Majors

There are four majors within the Department of Literature, and requirements vary from major to major. Below you will find the major checklists, faculty advisors, and additional resources and opportunities for students to explore. Your faculty advisor will be available to assist you with such issues as academic progress, research opportunities and career paths within your field.

All our majors require:

• Twelve upper division courses (48 total units)
• Secondary Language & Literature requirement (see below for details)
• All courses taken for a letter grade
• All courses receive C- or higher grade
• Advanced Placement (AP) scores that provide P/NP credit for Literature courses may apply to the major requirements. Contact advising (via the VAC) if you have any questions.

Students who would like to declare one of the Literature majors may do so via the Major/Minor Tool in TritonLink.

Previously Available Majors

For students who are working on completing one of our previously available majors, please contact an advisor for your major checklist and academic planning needs.

LT33 - Literatures in Spanish

Pre-Approved Petition Options

• Literatures in Spanish (LT33) majors may choose to take any upper division LTEN course (LTEN 100-190) to fulfill the Secondary Language and Literature requirement. Any upper division LTEN course that is applied to the Secondary Language and Literature requirement will not also apply to upper division major requirements.
• Literatures in Spanish (LT33) majors may also apply one 4-unit LTSP 199 (independent study) to the upper division Spanish Literature Electives requirement, if a faculty member agrees to supervise such a course.

For all these options, students must still complete and send an Undergraduate Petition to litug@ucsd.edu for processing, but the petition will be automatically approved.

Petitions for additional LTSP 199 courses to apply to the upper division Spanish Literature Electives requirement are not pre-approved. They will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and they will typically only be approved when there are insufficient upper division LTSP course offerings within the student's projected graduation timeline.

LT34 - Literature/Writing (FA24 & Prior Only)

This major is being discontinued and replaced by the LT42 (Literary Arts) major. See below for that major's details. We strongly encourage students in their first or second years (for freshman admits) to consider switching to the new major. For all other students, please consult with our advisors to determine if switching majors would be beneficial for you.

Pre-Approved Petition Options

• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors admitted as transfer students may choose to take specific upper division courses in place of specific lower division LTEN/GSS requirements (not yet completed through transfer coursework). Any upper division courses that are applied to lower division LTEN/GSS major requirements will not also apply to upper division major requirements. Students cannot take two upper division courses that are approved to substitute for the same lower division course; it must be two different lower division courses being substituted. For the specific pre-approved upper division substitutions, students should refer to the "Courses for Literature Major Requirements" pages here: Course Offerings (ucsd.edu).
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors who pursue the Literature Department Honors Program may also apply LTWR 194 (Capstone Course for Writing Majors) and/or LTWR 196 (Honors Thesis) to the Writing Workshops requirement.
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors may also choose to apply up to three instances of the Theatre & Dance department's playwriting courses (TDPW 101, 102 or 104) to the Writing Workshops requirement.
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors may also apply one 4-unit LTWR 199 (independent study) to the Writing Workshops requirement, if a faculty member agrees to supervise such a course.
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Spanish (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTSP courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Latin America and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTAM courses).
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, or Russian (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTFR, LTGM, LTGK, LTIT, LTLA, or LTRU courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Europe and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTEU courses).
• Literature/Writing (LT34) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Chinese or Korean (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply one of their upper division LTCH or LTKO courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Elective requirement (in place of an LTEA course).

For all these options, students must still complete and send an Undergraduate Petition to litug@ucsd.edu for processing, but the petition will be automatically approved.

Petitions for additional LTWR 199 courses to apply to the Writing Workshops requirement are not pre-approved. They will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and they will typically only be approved when there are insufficient upper division LTWR course offerings within the student's projected graduation timeline.

LT36 - Literatures in English

Pre-Approved Petition Options

• Literatures in English (LT36) majors admitted as transfer students may choose to take specific upper division courses in place of specific lower division LTEN requirements (not yet completed through transfer coursework). Any upper division courses that are applied to lower division LTEN major requirements will not also apply to upper division major requirements. For the specific pre-approved upper division substitutions, students should refer to the "Courses for Literature Major Requirements" pages here: Course Offerings (ucsd.edu).
• Literatures in English (LT36) majors who pursue the Literature Department Honors Program may also apply LTEN 196 (Honors Thesis) to the upper division English Lit Electives requirement.
• Literatures in English (LT36) majors may also apply one 4-unit LTEN 199 (independent study) to the upper division English Lit Electives requirement, if a faculty member agrees to supervise such a course.
• Literatures in English (LT36) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Spanish (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTSP courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Latin America and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTAM courses).
• Literatures in English (LT36) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, or Russian (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTFR, LTGM, LTGK, LTIT, LTLA, or LTRU courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Europe and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTEU courses).
• Literatures in English (LT36) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Chinese or Korean (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply one of their upper division LTCH or LTKO courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Elective requirement (in place of an LTEA course).

For all these options, students must still complete and send an Undergraduate Petition to litug@ucsd.edu for processing, but the petition will be automatically approved.

Petitions for additional LTEN 199 courses to apply to the upper division English Lit Electives requirement are not pre-approved. They will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and they will typically only be approved when there are insufficient upper division LTEN course offerings within the student's projected graduation timeline.

LT41 - World Literature & Culture

Pre-Approved Petition Options

• World Literature & Culture (LT41) majors admitted as transfer students may also choose to take specific upper division courses in place of specific lower division LTEN/LTWL courses (if needed). Any upper division courses that are applied to lower division Literature Sequence requirement will not also apply to upper division major requirements. Students cannot take multiple upper division courses that are approved to substitute for the same lower division course; it must be three different lower division courses being substituted. For the specific pre-approved upper division substitutions, students should refer to the "Courses for Literature Major Requirements" pages here: Course Offerings (ucsd.edu).
• World Literature & Culture (LT41) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Spanish (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTSP courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Latin America and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTAM courses).
• World Literature & Culture (LT41) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, or Russian (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTFR, LTGM, LTGK, LTIT, LTLA, or LTRU courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Europe and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTEU courses).
• World Literature & Culture (LT41) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Chinese or Korean (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply one of their upper division LTCH or LTKO courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Elective requirement (in place of an LTEA course).

For all these options, students must still complete and send an Undergraduate Petition to litug@ucsd.edu for processing, but the petition will be automatically approved.

LT42 - Literary Arts (FA24 & Beyond)

Pre-Approved Petition Options

• Literature/Writing (LT42) majors admitted as transfer students may choose to take specific upper division courses in place of specific lower division LTEN/GSS requirements (not yet completed through transfer coursework). Any upper division courses that are applied to lower division LTEN/GSS major requirements will not also apply to upper division major requirements. Students cannot take two upper division courses that are approved to substitute for the same lower division course; it must be two different lower division courses being substituted. For the specific pre-approved upper division substitutions, students should refer to the "Courses for Literature Major Requirements" pages here: Course Offerings (ucsd.edu).
• Literature/Writing (LT42) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Spanish (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTSP courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Latin America and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTAM courses).
• Literature/Writing (LT42) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, or Russian (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply their two upper division LTFR, LTGM, LTGK, LTIT, LTLA, or LTRU courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Europe and World Literature Breadth - Elective requirements (in place of LTEU courses).
• Literature/Writing (LT42) majors who pursue the Intensive Language Track in Chinese or Korean (for the Secondary Language & Literature requirement) may also apply one of their upper division LTCH or LTKO courses towards the World Literature Breadth - Elective requirement (in place of an LTEA course).

For all these options, students must still complete and send an Undergraduate Petition to litug@ucsd.edu for processing, but the petition will be automatically approved.

Secondary Language & Literature Requirement

All Literature majors are required to complete a language sequence, culminating in a terminal course (which will be applied to the major). The number of courses needed to complete this requirement varies depending on the language students choose and their proficiency in that language. Where you place in a given language sequence can be determined by an AP score, past articulated transfer coursework, or a placement exam. Please contact advising for any questions about the language requirement.

Sequences for Pre-Approved Language Options

The courses that are bold are the terminal courses that will directly apply to the Secondary Language & Literature Requirement for the major, so they must be taken for a letter grade. All other courses leading up to those may be taken pass/no pass.

• American Sign Language
  LISL 1A/1AX → LISL 1B/1BX → LISL 1C/1CX → LISL 1D/1DX → LISL 1E
  
• Chinese
  LTCH 101
  
• French
  LIFR 1A/1AX → LIFR 1B/1BX → LIFR 1C/1CX → LTFR 2A → LTFR 2B → LTFR 2C
  
• German
  LIGM 1A/1AX → LIGM 1B/1BX → LIGM 1C/1CX → LTGM 2A → LTGM 2B → LTGM 2C
  
• Greek
  LTGK 1 → LTGK 2 → LTGK 3
• Hebrew
  JWSP 1 → JWSP 2 → JWSP 3
• Italian
  LIIT 1A/1AX → LIIT 1B/1BX → LIIT 1C/1CX → LTIT 2A → LTIT 2B → LTIT 50
  
• Korean
  LTKO 1A → LTKO 1B → LTKO 1C → LTKO 2A → LTKO 2B → LTKO 2C
  
• Latin
  LTLA 1 → LTLA 2 → LTLA 3
• Russian
  LTRU 1A → LTRU 1B → LTRU 1C → LTRU 2A → LTRU 2B
• Spanish for non-heritage learners
  LISP 1A/1AX → LISP 1B/1BX → LISP 1C/1CX → LTSP 2A → LTSP 2B → LTSP 2C
  
• Spanish for heritage learners
  LTSP 2D → LTSP 2E

• English
  Any one of: LTEN 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31

Intensive Track Option

The department also offers an intensive track, which is encouraged for students who intend to attend graduate school or are interested in international careers. In addition to the secondary language requirements above, students in the intensive track will complete at least two upper division literature course taught in their chosen secondary language Students for complete the intensive track will earn a notation on their transcript that confirm's the student's “Intensive Language Study in [ Language] ”.

Double Majors

Students interested in pursuing a double major should review the policies and instructions outlined on TritonLink: How to Declare a Double Major (Undergraduates) (ucsd.edu). When you are ready to obtain the Literature Department's approval on your paperwork, email the Double Major Petition form and Academic Planning Worksheet to litug@ucsd.edu.

Tips for your paperwork:

• If there are 1-2 specific upper division courses that are approved to apply to both of your majors, list them in the overlaps section just above the student signature line (and not in the individual major course lists). These should be specific course numbers, so that the overlap allowance can be properly programmed into your degree audit.
• For your Academic Planning Worksheet, refer to the template 2-year or 4-year academic plans for your major as a starting reference: Academic Plans (ucsd.edu). If you choose to plan courses in one or more future Summer Session quarter, the only types of courses you may reasonably plan for are LTEN 100-190, LTWR 100-129, and LT** 100-190.

Below are sample templates for how to complete the Double Major Petition form for the Literature majors.

Literatures in Spanish (LT33) template - for a non-heritage Spanish learner using English for the secondary language:

Literature/Writing (LT34) template - for a student using Latin for the secondary language:

Literatures in English (LT36) template - for a student using Spanish for the secondary language:

World Literature & Culture (LT41) template - for a student using French for the secondary language and concentrating on Literature of the European Region:

Although double majoring within a single department is not generally permitted, literature students are allowed to double major with the Literature/Writing (LT34) major and any one of our other majors.

Literature/Writing (LT34) and Literatures in English (LT36) template - for a student using ASL for the secondary language and selecting the World Literature Breadth - Latin America and World Literature Breadth - Europe courses as their allowable upper division overlaps: