Bachelor in General Literature (Bachelor's)

Tuition is Tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year is $57,600 per year..

This concentration focuses on analyzing literature through social and historical contexts to understand its role in shaping and responding to societal issues. Students engage in close reading and critical discussion of literary works across time periods and cultures. The program emphasizes connecting literary analysis to real-world concerns such as justice and change. Learning occurs through focused, block-based courses that allow deep engagement with texts.

Focus areas include social justice, historical context, literary analysis, cultural studies, public humanities, interdisciplinary approaches.

The major requires coursework in literary history, creative writing, and a capstone project. The capstone may be an internship, research seminar, or independent study. One course block fulfills the Ingenuity in Action requirement.

Graduates pursue careers in communications, publishing, library science, journalism, education, and law.

Applicants must meet Cornell College's general admission requirements. No specific prerequisites for the Literature and Society major are listed. Submit official transcripts and a personal statement.

The programme totals about 36 credit hours. On-campus, full-time, block plan with one course at a time; typical duration is four years. For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 81% of applicants.

For nearly 50 years, Cornell College has organized its campus around One Course At A Time. Students take one class for 18 days before beginning the next, creating extended periods for engagement with a subject, hands-on learning, and relationships with professors and classmates. The approach is designed to support deeper study and the confidence that comes from concentrating fully on one course.

Cornell offers students room to shape an individual academic path. Students may pursue majors such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or Spanish, and many double major. Academic and professional interests extend into areas including engineering, art, and infectious disease research, with students gaining experience through internships and other practical opportunities. The block plan can also make it easier to connect intensive coursework with projects, classes, and campus activities.

The college occupies a hilltop campus in Mount Vernon, Iowa, known within Cornell as the Hilltop. Campus visits can include student-guided tours, class attendance, meetings with professors or coaches, and time at the Hilltop Café. International students are welcomed each year and can receive help through the application process. They should also consider how the 18-day course format fits their preferred pace of study and plan for Iowa's changing weather, which moves through all four seasons.