Course Types and Modules

The Language Module consists of four courses, which have to be taken during the first year of studies. The courses are evaluated throughout both semesters and at the end of the second semester, which means that Grammar I and Grammar II as well as Writing Skills I and Writing Skills II have to be taken in consecutive semesters. Thus only students who have completed Grammar I can attend Grammar II and only students who have completed Writing Skills I can attend Writing Skills II.

Autumn semester

• Grammar I
• Writing Skills I

Spring semester

• Grammar II
• Writing Skills II

In these courses, students will further their knowledge of the English language and become acquainted with the accepted practices of academic language usage. The Language Module and the Core Curriculum form the Propädeutikum. Students need to pass all Propädeutikum courses in order to be allowed to continue with their studies.

For Grammar and Writing Skills, you do not need to register for the course assessment; once you are registered for the courses (both semesters), you are automatically registered for the assessment. How do you register correctly for a course? Go to our KSL Registration site.

Applies to BA major and BA minor 60 ECTS students.

The Core Curriculum comprises six courses, which are part of the Propädeutikum, therefore cumpulsory and need to be taken in the first year of BA studies. The six courses are distributed evenly between the autumn and the spring semester.

Autumn semester

• Introduction to Literature
• Introduction to Language and Linguistics
• Earlier Englishes

Spring semester

• Analysing Literature
• Analysing Language
• Literary History

The literature lectures provide an overview of important terminology and methodology in literary studies while the seminar offers the opportunity for in-depth discussion and practice. The language and linguistics lectures give an overview of the most important terminology and methodology in the field of Language and Linguistics and provide students with a historical introduction to earlier forms of the English language.

The Core Curriculum and the Language Module form the Propädeutikum, which means that students need to pass all Core Curriculum and Language Module courses in order to be allowed to continue their studies.

Applies to BA minor 30 ECTS students.

The Reduced Core Curriculum is part of the Propädeutikum and thus compulsory. The Reduced Core Curriculum course are distributed evenly between the autumn and the spring semesters.

Autumn semester

• Introduction to Literature
• Introduction to Language and Linguistics

Spring semester

• Analysing Literature
• Analysing Language

The literature lecture provides an overview of important terminology and methodology in literary studies while the seminar offers the opportunity for in-depth discussion and practice. The language and linguistics courses give an overview of the most important terminology and methodology in the field of Language and Linguistics.

The Reduced Core Curriculum and the Language Module form the Propädeutikum, which means that students need to pass all Reduced Core Curriculum and Language Module courses in order to be allowed to continue their studies.

Instructors in the Department of English have compiled a substantial list of key texts – some “classic”, some cutting edge – that students are expected to have read as part of their BA studies. The goal of this Academic Reading List (ARL) is to promote students’ ability to read and study independently thereby transferring skills and methods acquired in the classroom to their independent exploration of literary and linguistic (i.e. sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic) texts. The main purpose of the ARL exam is to ensure that by the time they have completed their main academic curriculum, students are sufficiently familiar with these representative works.

Inevitably selective, the ARL reading material reflects important concepts and paradigms, landmarks in the development of literary and/or scholarly styles and research practices, and refers to important social settings and cultural contexts where linguistic, communicative and literary practices occur. Thus, while the ARL can only give a small impression of the vast scope and diversity of English studies, it opens up paths for advanced thinking and further research. The ARL comprises two categories, a core list and a specialist list. For more information regarding the ARL, please look at the ARL section.

Applies to BA major and BA minor 60 ECTS students.

A Focus Module is a 10 ECTS unit that must be completed in the Department of English.

Each Focus Module consists of three parts, which must all be taken within the same semester:

1. Focus Module lecture (3 ECTS): An ungraded lecture that provides an overview of a broad academic topic. These are always listed as a Focus Module lecture in the course booklet and timetable, and shown in KSL as the FM lecture.
2. Focus Module seminar (4 ECTS): A more detailed exploration of the lecture theme. These are always listed as a Focus Module seminar in the course booklet and timetable, and shown in KSL as the FM seminar.
3. Focus Module seminar assessment (3 ECTS): This is the graded paper for the Focus Module seminar. Students must register for this separately in KSL.

Focus Modules are offered in the fields of Literature, Language and Linguistics, or both. In combined modules, the lecture covers both areas, while the seminars are specialised in either Literature or Language and Linguistics.

How do you sign up correctly for a Focus Module? Read the information on KSL Registration.

Every BA lecture on offer within the department, including those that are part of a Focus Module, can also be taken as an ungraded course. In this case, they are evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

BA majors need to complete two ungraded lectures, one in the field of Literature and one in the field of Language and Linguistics. Additional ungraded lectures can be counted towards their optional credits (Wahlleistungen).

BA minors can take BA lectures as part of the optional credits (Wahlleistungen).

Applies to BA major and minor 60 ECTS students.

The Stay Abroad is a compulsory component of the BA programme. Majors must spend six months abroad, for which they will be awarded 10 ECTS; minor 60 ECTS students must spend at least three months abroad, for which they will obtain 5 ECTS (or more in case of a longer stay abroad). In both cases, students are expected to visit countries in which English is a dominant spoken language. Whilst abroad, students can either work or study. Stays Abroad have to be approved in advance by an International Coordinator (please consult the Who to Ask list). The Stay Abroad is ungraded (pass/fail). More detailed information is available in the Stay Abroad section of the website, which includes information about possible exceptions to the Stay Abroad requirement.

Applies to BA major students.

A total of 15 ECTS has to be earned in courses outside the department (Electives / Wahlbereich). The choice is not restricted to the Faculty of Humanities. You can take courses offered by any faculty within the university if they are open to Electives (Wahlbereich) students. You can also take courses offered by other universities within or outside of Switzerland. Please note that a learning agreement (signed in advance) is required for the acknowledgment of courses taken at other universities. All Elective (Wahlbereich) courses have to be graded.

Optional (Wahlleistungen) are ungraded courses taken within the department. These can be Workshops (no more than two of the same type), Seminars, Lectures, Independent Studies or Tutorials.

Independent Studies (1-5 ECTS Study Plan 2017 / 2-5 ECTS previous study plan)

You can gain optional credits (Wahlleistungen) by doing independent work, such as attending an academic conference, organising a course or event (e.g. readings, reading-groups, etc), conducting linguistic fieldwork or archive research, participating in the Drama Group, etc. Independent Studies (IS) have to be approved by a member of the teaching staff who will supervise the project as well as by the Independent Studies Coordinator. Department staff may advertise IS options. Please read the detailed information on Independent Studies and fill in the Independent Studies Form. Independent Studies are ungraded.

Workshops (1-3 ECTS)

Workshops are application and practice-oriented classes, such as Use of English, Advanced Academic Writing, and Creative Writing. They are evaluated on a pass/fail basis without a grade and can be taken optionally in order to acquire the necessary total number of optional credits (Wahlleistungen).

Tutorials (1 ECTS)

Tutorials are offered regularly for lectures and seminars. In tutorials, students can revise and expand on the content of the lecture, discuss open questions or explore a topic in more depth.

Students can attend as many tutorials as they like, but they can only take two tutorials for credit. Regular attendance of and participation in a tutorial can earn you 1 ECTS towards the total number of your optional credits (Wahlleistungen).

Every year, the department is host to numerous invited speakers from other universities, who offer students a valuable opportunity to deepen and expand their understanding of English language and linguistics, and literature.

In accordance with Study Plan 2017, MA Major and Minor students are required to attend at least three such presentations hosted (or co-hosted) by a Department of English staff member. Your attendance will be confirmed by securing a signature from the host (or co-host) using a standard form (see below). Advance notice on guest lectures will be posted each semester on our Guest Lectures & Events page.

It is not permissible to collect credit for guest lectures for which you are already receiving credit as part of a seminar or lecture series.

For every guest lecture, fill in the form "Guest Lecture Attendance" and secure a signature from the host (or co-host) of the guest lecture right after the event. Once you have attended all your guest lectures, submit the forms to your study counsellor.

As a temporary, CV-19 related measure, you are allowed to attend online lectures. As an additional requirement, you need to submit a one-page summary of the lecture, including the main arguments and key concepts covered.

Form Guest Lecture Attendance (PDF, 41KB)

Applies to MA major students only.

The MA colloquium is a course over the last three semesters of MA major studies. Students enter either the Language and Linguistics or one of the Literary Studies MA colloquia, according to the topic of their planned MA thesis. Usually students begin the colloquium in their second semester and remain in the colloquium until their fourth and last semester. The MA colloquium is a problem-oriented research colloquium in which students have the chance to discuss their work, their problems, theories and methodologies, and peer-review their written work and presentation skills. Its format is variable (fortnightly, block-sessions) and will be announced by the professors in charge. This module is compulsory for MA major students but ungraded.

The final colloquium needs to be taken parallel to writing the MA Thesis.

If you fail to complete the MA colloquium (lack of attendance, missed presentation etc.), you will not receive a fail on KSL, but the course will be removed and you will be able to take it again in the next semester.

The last semester of the MA studies is reserved for the writing of the MA thesis. All other graded modules of the MA programme have to be completed before registering for the thesis. The MA thesis needs to be registered both within the department and with the Dean's Office. Please consult the page Academic Writing for more details and deadlines.

Please note: in order to register for the MA thesis you must have completed all other compulsory modules with the exception of the MA Colloquium. At the moment of registration (early December/early June) you cannot have more than one graded seminar pending (i.e., already attended but still awaiting entry in KSL) and you must have already attended your second MA Colloquium. Furthermore, you cannot miss more than 10 ungraded ECTS (excluding the final MA colloquium) when registering your thesis.

Optional (Wahlleistung) are ungraded courses taken within the department. These can be Workshops (no more than two of the same type), Seminars, Lectures, Independent Studies or Tutorials.

Workshops (1-3 ECTS)

Workshops are application and practice-oriented classes. They are evaluated on a pass/fail basis without a grade and can be taken optionally in order to acquire the necessary total number of optional credits (Wahlleistungen).

Independent Studies (1-5 ECTS Study Plan 2017 / 3-7 ECTS previous study plan)

You can gain optional credits (Wahlleistungen) by doing independent work, such as attending an academic conference, organising a course or event (e.g. readings, reading-groups, etc), conducting linguistic fieldwork or archive research, participating in the Drama Group, etc. Independent Studies have to be approved by a member of the teaching staff who will supervise the project as well as by the Independent Studies Coordinator. Department staff may advertise IS options. Please read the detailed information on Independent Studies and fill in the Independent Studies Form. Independent Studies are ungraded.

Tutorials (1 ECTS)

In tutorials, students can revise and expand on the content of a lecture, discuss open questions or explore a topic in more depth. Please consult KSL for any MA tutorials offered.

You can attend as many tutorials as you like, but you can only take 1 tutorial for credit, and this must be a tutorial for a Foundation Lecture (Language and Society and After the Linguistic Turn: Literary Theory in the 20th Century). Regular attendance of and participation in a Foundation Lecture tutorial can earn you 1 ECTS, counted towards your optional credits.