Minor in English

No matter what bachelor’s degree you decide to pursue in college, having the skills that come from earning a minor in English can be extremely valuable.

Studying American and English literature will provide you with exceptional insight into the human condition, including what drives human behavior. You’ll learn to better understand and appreciate the people around you, including colleagues and customers after graduation.

More importantly, you’ll learn how to apply the insights you gain about people to build the strong communication, audience analysis, and critical thinking skills that today’s employers value, especially in a fast-paced, ever-evolving digital world.

Why choose a minor in English at Marian?

If you plan to major in a science, math, engineering, or technology-oriented field, adding the educational depth that comes from studying English to your coursework is a great choice.

Why? According to a TIME.com article, a “well-chosen minor is one that adds evidence of a skill that can be applied to your major but isn’t necessarily contained within it.”

In other words, to boost your career options and stand out from other job applicants in competitive employment fields, it helps to choose a minor that balances and complements your overall degree.

• Balancing a science-intensive degree with an English minor will help you be a better communicator, collaborator, and critical thinker who considers problems or challenges from the diverse perspectives of your customers and colleagues.

• If you plan to major in a field like biology, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, engineering, exercise science, nursing, nutrition and fitness, or psychology, for example, an English minor can help you interpret complex concepts and detailed information into language that non-experts can understand.

Students pursuing other majors—such as marketing, management, graphic design, political science, public health, nutrition and fitness, and many other fields—can equally benefit from a minor in English.

Education majors who want to pursue licensure to teach English in K-12 schools or adult education settings also choose the English minor.

What makes Marian’s English program unique?

• Our faculty includes nationally and internationally recognized teachers and scholars who specialize in American and English literature. They are passionate about the power of the English language and its role as an essential component of a liberal arts education.

• Small class sizes and a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio means you’ll get the individual attention and mentoring you expect from your college experience. You’ll build relationships with professors and peers that last a lifetime.

• You can choose from a range of required and elective courses that focus on a wide range of topics and subjects in English that will awaken and strengthen your appreciation of the liberal arts. From advanced creative writing courses to studying world literature, you’ll discover an impressive array of offerings.

• English faculty will encourage you to broaden your cultural horizons, whether through study-abroad courses or submitting original creative writings like short stories and poems to The Fioretti, our annual student-led literary publication.

• Marian offers lots of campus resources that can help English minors excel, like peer tutoring, a Writing Center, and Speaking Studio.

What will you study?

To earn our 18-credit B.A. in English, you can choose from any ENG courses except 101 and 115. You’ll complete at least six credits of 300- and/or 400-level courses.

You will study a range of historical periods and genres of literature and issues in literary criticism and contemporary theory. You’ll explore the ways that the English language shapes, imagines, and reflects current and historical cultural norms. Along the way, you can also strengthen and sharpen your writing skills.

Examples of courses you might complete include:

• ENG 213: Literature: The Short Story
• ENG 237: Introduction to the Digital Humanities
• ENG 250: History of Literary Criticism
• ENG 302: Critical and Creative Non-Fiction
• ENG 316: American Realism
• ENG 323: Literature and Medicine
• ENG 375: Global Cinema
• ENG 470: Advanced Creative Writing Workshop
• ENG 490: Senior Seminar

What are your career paths?

For those who are planning careers in math, science, engineering, or technology settings, being able to produce technical writings, grant proposals, research articles, or corporate blog posts on the latest industry trends or news can make you a valuable member of your employer’s team.

No matter what your interests and career goals are, by strategically pairing an English minor with a complementary major in another field you can pursue a range of interesting, relevant careers.

Here are some professional careers with anticipated job growth and average salary statistics as tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.