Bachelor of Arts in English

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Did you know that you can leverage your strong English skills to earn your MBA with only one additional year on campus? Learn more about how Caldwell’s five-year B.A./MBA program can elevate your earning potential after graduation.

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The Bachelor of Arts in English encourages you to think critically and write both persuasively and creatively, as well as perform publicly with attention to developing voice and an awareness of audience. Within the major, you may elect to pursue one of two additional options: the Drama Minor or the Creative Writing and Performance Concentration.

In addition to six required literature courses, you will draw from a wide variety of electives, including:

Children’s Literature
Global Literature
Literature and the Environment
Literature and Diversity

Courses in the Creative Writing and Performance concentration include:

Writing the Self in Poetry and Prose
Modern Drama in Performance
Journal Editing

The Journal Editing course focuses on poetry and prepares you to select and submit entries to the professional, national-level poetry journal, Presence.

Capstone Project

An important part of the English major’s academic career at the University is the EN 410 Senior Portfolio Project. Throughout the course, you will be asked to reflect on your growth as a writer while collecting feedback and revising four 300-level essays. Completing an ePortfolio allows you to properly showcase some of your best work for future job and academic endeavors.

Internships

English majors are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more internships. In recent years, students have worked for Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, NJ Kids Directory, The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, as well as for Calyx, the student-driven literary magazine of Caldwell University and for the media relations department at Caldwell. They have also assisted professional writers with research projects and worked at area public libraries. The department is also able to offer opportunities to intern in the area of grant writing.

Recent Graduates

Caldwell English major graduates find rewarding careers in many fields where the ability to write clearly and synthesize complex ideas for a wider audience is important: marketing, business administration, publishing, advertising, technical writing, software development, medical humanities, health care, finance, the charitable and nonprofit sector and, of course, elementary and high-school education. Recent graduates have also completed M.A. degrees in English and M.F.A. degrees in creative writing to teach courses at the college level. Others have pursued graduate degrees in the fields of law, history, library science, and education administration. Still others write for professional publications.