After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• produce complex written and oral expression in English
• have deep knowledge of the literatures, cultures, and histories of the major English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, and the Commonwealth countries

The First Year Program of the studies of English Language and Literature is composed of compulsory courses with the following codes (34 credits total):

Fall semester

AJ01001 Practical Language I

AJ02001 Introduction to Linguistics

AJ02003 English Grammar I

AJ04000 Introduction to Literature I - lecture

AJ04001 Introduction to Literature I

AJ06001 Introduction to British Studies I

AJ07001 Introduction to American Studies I

Spring semester

AJ01002 Practical Language II

AJ02002 Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology

AJ02004 English Grammar II

AJ04002 Introduction to Literature II - lecture

AJ04003 Introduction to Literature II

AJ06002 Introduction to British Studies II

AJ07002 Introduction to American Studies II

Students who began their studies in previous years and gained less than 34 credits in the first year of studies must make up for the difference in the number of credits in the following years (see ii.e).

Student must pass the qualifying exam (AJ09999).

In 2nd and 3rd Years, students choose their own program each semester. Nevertheless, they must fulfill the following requirements:

Pass the compulsory courses Academic Writing (AJ13001) and Spoken Fluency (AJ11501) and finish them with exams.

Pass Introduction to Translation (AJ19000) and finish it with an exam.

Students without Czech or Slovak as their first language must pass course AJ12070 Introduction to Sociolinguistics (instead of the course Introduction to Translation) and finish it with an exam. However, in this case, the course will not be counted as one of the programme's three compulsory linguistic courses (see following item c).

Pass three linguistic courses and finish them with exams. The codes for these courses begin AJ12xxx.

Pass three basic literary courses and finish them with exams; two of them dealing with the history of British literature (codes AJ14000 to AJ14007) and one with the history of American literature (codes AJ15000 to AJ15002).

Pass three cultural studies courses and finish them with exams. The codes of these courses begin with AJ16xxx, AJ17xxx and AJ18xxx.

Pass the exam in English language (AJ11010), normally at the end of the 4th semester.

Pass the English Language Oral Proficiency Exam (AJ11020)

Gain at least 60 additional credits for courses offered at the Department of English and American Studies.

(The exact number of credits needed required for permission to sit for the Bachelor's exam depends on the year in which the student began their studies. Students who were enrolled in 2004 and earlier follow the Study Regulations from 2005/06.)

Gain at least 18 additional credits for any courses offered at Masaryk University.

The Department recommends that students acquire these 18 credits, along with the 10 credits required by University and Faculty regulations (physical education, a second foreign language and philosophy) during their first year of study.

Pass the Bachelor's Thesis Seminar (AJ19800, 10 credits) and write and defend a Bachelor's major (diploma) thesis (AJ19850).

The process of writing a B.A. major thesis usually lasts at least two semesters: in the first semester, the student prepares for writing and submits assignments in the electronic Thesis Seminar, and in the second semester, the student writes, finishes and hands in the thesis.

The test has nine parts, each testing the knowledge of one linguistic discipline. These nine parts correspond to the nine A and B linguistics courses offered at the Department of English and American Studies within the Bachelor’s degree study programme. Each student has to answer Parts 1 and 2 (corresponding to the two A courses) and three of the remaining seven parts (corresponding to the three B courses that the student had taken during the Bachelor’s degree study programme). The test consists of multiple choice questions and short answer questions related to the topics and study materials discussed in the individual courses. The maximum time allowed is 70 minutes.

Literature Paper

An essay in response to one of six offered questions.

The questions will be of a general nature rather than directed at specific period courses, and designed in such a way that students will have to draw on works studied in more than one course.

References to works other than those studied in courses within the department will be welcome. The answers, however, must deal with literature written in English. The examination will last 120 minutes.

Cultural Studies Paper

There will be six questions, one of which the student will choose and answer.

The questions will be designed in such a way that the student will have to draw on more than one course to provide a satisfactory answer. The examination will last 120 minutes.

English Proficiency Examination

The English proficiency examination is a written test that lasts 90 minutes and has three sections.

1) Reading

Students will need to be able to understand the meaning of written English at word, sentence, paragraph, and whole text levels.

2) Use of English

The students’ use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well they can control their grammar and vocabulary and how well they can summarize information.

3) Listening

Students need to show that they can understand the meaning of a range of spoken material, including lectures, news programmes, and public announcements.

The maximum number of points for the written part of the exam is 100. A minimum of 60 points is required in order to pass the written part of the exam.

http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/home/studium/informace/b-a-exams