Women's Literature in Africa and the African Diaspora | ||
| Introduction To Descriptive Linguistics | ||
| Select one of the following Writing Sequences: | 6 | |
| Creative Writing I Fiction and Advanced Creative Writing Prose | ||
| Creative Writing I Fiction and Prose Forms | ||
| Creative Writing Poetry and Poetic Forms | ||
| Creative Writing Poetry and Advanced Creative Writing Poetry | ||
| Literary Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction | ||
| Select two Additional Writing Courses not included in Writing Sequence, above, from the following: | 6 | |
| Creative Writing I Fiction | ||
| Creative Writing Poetry | ||
| Literary Nonfiction | ||
| Magazine Editing | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Prose | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Poetry | ||
| Poetic Forms | ||
| Prose Forms | ||
| The "New Letters" Writing Conference | ||
| External Internship | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Creative Nonfiction | ||
The following may also qualify as additional writing courses: 1 | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Introduction to Screenwriting | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting | ||
| Playwriting I | ||
| Playwriting II | ||
| Introduction to Film Theory | ||
| Fundamentals Of Writing For The Media | ||
| Capstone Experience 2 | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Advanced Creative Writing Prose | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Poetry | ||
| Poetic Forms | ||
| Prose Forms | ||
| Creative Nonfiction | ||
| Senior Tutorial 3 | ||
| Total Credits | 36 | |
| 1 | Requires permission of the Director of Creative Writing or the Director of Undergraduate Studies. |
| 2 | Please see the Director of Undergraduate Studies to apply for the Capstone course. All students must complete a Capstone contract, signed by the instructor and submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Studies before the end of the third week of the semester in which the Capstone course is being taken. |
| 3 | Students must complete a poetry or prose sequence with distinguished work before applying to a tenure-line faculty member and the Director of Creative Writing or the Director of Undergraduate Studies for permission to enroll in ENGLISH 499. |
General Electives
Students must take elective credit hours to meet the minimum credit hour requirement for their degree, including at least 36 credit hours of coursework at the 300-level or above. The minimum required by the university is 120 credit hours, of which at least 30 credit hours must be taken at UMKC, but some degree programs require more.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| General Electives | 29 | |
Minimum GPA: 2.0
Total Credit Hours: 120
Tools for Planning and Fulfilling Academic Requirements
UMKC's Major Maps are detailed, semester by semester plans that lead a student to complete all degree requirements within four years. Plans include benchmarks and critical courses by term that assist a student’s evaluation of progress and major “fit”. In order to ensure that the appropriate courses are taken, students are encouraged to consult with the undergraduate advisor for this major.
UMKC’s Degree Audit System provides an individual evaluation of all degree requirements (General Education Core, Degree Specific, Major Specific, etc.) for student’s officially recorded (Office of Registration and Records) and “what if” plans of study. This evaluation is used to certify all graduation requirements.
UMKC’s Transfer Guides provide detailed guidance on recommended transfer coursework, plans of study, transfer timelines, and transfer contact information. To ensure a seamless transfer experience, students are encouraged to work with both their community college advisor and a UMKC advisor when planning their coursework.