Frequency Asked Questions

As in past semesters, students will need to obtain the instructor’s permission to receive D-clearance and add an ENGL course during the Add/Drop period (though our large GE classes remain open registration through the first week). While all ENGL classes will have in-person instruction for Spring 2023, we will continue to follow the remote approval process established more recently in order to minimize non-essential in-person contact (though check back as the semester is starting in case there have been updates). The process is as follows:

-Please email the instructor of the course, from your USC email account, to see whether they will permit you to be a late addition. Be sure to include your USC ID number (please note: this is always very helpful to include in university communications), your major(s) (or minor if ENGL/NRST), and the specific 5-digit section number of the course you are requesting to add.
-ENGL instructors may accept or deny late additions at their discretion once the first day of class has begun, so it is their prerogative to deny your request if they are no longer accepting students for any reason.
-If they do allow you to add their course, either they or you must forward the approval thread to our departmental account (english@usc.edu) to request for D-clearance to be provided.
-Once provided, you will receive a confirmation email letting you know you can register. D-clearance approvals will not be processed immediately, but will be addressed once per business day.

If declared in the department: Students already declared within the English department can always check their email for the most up-to-date registration instructions. If you are simply looking for the Google form link (to be used if an Advisement Record is not required or has already been submitted), please see below.

If not declared in the department: Our GE-B courses start out open registration to allow any USC undergrads to enroll. They then must switch to D-clearance to ensure that our majors and minors have access to the specific courses they need to graduate. To request clearance before the semester has begun, please submit the Google form found here. Please expect a wait between submitting your request and receiving your status confirmation, of at least several business days if not around a week during the peak of the advising period. As a non-major or -minor of our department, you’ll be put on a waitlist for the course, and only in the event that a seat is available will we contact waitlist students in the order their requests were received. This may occur towards the end of the preceding semester, or potentially the week before classes begin (or any time in between), so keep an eye on your inbox. As such, please also be sure to register for an alternate course in the meantime. Please also note that the number viewable on Web Registration is the number of enrolled students, while there may be additional students who have been granted clearance who have not yet been able to register (meaning a section may read as having open seats on WebReg, while in reality it is effectively Closed based on D-clearance allottment).

If there are no more full business days left before the start of the semester, or the semester has already begun, please follow the procedure detailed at the top of this entry.

During the advisement and registration period each semester, students majoring and minoring within the department of English have priority d-clearance for many ENGL courses. Students majoring and minoring in programs in the department may request d-clearance during advisement with faculty and staff advisors.

Remaining spaces may become available to students outside of the department toward the end of the registration period. Students should contact the staff undergraduate advisor in order to request d-clearance.

Course descriptions for undergraduate courses in the department of English are published online prior to the advisement and registration period on the “Courses” page.

The department of English offers ENGL-105x “Creative Writing for Non-Majors.”

Yes. Please keep in mind that if you complete ENGL-407 or ENGL-408 prior to enrollment in the ENGL-405 or ENGL-406, respectively, you will not be eligible to receive unit credit for ENGL-405 or ENGL-406. This is university policy.

Most students majoring in English should expect to enroll in ENGL-491 during the fall or spring of their final year at USC. Students planning to apply to the Honors program should complete ENGL-491 the spring of their junior year or the fall of their senior year, as successful completion of ENGL-491 is a requirement for acceptance to the Honors program. Students applying to the Honors program who are currently enrolled in ENGL-491 will be granted conditional admission to the program, pending successful completion of ENGL-491.

Students interested in studying abroad should meet with our Director of Undergraduate Studies and our staff undergraduate advisor in order to discuss which courses may meet which major or minor requirements. Please come prepared with:

– a statement of justification for the overseas course,
– which major or minor requirement the overseas course should satisfy,
– and a course description.

See more information about study abroad programs at the Overseas Studies website.

Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society for undergraduate students studying English and/or Narrative Studies. The USC chapter is known as Eta Omega.

Applications will be made available annually. Please watch your email for important application information and deadlines. Students applying to the society must complete at least two English courses prior to application.

Job and internship opportunities are available through the USC Career Center. The English department may post opportunities that are forwarded directly to us on our Facebook page.

Maymester courses in the Department of English are by application only and include intensive coursework, field trips and seminars. Please watch your email for important application information and deadlines.

The program admits a small class of exceptional students each year.

Applicants will be notified of admissions decisions in late spring.

The English department offers many undergraduate courses in nonfiction, editing, contemporary prose, and creative writing that provide a strong foundation for interested students. For students applying to LEAP, enrollment in ENGL 300 will greatly enhance your application. Students who do not have a major in the Department of English should consider one of our minor programs.

Yes. The USC Financial Aid Office can provide guidance for you to apply for financial aid.

No. The English department does not offer fellowships or teaching assistantships for master’s students in Literary Editing and Publishing at this time.

Students will pursue internships with literary professionals in L.A. across many industries—in media outlets, in news bureaus, with web content creators, and literary agencies. Although many students will coordinate the internships on their own, faculty in the program will also harness their professional networks to help students coordinate internships for ENGL-609ab. Most students will complete two different internships by completing one each semester of their final (fifth) year.

No. Students pursuing bachelor’s degrees at USC in any major or school are eligible for admission into the program. However, it is recommended that you have completed course work in literature and creative writing prior to applying. Additional course work may be required for students without previous substantial course work in these fields.

While most traditional master’s degrees require at least two years of course work, progressive degree programs allow exceptional undergraduate students to begin their master’s course work while finishing their undergraduate degree. This means that the time required is reduced to allow students to complete both degrees in as little as five years. At the end of the progressive degree program, you will have earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.

Because students must have completed course work at USC and not have completed more than 96 units of undergraduate course work overall, students who transfer after their sophomore year (with 64 units completed) are ineligible to apply. Students who transfer after their freshman year (with 32 units completed) are eligible to apply during their junior year.

Only current undergraduate students pursuing their bachelor’s degrees at USC are eligible to apply to the master’s degree program in Literary Editing and Publishing.

No, there is not an application fee.

You do not need to submit GRE scores to apply to the progressive degree program.

No. Students must complete all degree requirements for their undergraduate program. Undergraduate degrees at USC require a minimum of 128 units. The master’s degree in Literary Editing and Publishing requires a minimum of 28 units.

No. The 28 units required for the master’s degree in Literary Editing and Publishing can only count toward the master’s degree requirements.