English

English is for students who want more than textbook learning. It develops speech and writing, and rewards curiosity and healthy skepticism.

UCalgary's collection of Penguin books

Put your education to work

Your education in our English program will contribute to success in many industries. You could pursue fields from editorial and publishing to business and management.

Your education will also be a strong basis for post-degree programs and graduate studies.

Degrees offered

Degree requirements

BA in English
View requirements

BA Honours in English
View requirements

Minor in English
View requirements

Admission requirements

View the admission and application requirements for this program.

See admission requirements

Admission questions?

Browse contacts and help

Wondering about the different between a major, minor or honours degree?


English Major

Want a job in writing, research, or marketing? An English major is a good foundation for that, with more choice in selecting English options.

English Minor

Majoring in Business or another field? A minor in English is an excellent choice to get a solid foundation in your reading and writing components at work.


English Honours

An excellent preparation for graduate thesis work.

The Honours Project forms a distinctive part of the Honours program in English. The project's writing and research will prepare you for entering the scholarly community. This opportunity to work with a faculty advisor develops expertise in your chosen interest. Seminars provide shared guidance and experience in research and writing methods.

Students must schedule their Honours Project in a twelve-month period that includes a complete academic year (i.e., directed summer reading, and then the seminar from September to April).

Students enrolled in English 504 will participate in a regular seminar, led by a faculty member. The seminar will be conducted as a workshop based on students' individual research and writing and to develop specific research, writing and professional skills. The goal of the seminar is to support the planning and writing of a long research project.

Sixty percent of the final grade for English 504 will be assigned by the student's supervisor and will reflect the quality of the final version of the essay. Forty percent will be assigned by the seminar leader and will reflect the process of research, writing, and seminar interaction.

Please contact englupd@ucalgary.ca if you have difficulty finding a supervisor for your Honours project.

The Honours Project forms a culminating part of the Honours program in English. Students conceive and execute a research project, working closely with a faculty advisor. It allows you to synthesize research skills and develop subject matter expertise while pursuing an individual interest.

The seminar component of the project facilitates advanced research and writing skills. This makes the Honours Project excellent preparation for graduate work, or other self-directed research and writing activity. Through the Honours Project, undergraduate students take an important step towards entering the larger community of scholars.

The project itself will be forty to fifty double-spaced, typed pages and should follow the most recent edition of the MLA handbook. It may examine any aspect of one author’s work, of a literary form, or of a period, providing that topic and critical approach is sufficiently precise to be handled in about forty pages. With the approval of a qualified supervisor, experienced creative writers may substitute a creative writing project for an essay.

Thesis titles up to 2018
Physical volumes available to review in SS 1059. 

More recent titles
A selection of more recent projects are available in the PRISM repository online, in University of Calgary’s Libraries and Cultural Resources.