English Degree Plan
Degree Options
- Bachelor of Arts in English
- Creative Writing
- Integrative English Study
- Linguistics
- Literary Studies
- Rhetoric and Professional Writing
- English Teaching
Minors
- English
- Creative Writing
- Linguistics
- Humanities
- Professional Writing
Certificates
- Professional Writing
- TESOL
- Professional Science and Technology Certificate
- Editing and Publishing Certificate
Career Options
- Creative and professional writing
- Publishing and editing
- Advertising and public relations
- Web content development
- Teaching
- Law
- Journalism
- Communications management
- Educational programming
- Media planning
- Public affairs and information
- Research and grant writing
Admission to the Major Requirements
Students may be admitted as an English major upon declaring their intent to the department.
Suggested Classes for Freshmen
- ENGL 101: Introductory Writing
- ENGL 108: Introduction to Literature
- ENGL 109: Creative Writing Now
- ENGL 110: Introduction to Shakespeare
- ENGL 150: Introduction to Film as Narrative
- HUM 101: Humanities in the Ancient World
- HUM 103: Mythology
- ENGL 256: Introduction to the Study of Language (Linguistics)
Suggested Classes for Transfer Students
- ENGL 201: Writing and Research
- ENGL 205: Introduction to Shakespeare
- ENGL 210: Readings in American Literature
- ENGL 251: Introduction to Creative Writing: Exploring the Genres
- ENGL 301: Writing and Rhetorical Conventions
- ENGL 302: Introduction to English Studies
- HUM 302: Humanities in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
- HUM 303: Reason, Romanticism, and Revolution
- HUM 304: Humanities in the Modern World
- ENGL 357: Editing & Publishing
Math Requirement
- Any UCORE, most commonly:
- MATH 105: Exploring Mathematics
- MATH 212: Introduction to Statistical Methods
- PHIL 201: Elementary Logic
- CPT. S 111: Introduction to Computer Programming
Core Courses
Varies by concentration:
- ENGL 251: Introduction to Creative Writing
- ENGL 301: Writing and Rhetorical Conventions
- ENGL 302: Introduction to English Studies
- ENGL 370: The Making of English: Literature, Language, and Culture Before 1600
- ENGL 371: Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Transnational Literature in English
- ENGL 372: Nineteenth Century Literature of the British Empire and the Americas
- ENGL 373: Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Global Literatures in English
Program Strengths
- Experience courses that emphasize small group discussion, project-based learning, and provide opportunities to work closely with award-winning faculty.
- Enjoy the flexibility of focusing on particular areas of interest or pursuing second majors in other departments.
- Participate in internship opportunities and certificate programs in Professional Writing, Professional Science and Technology Writing and Editing and Publishing to prepare for work after graduation.
- Develop high-level skills in critical thinking, analysis, research, and writing, which are all vital to academic success and effective leadership careers in a variety of fields.
- Utilize state-of-the-art Avery Microcomputer Lab, equipped with Macs for undergraduate writing classes and operated by the English Department.
- Visiting Writer Series:
Serving over 5,000 students, staff, faculty, and community members per calendar year, the system-wide Visiting Writers Series brings poets and writers of fiction and nonfiction to WSU campuses for virtual and in-person readings, class visits, workshops, and collaborative exchanges across intellectual and artistic disciplines. - Blood Orange Review:
The English Department is home to I, a nationally recognized digital journal of literature and art that offers undergraduate internship opportunities and publishes emerging and established writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry and showcases visual artworks in each biannual volume. - EcoArts on the Palouse:
The EcoArts on the Palouse web project features site-based artworks in multiple genres by independent artists and WSU faculty and students. Updated seasonally, it is a lens onto forested and prairie biomes of the region’s creeks, rivers, buttes and mountains and a document of the evolving relationship between humans and the more-than-human world. - ESQ:
ESQ is devoted to the study of nineteenth-century American literature. We invite submission of original articles, welcome work grounded in a wide range of theoretical and critical perspectives, and encourage inquiries proposing submissions and projects.
Student Clubs
- Sigma Tau Delta is a national organization that has a local chapter at WSU.
- The English Club hosts events of interest to English students, such as talks with faculty and English graduate students on publishing, graduate school, and jobs for English majors; poetry slams and other venues for students to read creative work; and poetry workshops, trivia nights, guest speaker panels, etc.
- LandEscapes Literary and Arts Journal is an undergraduate publication meant to represent the creativity, ingenuity, and skill of all students at WSU. The journal is published once a year in the spring and contains fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, music, and graphic media created by students.
For more information
english.wsu.edu
english@wsu.edu
509-335-2581
Advisor
Leisa McCormick
lmccormick@wsu.edu
Avery 202
509-335-0496