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English
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Department of English offers over seventy-five courses in literature, literary criticism, rhetoric, grammar, the history of the English language, and various forms of writing. A staff of seventy full-time faculty includes nationally noted literary critics and scholars, novelists and poets, rhetoricians and linguists, and business and technical writers.
All English majors explore through literature a wide range of human experience and values. They learn how to gather, analyze, and synthesize information. They receive substantial practice in the techniques of research and writing. English students may choose to emphasize African-American literature, creative writing, publishing, or rhetoric. The Department of English offers a minor for students enrolled in other academic majors.
RELATED EXPERIENCES
An honors program in English brings outstanding students together in a sequence of small seminars and provides special opportunities for individual study. An internship program provides opportunities for qualified English majors to earn academic credit and make practical use of their English skills in business, public relations and promotions, legal and government research, technical writing, publishing, and other fields that require reading, writing, and bibliographic skills.
Education abroad allows English majors to understand literature from a variety of international perspectives and to explore the connections between literature and cultural context. Students have the option of participating in department-sponsored programs in England, Ireland, or Rome, or selecting another program from more than 180 summer, semester, and full-year offerings available in over forty-five countries.
CAREER DIRECTIONS
Liberal Arts graduates in general, and English majors in particular, are valued, according to one study, because "they are well-rounded people, with broad ranges of verbal communication and adapt easily to new situations." Recent Penn State studies confirm the adaptability of the English major in the job market. A national survey of English majors identified the following non-academic career goals in order of preference: personnel relations, sales and marketing, public relations, management, advertising, editing and writing, research, and investigation. Some occupations in which English graduates are employed include advertising copywriter, attorney, book critic, corporate publications director, editor, English teacher, freelance writer, journalist, management trainee, public information specialist, public relations director, publisher, reporter, and sales representative.