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• Double Major: A Good Idea or Too Much Stress?
• English Major: Yields Great Communication Skills
• Sociology Major: Utilizes the Teachings of Other Disciplines to Highlight World Issues
• Finance Major: Excellent Choice for People With an Affinity for Numbers
• Computer Science Major: Solid Choice for Analytical & Imaginative Individuals

English Major

Double Major

English Major: Yields Great Communication Skills

An English major is one of the most useful, and versatile, of all college majors. It can prepare students for a variety of endeavors. People who have earned an English degree have gone on to:

• Write books
• Attend law school
• Work in advertising or public relations
• Become an executive assistant
• Become a book editor
• Practice journalism
• Open their own business
• Take on management roles in a business setting
• Teach the next generation of communicators

The possibilities for the English major are truly endless. The ability to communicate has always been indispensable. People who possess a sophisticated knowledge of written and oral communication will find that they are adept at any number of jobs. Their skills will be in demand anywhere that a need to communicate clearly on paper and orally with others is required. In short, the English major has many employment opportunities from which to choose.

The curriculum of English college degree programs varies widely. Some will require that the student choose an area of concentration. Through their education, the student may discover a passion for a certain topic, which can eventually become the subject of their concentration. Students might choose to focus on:

• British writers of the Victorian era
• Authors of the Romantic period
• The American Transcendentalists
• French authors of the 18th century
• Native American storytelling and legends
• Post-modern writers and novels
• The deconstructionists
• The concept of the outsider and minority authors

Course and concentration offerings will be quite different for each program, so if the student is beginning their college education with the idea that they would like to focus on Regency era British authors, they would do well to conduct a thorough catalog review to be certain sufficient coursework will be available to them in their area of interest.

Wherever they choose to concentrate, or even if they are not required to select a concentration topic at all, the student who enters school as an English major should be prepared to complete an exceptional amount of reading and writing. Students are typically expected to read several novels, works of poetry, or explicative texts for every course. All of this information must be absorbed with enough sufficiency that the student can intelligibly write about his or her conclusions regarding the subject matter in an academic paper. Additionally, students are typically required to provide enough classroom participation in discussions to demonstrate a thorough grasp of the subject matter. This prepares the student to speak articulately in a group setting, and may even result in the student learning some debating skills as controversial topics are raised.

English students begin their education by completing the core required courses which lay the groundwork for completing their major. These core courses may include:

• English Composition and Writing
• The Modern American Novel
• Researching and Writing the Academic Paper
• An Overview of World Literature
• Shakespeare and Other Playwrights of his Era
• Literary Theory
• Renaissance Period Writers
• The Development of Modern Language

In addition, most English students must also satisfy certain general education requirements. This most often means completing coursework which is largely unrelated to their major. They will likely be required to take courses related to science, mathematics, statistics, economics, and social science in addition to their core major courses and related electives. This provides a broad educational basis which informs the student’s further studies within their major.

The student who graduates as an English major is an able communicator who can clearly get messages to their recipient in a concise, efficient manner. They are imaginative, but also logical, having learned to analyze the literary techniques utilized by the world’s greatest writers and thinkers.