Undergraduate programs
The study of English has long been considered one of the best ways to obtain a liberal education. Courses are designed to develop students’ critical capabilities, to deepen their understanding of diverse cultural issues, and to improve their abilities to analyze and produce complex texts. The department prepares its majors for careers in writing and teaching, as well as for a variety of professions in which high levels of literacy and critical thought are required.
Various concentrations in literature and writing allow students flexible ways to combine interests in the literary arts with personal and professional goals. Community-based learning courses encourage students to integrate their academic skills with experience in the metropolitan area. Indeed, the breadth of knowledge and the communication skills that English majors typically acquire make them attractive to many potential employers and prepare them for graduate work leading to professions such as law.
For those who wish to teach, the English Department prepares majors for graduate work leading to teaching certification or for entry into graduate master’s or doctoral programs in English. PSU graduates in English have gone on to succeed in advanced degree programs at many major universities.
English Minor
Requirements
To earn a minor in English a student must complete 28 adviser-approved credits (12 credits of which must be taken in residence at PSU).
- Twelve credits must be literature courses.
- Sixteen credits must be at the upper-division level.
- No more than 8 credits total and no more than 4 credits in each of the following may be applied to the English minor: Eng 199, Eng 399, Eng 401, Eng 405, Eng 408, Eng 409, Eng Wr 199, Eng 399, and/or Eng 405.
- With the exception of upper-division creative writing courses, any course used to satisfy departmental minor requirements must be taken under the differentiated grading option and must have been assigned a grade of C or above. Upper-division creative writing courses assigned a grade of pass may apply to the minor.
Note: The following courses will not count as part of the English minor: Wr 115 Introduction to College Writing, Wr 121 College Writing, Wr 211 Writing Practice, Wr 222 Writing Research Papers.