Undergraduate Studies in English

What can an English major do for you?

English majors prepare for their professional future by building a set of versatile skills that work across employment sectors and areas of interest. English majors are the leaders, communicators, and idea makers that keep their workplaces one step ahead. Culturally and historically grounded, well-read, and ready to tackle complex problems? That's an English major.

When you choose a major, you are choosing your professional starting point. You can choose a narrow set of skills and a highly specialized degree, but you can also opt for for a major that transcends a single niche area and provides you with a core set of skills that are welcome in virtually any workplace. Research skills, writing skills, and critical thinking abilities open doors for our majors in jobs of all kinds, from small-business owner to corporate communicator.

Prepare for the job market, not for a job

Versatility and flexibility are the name of the game in modern employment, and English majors excel at both. Employers aren't looking for cookie-cutter hires—they want flexible team members who can swap roles, take the lead, and think independently. You have to write, communicate, research, and create. In your English major, you'll do all these things and so much more. Within the major you'll gain the skills you need to navigate the job market fluidly instead of being tied to a single outcome. Here are just a few highlights of our major's versatility:

• Critical thinking that goes beyond the surface
  English coursework prepares you to solve wicked problems that demand complex solutions. English courses teach you how to read past the surface level. You'll question assumptions, identity blind spots, and you'll have the sources and reasoning to back it all up.
• Communication skills for all audiences
  Every English class is writing class—your great idea always has to get written down and communicated. Communication is everywhere, but it doesn't scare an English major. The blank page or slide deck isn't a obstacle—it's an opportunity to use the writing skills you've honed over four years of careful practice.
• Cultural and historical savvy to navigate the global workplace
  English coursework also walks you through the history of written culture, from the dawn of civilization to right now. You'll get the Shakespeare reference in that Taylor Swift song, and you'll also be able to unpack why this or that reference in a campaign might not be the best idea.

Create, imagine, and explore

While English majors are incredibly employable, in English you'll find a major that is about more than just getting a job. We train creators and thinkers, teaching students to appreciate the world and people around them in new ways. Yes you'll get workplace skills, but just as importantly you'll have amazing time in the process taking courses that help you discover new cultures, voices, and experiences. Depending on how you focus, you'll have a wide range of places and spaces to create and explore in during your time in the major:

• Creative writing that gets the context
  Write poetry and fiction with a deep understanding of the genres that you're operating within and how those genre conventions, histories, and other voices come together with your own experiences to make for compelling new texts. Working with world-class authors, poets, and translators, you will build an appreciation for the craft of creative writing while building your own skills along the way.
• Enjoyable reading with rich appreciation
  You can read the Lord of the Rings, but also learn how it works as a cultural and historically grounded text coming out of the first World War. You don't just read books for the sake of reading—you read poems and novels and short stories through the histories and peoples and cultures that created them.
• Composition choices that make your readers feel understood
  From Essay Writing to Developmental Editing, you'll learn how craft a professional text that solves problems while demonstrating care and understanding to your audiences. Rhetorical choices matter and your assignments and courses will help you understand both what is at stake when you write but also how to best leverage your work to shape the world around you and support the communities you're part of.

Build your scholarship skills with some amazing researchers and authors

When you choose to major in English, you're signing up to take courses from an amazing roster of researchers, authors, and translators who are nationally and internationally known. Whether you're learning about Middle Welsh from Dr. Smith, reading about the South with Dr. Hinrichsen, tackling AI in writing with Dr. Fernandes, composing poetry with Professor Davis, or working on translation with Professor Howell, you'll find yourself in excellent company. Many of our students have successful futures in graduate school in both English as well as in law and other fields.

Apply Today! Check out our fully-online English BA program.