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This minor may only be completed by students admitted to Elementary Education options leading to certification in K-9 or Middle Childhood through Early Adolescence. A minor is not required to complete the K-9 certification program, but students may elect to complete one.

Minors provide a depth of study in a particular area of interest and also inform classroom instruction. The completion of a minor is required to teach middle school in some states and may benefit students particularly interested in teaching at this level.

Students may wish to consult with an advisor in the School of Education Student Services office, 139 Education Building, to discuss course selection and other issues related to this field of study. Current students can schedule a Student Services appointment online through the Starfish app in MyUW. Appointments can also be made through email at studentservices@education.wisc.edu, by calling 608-262-1651, or in person.

Upon completion, the subject area of the minor will be posted on the UW-Madison transcript. Students will not receive an additional certification or license in the subject area as was possible prior to fall, 2022 program admission.  The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not offer content licenses in association with the K-9 educator license.

This minor may only be declared by students completing Elementary Education certification in either K-9 or Middle-Childhood-through-Early-Adolescence. The declaration form is located on the School of Education's Undergraduate Admissions page and can be submitted any time after admission into the program.

The English Language Arts minor requires the completion of 24 credits to include the requirements of each group of courses. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 is required, based on all UW–Madison coursework included in the minor.

The courses listed here will meet the requirements in each category, but additional courses can be considered.

Introductory Literature

Complete two introductory literature courses. Courses with a Literature breadth designation from many departments—e.g., Comparative Literature, Classics, African Languages and Literature, English, or Theatre—may be selected to meet this requirement.

International Literature

Select one course from the following:

International Literature Courses

African Languages and Literature
AFRICAN/​FOLKLORE  210 The African Storyteller3
AFRICAN 300 African Literature in Translation3
AFRICAN 405 Topics in African Cultural Studies3
AFRICAN 412 Contemporary African Fiction3-4
AFRICAN/​AFROAMER  413 Contemporary African and Caribbean Drama3-4
Folklore
FOLKLORE 100 Introduction to Folklore3
FOLKLORE/​AFRICAN  210 The African Storyteller3
FOLKLORE 220 The Folk Tale3
FOLKLORE/​AFRICAN  270 The Hero and Trickster in African Oral Traditions3
FOLKLORE 317 The Irish Tradition (was 517 prior to fall, 2023)3
FOLKLORE/​MEDIEVAL/​RELIG ST/​SCAND ST  342 Nordic Mythology3
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS/​MEDIEVAL/​SCAND ST  345 The Nordic Storyteller3
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS/​MEDIEVAL  346 In Translation: The Icelandic Sagas3-4
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS  347 In Translation: Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore3-4
FOLKLORE/​GEN&WS  428 Gender and Expressive Culture3
FOLKLORE/​SLAVIC  444 Slavic and East European Folklore3
FOLKLORE 460 Folk Epics3
FOLKLORE 510 Folklore Theory3
FOLKLORE 518 The Scottish Tradition3
Any Literature in Translation course with the "L" breadth code

American Social Literature

This requirement addresses cultural diversity from the perspective of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ability.

Select one course from the following:

American Social Literature courses

Afro-American Studies
AFROAMER 155 They: Race in American Literature3
AFROAMER/​GEN&WS  222 Introduction to Black Women Writers3
AFROAMER 225 Introduction to African American Dramatic Literature3
AFROAMER 227 Masterpieces of African American Literature3
AFROAMER 265 African-American Autobiography3
AFROAMER/​GEN&WS  267 Artistic/Cultural Images of Black Women3
AFROAMER 501 19th Century Afro-American Literature3
AFROAMER 525 Major Authors3
American Indian Studies
AMER IND/​ENGL  172 Literatures of Native America3
English
ENGL 171 Literature, Gender, and Sexuality3
ENGL 173 Ethnic and Multicultural Literature3
ENGL/​GEN&WS  248 Women in Ethnic American Literature3
ENGL/​GEN&WS  250 Women in Literature3
ENGL/​ASIAN AM  270 A Survey of Asian American Literature3
ENGL 461 Topics in Ethnic and Multicultural Literature3
ENGL/​ASIAN AM/​GEN&WS  464 Asian American Women Writers3
ENGL/​JEWISH  593 Literature of Jewish Identity in America3
ENGL/​AFROAMER  672 Selected Topics in Afro-American Literature3

Mass Communication

Select one course from the following:

Mass Communication courses

Afro-American Studies
AFROAMER 303 Blacks, Film, and Society3
American Indian Studies
AMER IND 325 American Indians in Film3
Asian American Studies
ASIAN AM/​JOURN  662 Mass Media and Minorities4
Chican@ and Latin@ Studies
CHICLA/​COM ARTS  419 Latino/as and Media3
Communication Arts
COM ARTS 250 Survey of Contemporary Media3
COM ARTS 350 Introduction to Film3
COM ARTS 351 Television Industries3
COM ARTS 355 Introduction to Media Production4
History
HISTORY/​JOURN  560 History of U.S. Media4
Journalism
JOURN 201 Introduction to Mass Communication4
JOURN 561 Mass Communication and Society4
JOURN 565 Effects of Mass Communication4
JOURN/​COM ARTS/​HDFS  616 Mass Media and Youth3
Life Sciences Communication
LSC 440 Digital Media and Science Communication3

Speech Communication

Select one course from the following:

Speech Communication courses

Communication Arts
COM ARTS 260 Communication and Human Behavior3
COM ARTS 262 Theory and Practice of Argumentation and Debate3
COM ARTS 266 Theory and Practice of Group Discussion3
COM ARTS 272 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication3
COM ARTS 360 Introduction to Rhetoric in Politics and Culture3
COM ARTS 368 Theory and Practice of Persuasion3
COM ARTS 371 Communication and Conflict Resolution3
Theatre
THEATRE 150 Acting I: Introduction to Acting3
THEATRE 250 Fundamentals of Acting3

English Composition

Select one course from the following:

English Composition courses

ENGL 201 Intermediate Composition3
ENGL 207 Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry Workshop3
ENGL 307 Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry Workshop3
ENGL 400 Advanced Composition3
ENGL 407 Creative Writing: Nonfiction Workshop3
ENGL 408 Creative Writing: Fiction Workshop3
ENGL 409 Creative Writing: Poetry Workshop3
ENGL 410 Creative Writing: Playwriting Workshop3
ENGL 508 Creative Writing: Advanced Fiction Workshop3

Electives

Select any course from the areas above (excluding introductory literature) or from the following options to reach the minimum of 24 credits:

Additional elective courses

ENGL 314 Structure of English3
ENGL 316 English Language Variation in the U.S.3
ENGL 416 English in Society3
ENGL 417 History of the English Language3
FOLKLORE/​ANTHRO/​INTL ST/​LINGUIS  211 Global Language Issues3
LINGUIS 101 Human Language3
LINGUIS/​ANTHRO  301 Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical3
LINGUIS 303 Historical Linguistics3
LINGUIS/​ANTHRO  430 Language and Culture3-4