English on UBC's Okanagan campus | UBC Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

Mastery of the English language is a powerful political and philosophical tool to expand career options in the information age. Become an expert communicator in such occupations as speechwriter, editor, and media producer.

This program is also offered at UBC's Vancouver Campus

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Why this program?

Explore literature and how it imparts meaning in multiple contexts and eras, including the contemporary world.
Choose from a wide variety of courses in areas such as Indigenous literatures, postcolonial literatures, world literatures, media studies, ecocriticism, critical and cultural theory, and the digital humanities.

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Program information

Campus: Okanagan
Faculty: Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Length 4 yrs
Co-op Yes
You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
Honours Yes
You can study intense specialization in a single field.

English involves the close study and analysis of complex texts. The program provides a historical overview of English literature, as well as an introduction to contemporary literature in Canada and around the world. You will gain an appreciation for the study of language and how it is one of the most powerful political and philosophical tools in an information age. English professors engage students in research projects, labs, and centres that range from Indigenous studies and the study of animal ethics to digitized cultural history.

Courses range in focus from composition to Renaissance literature; from 17th, 18th, and 19th century studies to contemporary American and Canadian writing; and from Indigenous and postcolonial literatures to studies in the emerging field of digital humanities. You can complete a Bachelor of Arts in English with a major, combined major, honours, or a general studies BA with a concentration in English.

Experiential learning and research

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) hosts numerous events and happenings in the Okanagan community, including theatre, visiting authors, and the AlterKnowledge discussion series. You can also meet your peers, get involved with student life, and explore career options in the UBCO Critical Studies Club. Joining The Phoenix, the Okanagan campus’s student newspaper, is another worthwhile opportunity to meet fellow writers and hone your real-world English skills.

The English program coursework contains many opportunities for undergraduate research, including a directed studies course, where you will undertake supervised research in a clearly-defined area, leading to a major research paper. The FCCS offers $2,500 undergraduate research awards that provide undergraduate students support to engage in research and creative activities over the summer months.

Campus features

UBC’s Okanagan campus is home to the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre, which is located on a 3.5-hectare nature conservancy, and is a project of an agreement between the Regional District of the Central Okanagan and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. The centre comprises a large heritage home with three self-contained apartments used to host graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and visiting artists and scholars, plus a studio cabin for seminars, retreats, art projects, events, and meetings.

Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre

What can you do with this major after graduation?

Your English career options

ENGL 112 - Studies in Composition
Study and application of the principles of university-level discourse, with emphasis on processes of research-based writing. Essays and exercises are required. or
ENGL 150 - Introduction to Literary Genre
Introduction to literary interpretation through a focus on literature in a range of genres such as poetry, drama, and fiction. At least 35% of class time will be dedicated to instruction in university-level writing and research. or
ENGL 151 - Critical Studies in Literature
Introduction to literature with a focus on literary criticism. It therefore draws from a range of styles and periods as well as introducing students to a variety of critical approaches. At least 35% of class time will be dedicated to instruction in university-level essay writing and research. or
ENGL 153 - Readings in Narrative
Introduces students to a variety of narrative forms including anecdotes, autobiography, biography, diaries, films, histories, myths, narrative poems, novels, and songs. Each section of the course will study works from at least three different forms of narrative. Students will receive instruction in processes of research-based writing. or
ENGL 114 - Studies in Composition: Aboriginal Perspectives
Study and practice of the principles of university-level discourse in relation to aboriginal perspectives, with emphasis on processes of research-based writing. Essays and exercises are required.

ENGL 297 - Reading Animals
Representations of animals in contemporary culture, including philosophical ethics, critical animal studies theory, and analysis of text and image. Explores novels, graphic novels, poems, plays and films that attempt to investigate and question the boundary we imagine to exist between ourselves and other animals.
ENGL 212 - Studies in Children's Literature
Survey of literature written for children across a variety of historical periods up to the present. Forms and genres examined include poems, stories, fairy tales, novels, and treatises written for and about children, covering a full range of modes from didactic to realistic to fantasy.
ENGL 231 - Introduction to Popular Narrative
Introduction to popular literary genres, including detective fiction, science fiction, romance, gothic fiction, horror fiction, and fantasy. Students will examine the relationship between socio-political formations and literature. Discussions of form will include a study of narrative methods and fictional techniques.
ENGL 233 - American Literature
Introduction to major figures and themes in American literature, with special emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ENGL 270 - Topics in Women's Literature
Exploration of ways in which women have been represented in and have contributed to the literary tradition by examining women's writing in a particular historical, national, and/or regional context (e.g., the English renaissance), on particular topics (e.g., war, religion, or work), or from a specific race or class (e.g., black women's writing). Students can elect to transfer this course as English or Women's Studies credit for this course.

ENGL 305 - The Self-Conscious Text
Addresses computational methods for student-led humanities research, including visualizing, mapping, and encoding. No Digital Humanities or computing experience required.
ENGL 319 - Studies in Romanticism
Consideration will be given to Romantic-era literature and culture, including a range of literary, political, philosophical, and social topics.
ENGL 333 - Canadian Fiction
One or more major themes and/or movements in Canadian fiction.
ENGL 376 - Television Studies
The medium of television from a global perspective, and the investigation of how genres in different television broadcast regimes shape content and reception.
ENGL 377 - English-Canadian Screen Culture
Development of English-Canadian screen culture studied by concentrating on various movements, the political economy of Anglo-Canadian screen culture, and televisual and cinematic forms and genres. Focus of the survey is on identity, nationhood, and representation.

ENGL 427 - Chaucer's Earlier Poetry
A detailed study of Chaucer's early works including The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls, Troilus and Chrisyde, and The Legend of Good Women.
ENGL 397 - Contemporary Environmental Writing
An introduction to the theory and practice of ecocriticism alongside exploration of a specific aspect of contemporary environmental writing.
ENGL 429 - Topics in Middle English Literature
Special topics which may focus on specific genres, authors, or themes. 3-0-0
ENGL 437 - Postcolonial Studies
Examines colonialism, decolonization, and globalization, as they relate to literature and other modes of cultural production, using a cross-cultural framework. Topics vary from year to year. No more than 9 credits in total will be granted for ENGL 437, CULT 437, or any combination thereof.
ENGL 477 - Literature and Science
Advanced critical analysis of engagement with science in contemporary literary texts. Focusing on a specific area of science, such as climate change, complexity theory, cognitive psychology, or genetic modification, the course seeks to build constructively critical relationships between disciplines.

UBC Creative and Critical Studies building

Life at UBC's Okanagan campus

French language courses are designed to improve skills in reading, composition and oral communication, and to foster critical analysis of cultural material and intercultural understanding. Our literature courses cover francophone literatures across historical periods and from a range of geographical regions.

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Your future

A degree in English sets you up for a wide range of career paths, including linguist, editor, court reporter, fundraising specialist, and much more.

Richelle smiling on the stairs at UBC Okangan

UBC stories

"I decided to major in English for the amazing Indigenous literature classes that UBC offers. In these classes, I’ve studied groundbreaking authors with Indigenous-focused perspectives and have had many amazing professors."
Richelle A-B. Read the full story

Program requirements

Canadian high schools
International high schools
International baccalaureate

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.

IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Arts

No specific courses required beyond those needed for general admission

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

Language Arts
Mathematics and Computation
Second Languages
Social Studies
Visual and Performing Arts