English

What Can I Do With A Major In English?

English is a major branch of the language arts, and the study of English compliments a wide variety of occupations, both in the academic and the business world. A solid grasp of our language, whether spoken or written, is considered basic to American society and reflects a person's level of educational achievement.

As the largest division of the College of Arts and Sciences, UM's English program offers students three options or areas of emphasis: literature, creative writing and English teaching. English teachers receive a BA in English literature and are certified to teach students at the high school level. Creative writing and literature options offer an English BA with added emphasis in fiction and poetry writing, or critical theory. This focus on analysis and writing makes the English BA a particularly good choice for students wishing to advance to graduate schools.

Commercial businesses recruit English majors because they develop a broad-based understanding of social, cultural and literary perspectives, as well as an accomplishment in critical thinking -- the ability to read a body of work, critically evaluate the body of work, and articulate an audience appropriate response to it. These skills are highly valued in the job market

A Sample of Related Occupations

Types of Employers

Related Web Links

• The University of Montana Department of English
• The University of Montana Department of Linguistics
• EServer - assessible online publishing
• Literary Resources on the Net
• Publishing Organizations in North America
• Job Board for Newspaper Careers
• Advertising and Media Jobs - NationJob
• Directory of Salary Surveys on the Web

Professional Associations

• Authors Guild
• Modern Language Association
• Academy for Educational Development
• American Council of Learned Societies
• Association for Language Learning
• American Society of Indexers
• Society for Technical Communication
• Directory of Investigative Journalists
• Public Relations Society of America
• American Library Association
• American Association of Advertising Agencies
• The Association for Women in Communications

For additional career information, see the Occupational Outlook Handbook