English Major or Minor Degree

English at Carroll College

What to Expect

English majors at Carroll:

Study life-changing works from Shakespeare’s plays to Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade
Write—a lot—maybe a collection of poems, an analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and/or a digital edition of a nineteenth-century short story
Produce our annual Literary Festival, featuring works by Carroll students and the community
Edit and publish our annual literary magazine, Colors
Intern at a variety of organizations—local publishing companies, the Montana Historical Society, an independent bookstore
Study abroad: everywhere from Ireland to Madrid, Chile to Italy

The major programs of study offer sound preparation for graduate study in literature, languages, or writing. In addition, it is possible for a student to design a program to prepare for studying law or for entering a career in journalism, public relations, public information, or communications. Seniors may choose to gain practical experience by completing a Career Internship in the local community.

What can you do with an English major?

Anything you want! If you want to study literature and writing, don't let others dissuade you from doing so — check out some reasons why below.

Employers want English majors

The Washington Post reports, English majors are down 25.5 percent since the Great Recession, just as world’s top economists say we need more ’storytellers.’ (Oct. 19, 2019)
2018 study at Google showed English majors among the most desirable employees
Forbes reports “That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Is Now Tech’s Hottest Ticket” (July 29, 2015)
Humanities and liberal art graduates are happily and gainfully employed (Inside Higher Ed Feb. 7, 2018)
Forbes finds “It’s Not Liberal Arts and Literature Majors Who Are Most Underemployed” (May 31, 2018)

Professional Schools want English majors

Of English major applicants to law school, nationally, 81.37% were admitted—higher than the percentage of political science majors, the more typical pre-law major
Business Insider states English majors have an “edge” in applying to medical school: the Association of American Medical Colleges reports that 46% of humanities applicants to US med school enrolled, compared to just 38% of biological science majors (November 16 2017). A 2018 issue of the Atlantic magazine quotes several physicians who argue that “literary exercises can expand doctors’ worldviews”: that “admissions committees should be looking for students who are imaginative and who are already reading literature.”

The Teaching Profession Needs English Majors

Teaching high school English has never been more important. How do we prepare citizens to distinguish truth from lies? Reliable sources from unreliable? Arguments based on evidence from arguments based on rhetoric? How do we teach citizens to use their voices? Carroll graduates are doing this work right now in schools all over Montana and the West.

Helpful Links to Get Connected to Your Next Step

Sewanee Writers’ Conference is a writers conference held every summer on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The conference takes place over twelve days, during which participants attend writing workshops, readings, panel presentations, lectures on the craft of poetry, fiction, and playwriting, and numerous social gatherings with peers and established authors.
Denver Publishing Institute is held every summer on the University of Denver campus for college students seeking their first job in publishing. Lecture topics expose students to different types of publishing and the publishing process. Each day provides new networking opportunities and special sessions on career development which gives students a head start into the publishing industry.
MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate Program in Science Writing is a one-year master’s program designed to give students hand-on experience producing professional-quality, science-driven pieces.
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is a service opportunity for motivated people to live, learn, and work with a community overseas to tackle the most pressing challenges of our generation.

Four Year Plans Student Outcomes

Highlights

The North West Undergraduate Conference in the Humanities hosted its 4th annual conference this year at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene. This conference is one of the few places undergraduate students can present their work in a public and professional academic setting. Read More

The 2019 Carroll College Undergraduate Literary Festival welcomed Melissa Kwasny, a Carroll English professor, a widely-published author, and Montana’s poet laureate to read from her multiple published pieces of literature. The Festival also welcomed Ron Stottlemyer, who was the Carroll College English department chair and now is a pushcart prize winner for his fascinating poem Falling, to present his recent accomplishments. The festival also included published poets John Hennessey and Corrie Williamson to present their literature. The Festival was widely successful with all of the published authors and all of the presenters. It is a blessing for the college to have so many connections amongst the writing community.

Good-to-Know

The department is just the right size so that professors teach the things that interest and excite them - and often end up interesting and exciting the students, too!

Every professor encourages ideas and exploration of topics that are both interesting and valuable.

Facebook