Four-Year Degree & Development Plans
Below we’ve provided a four-year development plan for students in our program. This development plan will help students set and achieve meaningful goals, with a particular focus on preparing for life and work beyond Butler.
We’ve also provided four-year degree plans for many of our majors to illustrate how students could complete a degree from our department in four years. These degree plans suggest which classes students should generally plan to complete each semester they are at Butler.
We know that each student will chart their own path at Butler with the help of their advisors. Neither the development nor the four-year degree plan should be seen as prescriptive. Instead, each plan should be seen as a directional guide helping students stay on track during their time at Butler.
First Year:
- Develop relationships with academic advisor, faculty, staff and other majors/minors
- Explore extracurricular opportunities, both related and not related to the discipline
- Develop a four-year plan for coursework
- Add a major/minor, if necessary
Sophomore:
- Develop interest in a sub-field associated with the discipline by exploring courses and pushing one’s boundaries in selecting courses
- Pursue a leadership role in extracurricular activities
- Start attending career fairs
- Identify potential career paths/post-graduate plans
- Identify potential internship opportunities and/or Service Learning courses
- Begin resume building
- Consider study abroad opportunities
Junior:
- Prepare for graduate or professional school entrance exams and secure recommenders OR identify potential career path
- Complete an internship and/or Service Learning courses
- Pursue a leadership role in extracurricular activities
- Explore possibilities for conducting independent research or getting involved with a faculty member’s research
- Begin completing an honors thesis proposal, if applicable
- Apply for the Butler Summer Institute, if applicable
- Continue resume building
Senior:
- Apply to graduate/professional school OR jobs
- Complete honors thesis research, if applicable
- Polish resume or CV
| First Year Fall | First Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN185 – Contemporary Writing | EN 266 – British Literatures (or another 200-level elective) |
| FYS101 | FYS102 |
| Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) | Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) |
| Language | Language |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Second Year Fall | Second Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN219 – Intro to Prose (or another 200-level elective) | EN220 – Science Fiction (or another 200-level elective) |
| EN 290 – Research Seminar | Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) |
| Core – GHS | Core – GHS |
| Language (if necessary) | Language (if necessary) |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Third Year Fall | Third Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN363 – Shakespeare (or another 300-level elective) | EN343 – 20th Century Women Writers (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN393 – Topics in Literature (or another 300-level elective) | EN381 – Major Authors (or another 300-level elective) |
| Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) | Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) |
| General Elective | Community Engagement (ICR)** |
| General Elective | General Elective |
| Fourth Year Fall | Fourth Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN394 – Studies in Film (or another 300-level elective) | EN400 – level Seminar |
| EN381 – Special Topics in Video Games (or another 300-level elective) | General Elective |
| Community Engagement (if needed)** | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
*If a student chooses to study abroad, they should talk to their advisor about elective options.
**Students satisfy the Community Engagement Requirement through a Service Learning or Internship course, typically in their 3rd or 4th year.
| First Year Fall | First Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN185 – Contemporary Writing | EN219 – Intro to Prose |
| FYS101 | FYS102 |
| Core (AR/SW/WB) | Core (AR/SW/WB) |
| Language | Language |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Second Year Fall | Second Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN218 – Intro to Poetry | EN220 – Science Fiction (or another 200-level elective) |
| EN265 – Early British Literatures (or another 200-level elective) | EN223 – Disability Studies and American Literature (or another 200-level elective) |
| Core – GHS | Core – GHS |
| Language (if necessary) | Language (if necessary) |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Third Year Fall | Third Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN363 – Shakespeare (or another 300-level elective) | EN343 – 20th Century Women Writers (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN394 – Studies in Film (or another 300-level elective) | EN310 – Workshop |
| Core (NW/AR/SW) | Core (NW/AR/SW) |
| General Elective | Community Engagement (ICR)** |
| General Elective | General Elective |
| Fourth Year Fall | Fourth Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN310 – Workshop | EN410 – Capstone |
| EN393 – Topics in Literature (or another 300-level elective) | EN381 – Major Authors (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN380 – Special Topics in Video Games (or another 300-level elective) | General Elective |
| Community Engagement (ICR) if necessary** | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
*If a student chooses to study abroad, they should talk to their advisor about elective options.
**Students satisfy the Community Engagement Requirement through a Service Learning or Internship course, typically in their 3rd or 4th year.
| First Year Fall | First Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN185 – Contemporary Writing | EN223 – Disability Studies and American Literature (or another 200-level elective) |
| FYS101 | FYS102 |
| Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) | Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) |
| Language | Language |
| EN203 – Intro to Professional Writing | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Second Year Fall | Second Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN 290 – Research Seminar | EN220 – Science Fiction (or another 200-level elective) |
| EN246 – Early American Literature (or another 200-level elective) | EN303 – Studies in Professional Writing |
| Core – GHS | Core – GHS |
| Language (if necessary) | Language(if necessary) |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Third Year Fall | Third Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN303 – Studies in Professional Writing | EN380 – Special Topics in Video Games (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN311 – Literary Editing (or another 300-level elective) | EN363 – Shakespeare (or another 300-level elective) |
| Community Engagement (ICR)** | General Elective |
| Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) | Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) |
| General Elective | General Elective |
| Fourth Year Fall | Fourth Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN386 – Rhetoric | EN303/403 – Studies in Professional Writing |
| EN393 – Topics in Literature (or another 300-level elective) | EN381 – Major Authors (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN395 – Internship (or another EN303) | EN349 – The Graphic Novel (or another 300-level elective) |
| Community Engagement (if needed)** | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
*If a student chooses to study abroad, they should talk to their advisor about elective options.
**Students satisfy the Community Engagement Requirement through a Service Learning or Internship course, typically in their 3rd or 4th year.
| First Year Fall | First Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN185 – Contemporary Writing | EN220 – Science Fiction (or another 200-level elective) |
| FYS101 | FYS102 |
| Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) | Core (AR/SW/PCA/WB) |
| Language | Language |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Second Year Fall | Second Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN287 – Intro to Theory | EN290 – Research Seminar |
| EN223 – Disability Studies and American Literature (or another 200-level elective) | EN322 – Diasporic Cultures |
| Core – GHS | Core – GHS |
| Language (if necessary) | Language(if necessary) |
| Core or other Major/Minor | Core or other Major/Minor |
| Third Year Fall | Third Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN321 – Comparative Literature | EN387 – Studies in Literary Theory |
| EN394 – Special Topics in Film (or another 300-level elective) | EN380 – Special Topics in Video Games (or another 300-level elective) |
| EN349 – The Graphic Novel (or another 300-level elective) | EN393 – Storytelling in Tabletop Role Playing Games (or another 300-level elective) |
| Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) | Core (NW/AR/SW/PCA) |
| General Elective | Community Engagement (ICR)** |
| Fourth Year Fall | Fourth Year Spring |
|---|---|
| EN 393 – Sex, Suffrage, and Empire (or another 300-level elective) | EN400-level Seminar |
| EN393 – Topics in Literature (or another 300-level elective) | EN381 – Major Authors (or another 300-level elective) |
| Community Engagement (if needed)** | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
| General Elective | General Elective |
*If a student chooses to study abroad, they should talk to their advisor about elective options.
**Students satisfy the Community Engagement Requirement through a Service Learning or Internship course, typically in their 3rd or 4th year.