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.
Writing Minor
Requirements
To earn a minor in writing, a student must complete 28 WR credits (12 credits of which must be taken in residence at PSU).
- Sixteen credits must be taken at the upper-division level.
- One WIC course may be applied to the minor requirements.
- No more than 8 credits total from the following may be applied to the Writing minor: Wr 399, Wr 404, Wr 405.
- No more than 8 credits total of courses taken with undifferentiated grading (i.e. Pass/No Pass) may be applied to the Writing minor.
- Any course used to satisfy the minor requirement must have been assigned a grade of Pass (undifferentiated grading) or a grade of C or higher (differentiated grading).
Note: The following courses will not count as part of the Writing minor: Wr 115 Introduction to College Writing, Wr 121 College Writing, Wr 199 Special Studies, Wr 210 Grammar Refresher, Wr 211 Writing Practice, Wr 222 Writing Research Papers, Wr 323 Writing as Critical Inquiry.