Bachelor: Major or Minor?

Students who take English as their Bachelor Major (120 ECTS) or Bachelor Minor (60 ECTS) will be introduced to all the core areas of English Literature and English Linguistics:

• English Linguistics (synchronic and diachronic, i.e. contemporary and historical)
• English Literature (textual analysis, literary history, and literary theory)
• Language Skills and Culture (essay writing, cultural studies, and media analysis)

In addition, students of the Major (120 ECTS) will have a sizeable elective component, which means that they will have more freedom of choice. They may, for example, take modules from other, related programs to complement their studies in English (module group "Transferable Skills").

By contrast, students of the Minor (60 ECTS) will have relatively little freedom of choice.

You should take English as your Bachelor Major if:

• your main interest is English (rather than the other study program);
• your other study program cannot be taken as a Major (cf. UZH website for a list of Bachelor Majors and Minors);
• you plan to do the teaching diploma (Lehrdiplom für Maturitätsschulen) and your other study program is not a teaching subject (cf. Lehrdiplom website for a list of teaching subjects).*

* This is not absolutely necessary because one can do the Master Major even if one has 'only' completed the Bachelor Minor. (For more information, consult the Lehrdiplom section of the English Department website.)