Literature Minor
Students who minor in literature take courses that examine a variety of literary and visual texts and cultural artifacts from around the world, produced from pre-antiquity through the present. The literature minor requires a total of seven literature courses; literature minors do not have to satisfy certain major requirements such as second-language proficiency, distribution requirements, or a senior seminar.
Students must complete LIT 1 or its equivalent prior to declaring the minor. In order to declare the minor, students meet with a department advisor to complete and submit a Proposed Study Plan and Declaration of Major/Minor petition. All students considering a minor should consult with a department advisor as early as possible to make an academic plan.
Course Requirements
The minor in literature requires seven courses. Courses may be taken for a letter grade or Pass/No Pass.
Lower-Division Courses
Take the following course:
| LIT 1 | Literary Interpretation | 5 |
This is a writing-intensive course.
Plus one of the following options:
- One course from the LIT 60 or LIT 61-series, or
- One course from the LIT 80 or LIT 81-series
LIT 60/LIT 61-series courses focus on categories, methodologies, and problems of literary study.
LIT 80/LIT 81-series courses focus on topical, thematic, and comparative studies of literary and filmic texts.
LIT 60/LIT 61 and LIT 80/LIT 81 courses are also recommended for non-majors.
Upper-Division Courses
Five upper-division courses are required.
Take the following course:
Upper-Division Literature Electives
Students take four 5-credit upper-division electives chosen from LIT 108-189, excluding LIT 179A or LIT 179B, which are only available to students who have been accepted to the creative writing concentration. Independent studies and internships may count toward the electives with department approval. The literature minor does not require second-language proficiency or a senior seminar.
Course Substitution Policy
Students may substitute up to three upper-division courses. A maximum of two combined courses may come from another University of California campus and/or a UC Education Abroad Program. A maximum of one course may come from another UC Santa Cruz department. Courses taken at other four-year institutions will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
In order to petition for a course from another department to substitute for a literature elective, students should submit a current course syllabus to the literature undergraduate program coordinator by email (litdept@ucsc.edu).