Advising FAQ
- If I took a critical thinking class at a community college that has been accepted
for my critical thinking (A3) requirement, will LTWR accept it for the LTWR 115 prerequisite
for the major?Yes, as long as you were not enrolled at CSUSM and declared as a LTWR major at the time that you took the course. Once LTWR is declared as your major, if you haven’t already fulfilled the A3 requirement, then you must take LTWR 115.
- If I took a composition course at a community college, will that count for my major?No. It might count for GEW, but it will not count towards the LTWR major requirements.
- I took a literature course at a community college, but it was not an “Introduction
to Literature” course (I think it was a survey of English literature or maybe it was
English novels); will this count for LTWR 100?The English novels course won’t work but the English literature course might. For a course to count as LTWR 100 it must survey different genres, cultures, and time periods, in addition to covering the basic literature devices of prose, poetry, and drama. Community college literature courses that fulfill these criteria should be petitioned through your advisor.
- I took Shakespeare at my community college. Can I count it as LTWR 402? The reading
list is almost the same as it is here.No. Even if the reading list is the same, the level of discussion and level of analysis will be significantly different between a lower division course (those at the community college) and an upper division course. With the exception of the prerequisites, our LTWR major is composed entirely of upper division courses.
- I took an African American literature course at SDSU. Can I count it as LTWR 450?No. LTWR 450 is a comparative American ethnic literature course. There must be representation from at least two ethnic traditions (Asian American, African American, Native American, Latinx) to count for 450. An African American literature class can count as an elective or as a "Literature Distribution" class.
- I took some upper division English classes at San Francisco State, but I had a very
bad semester and got mostly C’s and D’s. Can I transfer any of the courses?Courses that apply to the major must receive a grade of C or higher.
- I took a literary theory course at another 4-year college. Will it count for 300a,
300b, or 460?Possibly. This course will have to be petitioned to the department chair to find the best answer to this question.
- Does the Department offer all of the classes in the catalog each semester?
No, unfortunately the Department cannot offer every single class in our curriculum each semester. Each semester, we always offer sections of LTWR 300A, LTWR 300B, LTWR 325, LTWR 360, and LTWR 460. We also offer a rotation of different writing workshops, film/digital classes, and literature classes. See the chart below for courses that are offered during specific semesters only.
Semester Course Class Offering Pattern Notes Fall 308A Only offered Fall Fall 309A Only offered Fall Fall 465 Only offered Fall Spring 308B Only offered Spring Spring 309B Only offered Spring Spring 475 Only offered Spring