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.
Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement Examination
In accordance with Missouri Senate Bill 807 (section 170.013.1), 'any student entering a public institution of higher education for the first time after July 2019 who is pursuing an associate's or bachelor's degree from such institution shall successfully pass an examination on the provisions and principles of American civics with a score of seventy percent or greater as a condition of graduation from such institution'. To satisfy this requirement at UMKC, students access the exam through the Canvas site. This requirement will be listed in the degree audit system as, 'Take State Mandated Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement Examination', and listed on the transcript as 'Missouri Civics Examination'.
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 | ||
| 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 or any UMKC Focus A course 1 | 6 | |
| Science and Math Division of CAS or any UMKC Focus B course | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences Division of CAS or any UMKC Focus C course | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Literature Courses | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Myth and Literature | ||
| Foundations Of Ancient World Literature I | ||
| Literary Monstrosities | ||
| True Lives: Autobiographical Arts and Acts | ||
| Popular Literature | ||
| Introduction to Journalism | ||
| World Literature in English | ||
| Introduction To Fiction | ||
| Introduction To Poetry | ||
| The Craft of Creative Writing | ||
| Women Writing/Women Reading | ||
| Science Fiction | ||
| Asian American Literature | ||
| Literature, Language, and Rhetoric | 15 | |
| Select two from the following pre-1900s courses: | ||
| Ancient World in Cinema | ||
| Classical Literature In Translation | ||
| Concepts of the Hero in Ancient Literature and World Cinema | ||
| American Literature I | ||
| British Literature I | ||
| Bible As Literature | ||
| Shakespeare | ||
| History Of The English Language | ||
| African American Literature I | ||
| The Novel Before 1900 | ||
| Old English | ||
| Black Women Writers | ||
| Chaucer | ||
| Renaissance Literature I | ||
| Milton | ||
| 19th-Century American Literature | ||
| The Victorian Period | ||
| 18th-Century British Literature | ||
| Histories Of Writing, Reading, And Publishing | ||
| Studies In The Novel 1740-1900 | ||
| African American Migrations in Literature | ||
| Select three from the following courses or any of those not taken in the pre-1900s section above: | ||
| Asian American Literature | ||
| Theory And Practice Of Composition | ||
| Language, Literacy, Power | ||
| Rhetorics of New Media | ||
| Rhetorics of Public Memory | ||
| Introduction To Linguistics/Language Science | ||
| Structure Of English | ||
| American Literature II | ||
| British Literature II | ||
| 20th-Century American Literature | ||
| American Culture | ||
| Girls And Print Culture | ||
| History And Principles Of Rhetoric | ||
| Theory and Criticism in English Studies | ||
| Special Readings | ||
| The Civil Rights Movement in African American Literature | ||
| From Field Shout to Hip Hop: African American Poetic Traditions | ||
| Studies In The Modern Novel | ||
| Writing Courses | 18 | |
| At least 6 credit hours must be at the 300-level and at least 6 credit hours must be at the 400-level. | ||
| Creative Writing I Fiction | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Prose | ||
| Advanced Creative Writing Poetry | ||
| Poetic Forms | ||
| Prose Forms | ||
| External Internship | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Creative Nonfiction | ||
| Senior Tutorial (instructor approval required) | ||
| The following may also qualify as additional writing courses with approval from the Director of Creative Writing: | ||
| Introduction to Screenwriting | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting | ||
| Playwriting I | ||
| Playwriting II | ||
| Total Credits | 36 | |
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.