English

The program and course offerings in English have two main objectives: to give the student a broad knowledge and lively appreciation of "the best that has been thought and said" in literature, and to develop practical skills for the student's career future.

Works of literature in the program are studied both as art and as expressions of significant thought, so as to cultivate an understanding of beauty and at the same time a capacity for dealing confidently with sophisticated ideas. Students learn how to interpret a particular statement or event by relating it to other elements in the work; how to interpret a work, or a set of ideas, by relating it to other works and ideas from different ages and societies; and, at each step, how to interpret current events or personal experiences by relating them imaginatively to the events and experiences depicted in the readings.

The emphasis is on cultural knowledge that increases the student's self-knowledge.

Simultaneously, through the class experience and the individual pro-jects assigned, emphasis is also placed on the development of skills that the student will later be able to apply to professional tasks in a variety of fields. Students learn and practice techniques for gathering information, for interpreting it, for analyzing it, and for isolating what is most important in it. They learn, in short, some of the basic procedures for making themselves experts in their chosen field.

For students majoring in English, a minimum grade of C is required in all English courses used to fulfill program requirements. Other grade expectations apply for students seeking teacher certification; See the Teacher Education section of the catalog for requirements.

Communication Skills Courses

The ability to communicate clearly, logically, and persuasively is increasingly in demand in almost every line of work today, and is among the most important professional tools the student can acquire. One of the chief functions of the English program, and one of the chief ways in which individual English courses serve students in other programs, is to develop that ability. Each of the literature courses in the program is designed to include study of the techniques of effective expression, both in the work of professional writers and in the student's own work; for students who want concentrated training in those techniques, whether for professional or personal reasons, there are also a number of non-literature courses in English and related areas that focus on the communications skills themselves.

University English Requirements

As the level of writing skills declines, and the demand for those skills in the professional world increases, Dominican University New York is committed to providing its students with the kind of preparation that will give them an advantage in their later careers.  

All freshmen entering the University are placed into courses in the “Writing Sequence.” As a result of this placement, they are enrolled in one of the following sequenced courses, the "Writing Sequence": 

1. English 119 or 120:  College Writing with Lab or College Writing & Research
2. English 123:  Writing About Literature

Students who need some catch-up work in order to get the most out of their other college courses begin the sequence with English 108, proceeding from there to English 119 or DC 120 and 123. Students who have had sufficient preparation in their previous high school  work begin with English 120, and a few exceptionally talented students begin immediately at the third level, English 123.  

Students who score a 3 or higher on the AP English Language and Composition exam, or who have earned college credit through an equivalent dual enrollment college-level course offered through their high schools, are exempt from DC 120 and are placed into EN 123. Students who receive a 3 or higher on the AP Literature exam, or who have earned college credit through an equivalent dual enroll-ment college-level course offered through their high schools, must still enroll in EN 123 but will be given three elective credits in Eng-lish literature.  

With those few exceptions, all freshmen are guaranteed at least 6 credits of training in English skills at a level appropriate to their back-grounds and needs.  

The needs of transfer students are given similarly close attention. Any entering transfer students who have not already completed the equivalent of the Writing Sequence at their previous institutions will do so at Dominican. And students who have already taken the equivalent of the Sequence elsewhere are tested to assess their skills in  relation to Dominican standards; those whose writing still shows a need for further improvement are placed in EN 115, Enhanced Writing.  

Transfer students placed in English 115 are urged to take the course as early as possible in their first year at the University; successful completion of the course with a grade of C- or better is a prerequisite for graduation. The same policy applies to the Writing Sequence.  

Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society

Sigma Tau Delta is about recognition and opportunity, and is dedicated to making a real difference in the life of each and every Sigma Tau Delta.

Our local chapter, the Alpha Upsilon Theta chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, was founded in December 2013.