Expected Learning Outcomes

English BA

Program Purpose

Because we believe that literacy forms the core of education and that literature and language have the power to inspire both individuals and societies, we read, and we teach our students to read thoroughly and carefully. We embrace the prophetic admonitions to "teach one another words of wisdom"; to seek "out of the best books words of wisdom"; and to "seek learning, even by study and also by faith." The English Department helps students build a foundation for lifelong learning through its commitment to reading, writing, literary study, rhetoric, and teacher training and focuses students on stories of our common humanity, supporting the university's mission to "assist students in their quest" to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him."

Teaching

We value students and believe that the inspired and inspiring teaching of our discipline is essential to BYU's efforts to cultivate empathetic, informed, capable, and socially and professionally engaged children of God.

We regard students as individuals, maintaining small class sizes to ensure focus on the needs and perspectives of each student.
We study all forms of literature and orature (fiction, non-fiction, scripture, poetry, drama, myth, folklore, and more) in order to instill in students a knowledge of and love for the long tradition of texts and their aesthetics.
We promote the careful and purposeful study of texts and their contexts.
We use the best disciplinary practices alongside gospel principles to help students encounter and appreciate texts and ideas with the insight of the Spirit.
We promote the application of English competencies and skills cultivated in the classroom to larger communities through internships, study abroad programs, mentored research, student teaching, and engagement in public humanities.
We help students value diverse characteristics and experiences and seek truth and beauty wherever they thrive.
We enrich our teaching with research in order to bring students the most important and relevant ideas in our fields.
We view our classrooms as sacred spaces for exploration, creation, and exchange undertaken in good faith, where vulnerability is respected, testimony is affirmed, civility is privileged, and the intellectual labor of analysis is shared.

Creativity

We believe in the value of creativity and other scholarly work. We offer students an education in imaginative reasoning or the ability to consider the world as it was, as it is, and as it might be. Our faculty create literature and scholarship of the highest quality and mentor students to do the same.

We support faculty as they produce and publish scholarship and literary work that advances both their fields of study and the mission of the university.
We mentor undergraduate and graduate students as they produce and disseminate scholarship and literary works.
We produce and share knowledge about best practices in English teaching and writing instruction for educators at all levels.

Service

We believe that the English Department enriches the lives of everyone in the university community.

We serve our students, and they serve one another, through thoughtful feedback, collaborative work, and generous, charitable argument.
Through our extensive contributions to General Education and University Writing, we help all students think clearly and communicate effectively. This grounding in literacy equips students to strengthen and serve their families, congregations, and communities.
Our faculty hold positions of leadership and service in the department, college, university, and in their respective professional organizations.
We aim to inspire colleagues, students, and all those with whom we work to embrace lifelong service and learning.

Curricular Structure

All English majors complete a shared set of core classes (203, 303, 302, 291, 292, 293, 294). Students select one of three tracks through the major (Literature and Culture, Creative Writing, or Professional Writing and Communication). Each track has options for a capstone tailored to that track. Details about the curricular structure and tracks of the redesign major can be found here: https://english.byu.edu/majors.

Learning Outcomes

Interpretive and Communicative Skills

English graduates ethically employ critical reading strategies, disciplinary writing expertise, and sophisticated analytical skills in their written and oral communication.

Courses that Contribute: ENGL 198 ENGL 211 ENGL 212 ENGL 218 ENGL 232 ENGL 235 ENGL 236 ENGL 251 ENGL 268 ENGL 291 ENGL 292 ENGL 293 ENGL 294 ENGL 295 ENGL 300R ENGL 317R ENGL 318R ENGL 319R ENGL 320R ENGL 321R ENGL 322 ENGL 324 ENGL 325 ENGL 326 ENGL 327R ENGL 328R ENGL 330 ENGL 333 ENGL 336 ENGL 337R ENGL 338 ENGL 341 ENGL 343 ENGL 345 ENGL 355 ENGL 358R ENGL 359 ENGL 360 ENGL 361 ENGL 362 ENGL 363 ENGL 364 ENGL 365 ENGL 366 ENGL 371 ENGL 372 ENGL 373 ENGL 374 ENGL 375 ENGL 376 ENGL 380 ENGL 381 ENGL 382 ENGL 383 ENGL 384R ENGL 385 ENGL 390R ENGL 391 ENGL 392 ENGL 394R ENGL 396 ENGL 397R ENGL 398 ENGL 399R ENGL 451 ENGL 452 ENGL 495 WRTG 310

Linked to BYU Aims: Spiritually Strengthening, Intellectually Enlarging

Interpretive and Communicative Applications

English graduates translate the skills of the humanistic tradition, including critical inquiry, scholarly research, communication, and creativity, to both personal and professional environments and narrate the value of these skills in various contexts.

Courses that Contribute: ENGL 198 ENGL 394R ENGL 398 ENGL 420

Linked to BYU Aims: Intellectually Enlarging, Lifelong Learning and Service

Interpretive and Communicative Contexts

English graduates know how to trace the development of literary, as well as broader narrative traditions, investigate authors and contexts, and differentiate genres. They know how to discuss disciplinary methodologies in scholarly conversations, and they use these contexts to frame their written and oral communications.

Courses that Contribute: ENGL 211 ENGL 212 ENGL 218 ENGL 230 ENGL 232 ENGL 235 ENGL 236 ENGL 251 ENGL 268 ENGL 291 ENGL 292 ENGL 293 ENGL 294 ENGL 300R ENGL 317R ENGL 318R ENGL 319R ENGL 320R ENGL 321R ENGL 322 ENGL 324 ENGL 325 ENGL 326 ENGL 327R ENGL 328R ENGL 330 ENGL 333 ENGL 336 ENGL 337R ENGL 338 ENGL 341 ENGL 345 ENGL 358R ENGL 359 ENGL 361 ENGL 362 ENGL 363 ENGL 364 ENGL 365 ENGL 371 ENGL 372 ENGL 373 ENGL 374 ENGL 375 ENGL 376 ENGL 380 ENGL 381 ENGL 382 ENGL 383 ENGL 384R ENGL 385 ENGL 390R ENGL 391 ENGL 392 ENGL 396 ENGL 397R ENGL 420 ENGL 451 ENGL 452 ENGL 495 WRTG 310

Linked to BYU Aims: Intellectually Enlarging

Interpretive and Communicative Ethics

English graduates embrace literature and writing as sources of wisdom, spiritual insight, and aesthetic pleasure; as mediums for encountering and reflecting upon the diversity of human experience; and as guides for discerning value and building relationships with those around them and with God.

Courses that Contribute: ENGL 198 ENGL 212 ENGL 232 ENGL 235 ENGL 236 ENGL 268 ENGL 291 ENGL 317R ENGL 318R ENGL 319R ENGL 320R ENGL 327R ENGL 328R ENGL 330 ENGL 336 ENGL 338 ENGL 358R ENGL 381 ENGL 382 ENGL 383 ENGL 384R ENGL 391 ENGL 392 ENGL 394R ENGL 397R ENGL 399R WRTG 310

Linked to BYU Aims: Character Building, Lifelong Learning and Service

Evidence of Learning

The program aims to develop direct and indirect measures to collect relevant and reliable evidence in ways that are intentional, systematic, and actionable. Interpreting this evidence encourages the program to make changes to improve our students' learning.

Direct Measures

Course Embedded Evaluation

In the past, we've used rubric scores from the prior writing sequence (295, Major Authors, 495) to direclty assess student work. The major redesign requires us to rethink this approach. The assessment coordinator has explored common reflective writing assignments in 203 (what kind of reader am I?), 302 (what kind of writer am I?), and the capstones (revisiting what kind of reader and writer am I?) as a possible replacement for direct assessment. The new assessment coordinator and DEC will revisit this question of direct assessment measures moving forward.

English Symposium

Students display their professional skills and abilities at the annual English Symposium. Committees of undergraduate and graduate students organize the conference, review the abstracts, and schedule the sessions. Undergraduate and graduate students submit abstracts and present academic conference papers, creative writing readings, internship presentations, and 3MP (3-minute Thesis Presentations). The English Symposium offers students a forum to contribute to the scholarly conversation in the discipline of English Studies.

The students' presentations are performances that demonstrate their execution of interpretive and communicative skills, understanding of interpretive and communicative contexts, and reveal their interpretive and communicative ethics. In addition, student presenters, panel chairs, faculty in attendance, and the general audience are invited to complete surveys assessing the quality and effectiveness of the delivery and content of the presentations. The assessment coordinator compiles the information from the surveys. The coordinator reports conclusions to the English Symposium organizers and the department executive committee who use the information to improve future English Symposiums.

Student Publications

Student publications appear in a number of different venues including four department-sponsored journals. The assessment coordinator can collect information about student publication annually from faculty and journal staff.

Indirect Measures

Senior Surveys

Surveying students completing the program share insight into both the achievement of learning outcomes and overall satisfaction with a program.The questions encourage the students to reflect the objectives of the program, scope and sequence of the curriculum, and perceived value of their knowledge and skills attained during the program. The College Advisement Center administers senior surveys when students apply for graduation. The survey data is reported annually to the department.

Alumni Surveys

Alumni surveys focus on the relationship of the student's knowledge and skills to their professional and personal lives after graduation. This measure of satisfaction with a program is useful in checking the match between program objectives and perceived usefulness after graduation. The Alumni Center administers surveys to students approximately five years after graduation. The English Department submits ten questions to survey former English majors. This survey data is reported annually to the department.

Student Focus Groups

Periodic interviews with groups of students provides insight concerning the perceptions and opinions of current students about the functioning of the program and their acquisition of skills. Students provides feedback about logistics, such as scheduling problems. They also identify gaps in the curriculum or suggest ways to sequence the curriculum for optimal student development and performance. The assessment committee typically organizes focus groups with senior students enrolled in ENGL 495. The discussions are recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by the assessment committee. A report is submitted annually to the department executive committee.

Curriculum and Syllabus Analysis

Course coordinators oversee the required classes taught in multiple sections (203, 291-294, 303, 302, capstones). The coordinators annually review the overall performance of the course. They collect and review the syllabi, student ratings, and other relevant material from the different sections to ensure that each section facilitates student learning of the stated course outcomes. The coordinators are also caretakers of the course document and rubric and make adjustments as necessary and when agreed on by the instructors of the course. They also help collect course-specific assessment materials.

Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement

Department Assessment Procedure

The Assessment coordinator and assistant coordinator work with the department executive committee and the course coordinators to plan and execute assessment initiatives with the faculty who teach the core courses. The assessment coordinator communicates assessment progress and updates as well as presents evidence to the whole faculty during the fall assessment retreat and department meetings.

Program learning outcomes were revised in spring of 2026 to reflect a greater focus on the BYU aims, specifically to ensure that LOs were focused on spiritually strengthening students in our classes.