English
Open the door to infinite possibilities.
Majoring in English sharpens your critical thinking, reading and communication skills — abilities that will serve you well on any career path.
Become an expert on literary works
Your literary classes will expose you to a wide variety of works by authors from different times, places, and walks of life. Some courses will focus on only one or two authors, while others will invite you to perform comparative analysis of several works related to a single topic.
Develop skills in creative expression
There’s more to English than just literature! You’ll study films, playwriting, linguistics, language development and multimedia. By exploring how we use language to communicate ideas, you’ll come to understand English as both an art and a science — and this will empower you to express your own creative ideas.
Create your personal schedule
You’ll work with your academic advisor to create an English major that suits your needs. If you’re looking to teach English in grades 7-12, you’ll take graduate courses during your senior year. If becoming a writer is your objective, then you’ll take specific classes that concentrate on creative writing in different genres. No matter your passion, there’s a way to make your degree in English work for you.
Choose from two degree tracks
- B.A. in English – The traditional major track includes courses in linguistics, research and writing, and a comprehensive study of literature, English and American, as well as Shakespeare. The curriculum completes with a senior capstone course. The capstone represents the culmination of the major, and as such the capstone projects are presented to the public every spring.
- B.A. in English with a Writing Concentration – The writing concentration is appropriate for students who want to pursue an MFA or a career in professional writing.
We also offer a contracted major option in English, enabling you to build a specific program of courses with the advice of an advisor in the department and approval by the department chair. The curriculum completes with the senior capstone course, which represents the culmination of the major and includes a presentation to the public every spring.
At a Glance
Degree Type
Bachelor of Arts
Department
School/College
College of Arts and Sciences
Next Steps
Interested in this major? Here's what you can do next:
With challenging and relevant courses, outstanding faculty, small class sizes, and an emphasis on hands-on learning, the english program will position you to succeed in your chosen career.
Degree requirements
Find out what it takes to earn a degree in english and explore the courses.
Emphasis Areas
Customize this major to your interests by taking courses in an area of focus:
Writing
The writing concentration is appropriate for students who want to pursue an MFA or a career in professional writing.
Highlighted Courses
Get familiar with some of the courses you might take in this major.
ENGL 304: Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
This workshop will explore the evolving genre of creative nonfiction. This course will provide instruction and practice in reading creative nonfiction in some of its many forms. Writing assignments will include a range of essays such as the personal essay, lyric essay, and literary journalism.
Read descriptionENGL 305: Playwriting
This workshop course focuses on developing playwriting skills, with an emphasis on mastering plot, character, and dialogue development. Students will write and revise an original play.
Read descriptionENGL 452: Shakespeare
A study of selected works of Shakespeare, with attention to theatrical, cultural and literary background.
Read descriptionENGL 362: Climate Storytelling
The climate crisis has technological and scientific dimensions, but it is a human problem shaped by stories. This course explores and experiments with a range of climate stories and storytelling genres to understand the role of narrative in promoting understanding, shaping values, motivating action, and envisioning the future. By reading and writing climate stories, you will have the opportunity to discover and create the kind of story you want to live in, as we face the challenges of a changing climate.
Read descriptionENGL 350: Studies in African-American Literature
With an emphasis on literary works by African-American writers, this course explores race in the American context. Each semester offers a different focus based on culture, genre, or theme. For example: Race and Ethnicity in the 19th Century, Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, Representations of Race in African-American Literature, Slave Narratives and Neo-Slave Narratives, and 20th Century African American Literature.
Read descriptionENGL 480: English Major Capstone Colloquium
Students will research and write an original work of literary scholarship or complete a polished creative writing project. Students who wish to pursue a creative project should have taken a creative writing course in the genre they wish to write before enrolling in the Capstone.
Read descriptionENGL 361: Contemporary Chicano Literature
Intended as a basic exploration of the literature of the Chicano people. This representative synthesis covers the principal genres of poetry, theatre, the novel, the short story, and the essay. An historical framework establishes the different periods of Chicano creativity from its origins in the pre-1960s prior to the Chicano movement, through the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960s and to contemporary times.
Read descriptionENGL 353: Gender and Literature: U.S. Diversity
This course will focus on the literary methods of gender analysis, historical analysis, and reader response as three lenses among many through which to deepen your understanding of literature; and will apply these tools to several texts, both historical and contemporary, in which the social categories of gender, sexuality, race and class are of principal concern.
Read descriptionENGL 318: Writing Center Theory and Practice
Based on Writing Center scholarship, the course draws from various fields - composition studies, intercultural rhetoric, second language writing, sociolinguistics, sociolinguistics and writing center studies - that provide theoretical and pedagogical frameworks for teaching and tutoring in a increasingly global English-using academic sphere.
Read descriptionRecommended Minors
Want to add even more value to your degree? Consider one of these minors to gain a unique combination of skills and perspectives.
Professor of English
Department Chair
Associate Professor of English
Writing Center Director and Associate Professor of English
Professor of English
Assistant Professor in the English Department
Professor of English
Associate Professor of English
We offer hands-on opportunities that give you the freedom to explore your passion through real-world work and prepare for a fulfilling career.
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Internships
In addition to your classes, you’ll be able to take on paid positions that allow you to build your teaching and leadership skills. These opportunities include internships, departmental assistantships, editing the award-winning literary magazine Morning Glory, and tutoring in the Writing Center.
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Travel Seminars
Travel seminars will allow you to experience the locations where great literary works first came to life. By studying up-close the cultures and histories that inspired these works, you’ll gain a more complete understanding of these important writings — and a greater appreciation of them.
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Conference Presentations
Performing research, writing critical analysis, and creating original works will all be integral parts of your coursework — the results of which you can present at local, regional, and national conferences. Also, the culmination of your major will be a public presentation of your capstone project.
English can be a great stepping stone for many potential careers in law, education, writing, publishing, and more. I would even suggest pairing it with other fields of study. The hard skills that you develop as an English major will carry over across many disciplines and career paths.
Patrick Lewis '24
Read their storyBecause of the well-rounded training that an English major provides, our graduates have successfully pursued career paths as varied as their individual interests. Teaching, law, non-profit development, political advocacy, marketing, film, library science and business leadership are just a few examples of the fields you can enter with your English degree.
Potential Careers
Proofreaders and Copy Markers
Read transcript or proof type setup to detect and mark for correction any grammatical, typographical, or compositional errors. Excludes workers whose primary duty is editing copy. Includes proofreaders of braille.
Read descriptionEditors
Plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material. May review proposals and drafts for possible publication.
Read descriptionWriters and Authors
Originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.
Read descriptionArchivists
Appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.
Read descriptionLibrary Technicians
Assist librarians by helping readers in the use of library catalogs, databases, and indexes to locate books and other materials; and by answering questions that require only brief consultation of standard reference. Compile records; sort and shelve books or other media; remove or repair damaged books or other media; register patrons; and check materials in and out of the circulation process. Replace materials in shelving area (stacks) or files. Includes bookmobile drivers who assist with providing services in mobile libraries.
Read descriptionEnglish Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Read descriptionEmployers
Some of the organizations our graduates work for include:
- AeroVironment
- CA State University, Northridge
- Creative Media Marketing
- Dole Food Company
- ELCA Division for Global Mission
- J.D. Power & Associates
- Louisville High School
- Peace Corps.
- Sage Publications
- The Trevor Project
Graduate Schools
Our alumni have pursued advanced degrees at:
- American University in Cairo
- Antioch University
- Arizona State University
- Boston College
- California State Dominguez Hills
- Emerson College
- Goldsmiths, University of London
- Trinity University, Dublin
- University of Akron
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of San Diego
- University of Southern California
This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Some occupations listed above may require a related graduate degree.
How We Prepare You for Success
We have 20,000+ employer contacts for jobs and internships, with over 200 listings posted each week.
Our excellent career counselors in the Career Services center will get in touch with you during your very first term on campus. They offer over 50 workshops each year on resume writing, interviewing, salary negotiations, applying to graduate schools, and other critical skills to help you begin your career successfully.
After you graduate from Cal Lutheran, you receive free access to Career Services for life, as a valued member of our alumni family.
of Cal Lutheran graduates find a job or enroll in graduate school within nine months
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