Minor Programs

No matter your major, the Department of English has a minor program for you. Our minors welcome business majors with a penchant for creative writing, biology majors interested in the medical humanities, computer science students who read comics when they aren’t coding, architecture majors invested in accessibility, engineering students who want to hone their professional writing skills, and public affairs majors who love literature.

We house seven minor programs:

  • English
  • Creative Writing
  • Professional Writing
  • Disability Studies
  • Medical Humanities
  • Popular Culture Studies
  • Game Studies

Diverse coursework in these minors complements and builds upon the knowledge and skills that students develop in their major programs. Indeed, our minor programs better prepare students to pursue their unique professional and personal goals in a diverse array of career fields including agriculture, finance, communications, engineering, law, marketing, medicine and social work.


MINOR PROGRAMS

The Creative Writing Minor is part of the Department of English's creative writing program and is designed to engage undergraduates in an in-depth study of the craft of creative writing. In addition to sharpening their critical reading abilities, students in this program will develop the skills needed to create original poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.


Requirements

  • Complete two courses in creative writing at the 2000-level. Choose from English 2265 (fiction), 2266 (poetry) and 2268 (creative nonfiction). Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill this requirement by taking one course from two of the three genres.
     
  • Complete two courses in creative writing at the 3000-level or higher. Choose from English 3465 (fiction), 3466 (poetry), 3468 (creative nonfiction), 3662 (literary publishing), 4565* (fiction), 4566* (poetry), 4568* (creative nonfiction), and 4590.01H (special topics in the study of creative writing). The 3000- and 4000-level courses listed here are repeatable, which means that students are welcome to take the same course twice. 

 

 

In order to take one of the starred 4000-level courses above, students will need to submit their workshop preferences and a portfolio. The deadline for submission is generally a couple weeks before enrollment windows open; for more information and the current deadline, visit the 4000-level Creative Writing Workshops page


Additional Requirements

  • No more than two transfer courses may be applied to the Creative Writing Minor.
  • While a grade of C- will be permitted in courses comprising the Creative Writing Minor, the overall grade point average for the minor must be a 2.0 or higher.
  • Courses taken on a pass/non-pass basis cannot be applied to the Creative Writing Minor.   

The Disability Studies Minor offers courses in a wide range of disciplines, including teaching and learning, bioethics, American Sign Language, classics, speech and hearing science, and many more.


Requirements

The Disability Studies Minor requires a minimum of 14 credit hours of coursework. Of these, 12 hours must be from outside the student's major field and other minor fields. Once the Disability Studies Minor program advisor has approved the ASC Minor Program Form you should file the form with your college. Please consult the Disability Studies Minor Sheet below for more information on courses that count for the minor. Before enrolling in DSABLST 4998H, 4999H, 5191 or 5193, students must complete the Internship and Individual Studies/Research Request Form, also below. Students must receive approval prior to the beginning of the internship/independent study.


Contact us

For specific questions requiring an individual response, email disabilitystudies@osu.edu.

The English Minor prepares students to think critically about texts, to construct sound arguments based on evidence, to write elegantly and persuasively and to understand the historical and cultural contexts in which texts are produced, disseminated and received. 


Requirements 

The English Minor consists of a minimum of 12 total credit hours (consult the English Minor Sheet below for more information on specific courses that count for the minor):

  • Complete a minimum of 12 total credit hours at the 2000-level or above
  • Complete one of the following writing courses in English: 2367.05, 2367.07S, 3020, 3304,3305, 3379, 3398, 3405, or 3467S. Since either English 3379 or 3398 is required of all English majors, English minors who wish to enroll in 3379 or 3398 must seek permission of the instructor or an English Advisor, who will sign the student into the course as space
  • Complete at least one literature course in the Department of English. See minor sheet below for list of literature courses.
  • Complete at least 6 hours of coursework at the 3000 level or above.

Policies

  • No more than two transfer courses may be applied to the English Minor.
  • While a grade of C- will be permitted in courses comprising the English minor, the overall grade point average for the minor must be a 2.0 or higher.
  • Courses taken on a pass/non-pass basis cannot be applied to the English Minor.
  • Courses that fulfill minor requirements may also be used to fulfill the university's General Education requirements.

Minor courses that overlap with GE requirements

  • English 2367 (any decimal version) fulfills the university's Second-Level Writing requirement and can be used on the English Minor.
  • English 2201, 2202, 2220, 2260, 2261, 2262, 2275, 2280, 2281, 2290, 2291, 3361 and 3372 fulfill the Arts and Humanities Literature requirement — these courses can also fulfill Open Option requirements.
  • English 2263 and 2269 fulfill the Arts and Humanities Visual/Performing Arts requirement — these courses can also fulfill Open Option requirements.
  • English 2264, 2270, 2271, 2276, 2277, 2282, 3364 and 3378 fulfill the Arts and Humanities Cultures and Ideas requirement — these courses can also fulfill Open Option requirements.
  • English 4597.01, 4597.02 and 4597.04 fulfill the Open Options requirements.

The Medical Humanities Minor instructs students about the social and cultural contexts of health, illness and medical care. The minor offers critical perspectives on medicine, not only as a body of technical and scientific knowledge, but also as a cultural process. This minor will benefit students seeking to do graduate work in fields related to  the health professions, those seeking employment in the health professions immediately after graduation and those seeking to expand their knowledge of issues in health care as part of their undergraduate education.


Requirements

The minor consists of five undergraduate courses for a minimum of 15 total credit hours (consult the Medical Humanities Minor Sheet below for more information on specific courses that count for the minor):

  • Complete one course from the following: Classics 2204, Comp Studies 3645, English 3361 or History 2705.
  • Complete at least four courses from the Elective Requirements section of the minor sheet.
  • Complete at least three courses from the Elective Requirements section of the minor sheet if completing optional capstone.

Policies

  • At least 12 credit hours must be at the 3000 level or above.
  • No more than nine credit hours can be completed in one department.
  • A student is permitted to count up to six total hours of transfer credit and/or credit by examination.
  • A student is permitted to overlap up to six credit hours between General Education requirements and the minor.
  • The minor must contain a minimum of 12 hours distinct from the major and/or additional minor(s).
  • A minimum grade of C- must be earned for a course to be listed on the minor.
  • A minimum of 2.00 cumulative point-hour ratio is required for the minor.
  • Course work graded pass/non-pass cannot count on the minor.
  • No more than three credit hours of course graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory may count toward the minor.

The Popular Culture Studies Minor is for students interested in developing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of popular culture. Many of the courses that fulfill the minor requirements may also be used to fulfill the university's General Education requirements. Overlap of courses between minor and General Education requirements is permitted by the university.


Requirements

The minor consists of five undergraduate courses for a minimum of 15 total credit hours (consult the Popular Culture Studies Minor Sheet below for more information on specific courses that count for the minor):

  • Complete one introductory course: Choose from English/Comparative Studies 2264 (Introduction to Popular Culture Studies) and WGSST 2230: Gender, Sexuality and Race in Popular Culture. Note that the 2264 course can also be used to fulfill the historical (pre-1945) requirement on the minor, as described below.
  • Complete at least one historical (pre-1945) Popular Culture Studies Program courses.
  • Complete at least one outside majority-U.S. popular culture studies course.
  • Choose additional minor courses from the historical and/or outside majority-U.S. course lists and/or from the elective Popular Culture Studies courses.

Policies

  • No more than two transfer courses may be applied to the Popular Culture Studies Minor.
  • Only one course from a student's major department(s) may be used on the Popular Culture Studies Minor.
  • While a grade of C- will be permitted in courses comprising the Popular Culture Studies Minor, the overall grade point average for the minor must be a 2.0 or higher.
  • Courses taken on a pass/non-pass basis cannot be applied to the Popular Culture Studies Minor.
  • No more than two film courses can be counted toward the minor.

The Minor in Professional Writing works with students from all areas of study across the university who are interested in writing in the professional world, academic settings and public arenas of civic life. The goal of the minor is to help students become reflective and articulate writers who contribute effectively to the ever-changing needs of twenty-first-century workplaces. Our partnerships with more than 150 workplaces in the Columbus metropolitan area are key to the program’s successful efforts on our students’ behalf.

Visit the Minor in Professional Writing webpage for more information.

DECLARE A MINOR

To declare a minor, please complete this form. Alternatively, you may come to drop-in advising hours.