WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN ENGLISH?

An undergraduate degree in English is infinitely adaptable. Our students have gone on to continue their education in graduate programs and at medical and law schools. Those who embark upon careers immediately after graduation discover that their superior written and oral communication skills, as well as their critical thinking and analytic skills, are credentials sought by all employers in all fields – a passport to success in virtually any career.

Graduate School

Recently, our English majors have been accepted into graduate programs such as:

• University of Kentucky (PhD)
• University of Connecticut (PhD)
• Harvard University (PhD in comparative literature)
• The Graduate School of The College of Charleston (MA)
• Arizona State University (MFA in poetry writing)
• Purdue University (MFA in poetry writing)
• Virginia Commonwealth University (MFA in fiction writing)
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MFA in poetry writing)
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MFA in poetry writing)
• Vanderbilt University Law School
• New England School of Law
• DePaul University School of Law

Careers

Some examples of the varied careers our graduates have pursued include:

• Professional writing
• Teaching at all levels, from elementary school to college
• Speechwriting for the president of the College of Charleston
• Episcopal minister
• Research associate, Institute for Health, Science and Society
• Grants writer, Spoleto Festival USA
• TV producers for local stations
• Vice president and chief legal counsel, The Washington Post
• Peace Corps volunteer, Morocco

Active Learning Opportunities

Independent studies. You can take advantage of the opportunity to work individually with a faculty member studying an area of special interest to you. Examples of independent studies and tutorials recently completed by English majors include:

• The Beat Movement
• The Lost Generation
• Shakespeare’s Fools
• Writing the Family Memoir
• Family Dynamics in African American Literature
• Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages
• Pope’s Satiric Art"

Internships. Recent internships have taken place with: Arcadia Publishing in nearby Mt. Pleasant

• Charleston Magazine
• CBS News in New York City
• Crazyhorse

Study abroad. The College of Charleston offers summer or semester-long study-abroad programs in Europe, South America, Asia and the Caribbean. Summer travel courses regularly offered by English faculty include:

• Ireland: Irish Mythology and the Celtic Renaissance
• Italy: Humanism and the Italian Renaissance and Continuities in English on Italian Traditions

Research. We actively promote undergraduate student research and creative projects in collaboration with faculty. Often, student/faculty projects are supported by College grants. Most recently, for example:

• Five student/faculty teams were awarded summer undergraduate research grants.
• Three faculty-sponsored students received undergraduate research presentation grants.
• Three English majors had research papers published in Chrestomathy, a College publication.

National publications.

• Crazyhorse: A national literary magazine produced annually by the College of Charleston that has featured some of the most important writers of the last half century.
• Illuminations: An International Magazine of Contemporary Writing. Founded in 1982, Illuminations showcases the work of new writers from around the world in company with that of already established writers. Each issue carries an extraordinary, highly eclectic range of material.

College publications.

• Miscellany:English majors often take leadership roles in producing the College’s annual literary magazine.
• The Glebe Street Hacks: A newsletter published once each semester by the English Club
• Chrestomathy: Founded by a College of Charleston literary society in the 19th century. The best undergraduate research papers in the humanities and social sciences are annually selected for inclusion.

Other Special Opportunities

Senior Symposium. Faculty nominate students to present research papers and original works of poetry and fiction to audiences of fellow students, professors, family, and friends at this unique annual event, modeled on an academic conference.

Writer’s Series. You have the opportunity to interact with the many poets and other authors whom we invite to campus every semester. Past guests have included Brenda Marie Osbey (Poet Laureate of Louisiana), John Ashbery, and Madison Smartt Bell.

Temples for Tomorrow. An online project (www.cofc.edu/~francisc/temples.html) that focuses on the lives and works of African-American writers.

Student Organizations

English Club. Open to all interested students, the club sponsors student readings and film screenings, organizes career days and graduate school days and publishes the department’s newsletter.

Sigma Tau Delta. This national honor society promotes interest in literature and the English language and fosters the discipline of English in all its aspects, including creative and critical work.

Songwriter’s Club. This group helps sponsor the College Songwriter’s Series.

English Club Book Group. A new club open to all English majors.

Learning Resources

The Writing Lab. Writing consultants, including English faculty and carefully chosen peer writing consultants (who frequently are English majors), provide students with one-to-one assistance for every stage in the writing of essays, term papers, letters, memos, and book reviews.

“English department faculty are very accessible and always eager to assist students who wish to pursue further study in specific literature or language areas. There are also substantial and reputable outlets for creative artists, such as the student-edited journal Miscellany and an emerging creative writing concentration, as well as opportunities to work on the professional literary journal Crazyhorse.”

Ilani Blanke ’07