Prospective English Majors

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What can you do with an English major?

Learn about career outcomes for English majors in our page about beyond the English major. You can also contact our career advisor to learn more about different exciting pathways available to English majors.

Testimonials from English majors

Looking for real life experiences from our English majors? We have compiled testimonials from English majors — they discuss everything from the types of courses they can take to the careers they plan to pursue after graduation.

Course trailers

Curious about what kind of courses you might take as an English major? Check out our course trailer videos.

For parents of prospective English majors

If you are the parent of a prospective English major, please visit this page to learn more about the various opportunities that will be available to your child if they decide to major in English.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some of the most common questions we get from prospective and current English majors.

Ready to declare an English major?

Ready to make the exciting step of declaring English as your major? Please visit this page and make an appointment to meet with our undergraduate major advisor.

Why study English

English majors examine old texts and new technologies, excel at critical thinking, creative problem-solving and writing in many genres. As you make the important decision of what area of study you will focus on during your college career, explore the diverse opportunities that an English major affords.

The question is not necessarily, “what can I do with an English major?” but rather, “what do I want to do and how can an English major help me?” Employability has more to do with your combination of skills, experiences and achievements than with your actual major. In many cases, especially with L&S majors, employers have no preference towards particular majors…they’re looking for a unique blend of attributes to fill their needs.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) the qualities and skills that employers rate as most important for job candidates are also attributes that a liberal arts education tends to cultivate:

  • Communication skills
  • Strong work ethic
  • Teamwork
  • Initiative
  • Interpersonal Skills (relate well to others)
  • Problem solving skills

Employers are also concerned about candidate’s experience. They want candidates to come in with experience in the form of internships, job experience, volunteer activities and other types of hands on experience. The English Department works with L&S Career Services to help its majors find internship, job and volunteer opportunities that will give them the experience they need to find the job they want.