BA Arts
The Bachelor of Arts (Arts) programme of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Cape Coast is a four-year undergraduate programme in English Studies covering both the English language and Literature in English. It runs over eight semesters, from Level 100 to Level 400.
Aim of the programme
To equip students with knowledge and skills to demonstrate an understanding of contemporary theories, concepts and practices in English Studies in the global marketplace.
Objectives
- Critically analyse the use of English in various contexts.
- Use their skills and knowledge to conduct research in English Studies.
- Teach English language and Literature in English in senior high schools and other educational institutions.
The first two years lay the foundation. Level 100 covers the use of English, an introduction to literature and an introduction to academic writing and prose fiction, alongside the University-wide Communicative Skills, Information Literacy Skills and African Studies courses and two subsidiary subjects taken in other departments of the Faculty of Arts and the College of Humanities and Legal Studies. Level 200 adds public speaking, grammar from morpheme to phrase, the language of drama, the forms and functions of the English clause, the techniques of poetry, and literature and law, together with Critical Thinking and Practical Reasoning.
From Level 300 the programme specialises. Each semester offers two core courses and a wide list of electives spanning phonetics and phonology, semantics, discourse, sociolinguistics, business and technical English, corpus linguistics, the history and varieties of English, and a literature strand covering contemporary African writing, British, American, Caribbean, Ghanaian and diaspora literature, critical theory, Shakespeare, gender and writing, literature and film, ecocriticism and popular culture. Single-subject students take the two core courses and three electives each semester; double-subject students combine core English courses with courses from their second subject. ENG 399 Research Methods is required of every student who intends to write the ENG 499 Long Essay in the final year.
In all, thirteen new courses - six in language and seven in literature - were introduced in this revision to capture advances in the field of English Studies.
Background
The role of English in not only the educational sector but also in politics, business, tourism and international relations, among others, in Ghana makes it imperative to train more resource persons equipped with the knowledge of English in enhancing its teaching and learning at all levels of education in Ghana. Since the establishment of the University of Cape Coast, this mandate has been vigorously pursued in the running of an undergraduate programme in English.
The marketization and commodification of higher education in recent times called for a renewed assessment of this mandate and how it is being carried out. In line with changes in other departments of English worldwide, and with the University's expectation that a department revises its curriculum every five years, it became necessary to revise the undergraduate curriculum. This called for the introduction of new courses and the dropping and merging of some courses. The revision further makes the Department of English competitive in relation to other Departments of English in and outside Ghana. The revised programme commenced in August 2025.
Career opportunities
The programme trains resource persons equipped with a knowledge of English for the many sectors in which the language is central in Ghana - not only education, but also politics, business, tourism and international relations.
Graduates are prepared, in particular, to teach English language and Literature in English in senior high schools and other educational institutions, and to conduct research in English Studies. The language strand of the curriculum, which includes business English, technical and web-based writing, advanced writing skills, discourse studies and corpus linguistics, additionally prepares graduates for careers in communication, editing and publishing, media, public relations and the wider language industries, while the research training in ENG 399 and ENG 499 prepares them for graduate study in English Studies.
Course structure
The courses mounted for this programme, by year and semester.
Level 100
First Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS107 | Communicative Skills | Core | 3 |
| ENG101 | The Use of English Language | Core | 2 |
| ENG113 | Introduction to Literature | Core | 2 |
| ILT101 | Information Literacy | Core | 1 |
Second Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS108 | Communicative Skills | Core | 3 |
| ENG102 | Introduction to Academic Writing | Core | 2 |
| ENG112 | Principles of Prose Fiction | Core | 2 |
Level 200
First Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG205 | Rhetoric and Presentations in Professional Contexts | Core | 2 |
| ENG206 | Grammar: From Morpheme to Phrase | Core | 2 |
| ENG213 | The Language of Drama | Core | 2 |
Second Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG204 | Forms and Functions of the English Clause | Core | 2 |
| ENG214 | The Technique of Poetry | Core | 2 |
| ENG215 | Literature and Law | Core | 2 |
| PHL205 | Critical Thinking And Practical Reasoning | Core | 2 |
Level 300
First Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG302 | Phonetics and Phonology | Core | 3 |
| ENG303 | Introduction to Meaning | Elective | 3 |
| ENG305 | Introductory Business English | Elective | 3 |
| ENG307 | Introductory to Discourse Studies | Elective | 3 |
| ENG313 | Commonwealth Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG315 | Contemporary African Writing: Critical Issues | Core | 3 |
| ENG316 | Issues in British Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG317 | Aspects of Post-Colonial Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG331 | Masculinities in African Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG332 | Introduction to Critical Theories | Elective | 3 |
| ENG399 | Research Methods | Elective | 3 |
Second Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG304 | English in Multi-Lingual Context | Elective | 3 |
| ENG306 | Aspects of the Grammar of English | Core | 3 |
| ENG308 | Business English II | Elective | 3 |
| ENG309 | Introduction to Socialnguishtics | Elective | 3 |
| ENG314 | Studies in Shakespeare | Core | 3 |
| ENG318 | Gender and Writing | Elective | 3 |
| ENG319 | Canonical American Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG334 | Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG335 | Literature and Film | Elective | 3 |
| ENG399 | Research Methods | Elective | 3 |
Level 400
First Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG401 | Theories of Grammar | Core | 3 |
| ENG401A | Structure and Style | Elective | 3 |
| ENG403 | Literary Stylistics | Elective | 3 |
| ENG406 | English for Technical and Web-Based Writing | Elective | 3 |
| ENG412 | Oral Literature in Africa | Core | 3 |
| ENG415 | Ghanaian Literature | Elective | 3 |
| ENG416 | Studies in Drama | Elective | 3 |
| ENG417 | Studies in Poetry | Elective | 3 |
| ENG431 | Major European Writers | Elective | 3 |
| ENG432 | Literature of Ghana | Elective | 3 |
| ENG433 | Emerging Literature | Elective | 3 |
Second Semester
| Code | Course | Type | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG402 | Varieties of English and Advanced Writing Skills | Core | 3 |
| ENG404 | History of English | Elective | 3 |
| ENG405 | Error and Contrastive Analysis | Elective | 3 |
| ENG407 | Intonation in English Grammar and Discourse | Elective | 3 |
| ENG409 | Advanced Writing Skills | Elective | 3 |
| ENG411 | Literary Criticism | Core | 3 |
| ENG419 | African Literature: The Major Writers | Elective | 3 |
| ENG427 | Slavery and the African Literary Imagination | Elective | 3 |
| ENG434 | Literature of the African Diaspora | Elective | 3 |
| ENG435 | Theoretical Development in Drama | Elective | 3 |
| ENG436 | Structure and Theme in Prose Fiction | Elective | 3 |
| ENG437 | Thematic Explorations in Poetry | Elective | 3 |
| ENG439 | African Literature and Futurity/utopianism | Elective | 3 |
| ENG499 | Long Essay | Elective | 3 |
