Orientation Page for New Students
We are thrilled to welcome you to the College of Charleston English Department. We have created this page as a first stop on your journey to learning more about the fun, rewarding and flexible lives of English majors, and we hope you find it helpful.
Find out how to get started and stay involved!
Why Study English?
What you might not yet know is that English represents a pragmatic course of study as well as a fulfilling one. After all, there are some widespread misconceptions about how English majors fare on the job market. When you tell friends that you want to study English, some of them might have asked, “what are you going to do with that – teach?”
True, some English majors do choose to teach the subject they love. You will find English majors at all levels of instruction, from grade school to graduate school. But to suggest that English majors face limited career options is simply false. In fact, as a discipline that provides rigorous training in writing, research, and oral communication, it opens doors to all sorts of rewarding careers. Employers respect the undergraduate English degree because it cultivates a creative and flexible mind.
What Can you Do with an English Degree?
English courses require you to investigate complex questions that have no simple answers, and to analyze problems from many different points of view. If you do well in your English major coursework, you’ll be developing skills in writing, research, and critical thinking that are sought by almost any employer. That’s why English majors pursue a variety of successful paths after graduation:
• Graduate school in literature, composition, creative writing, education, medicine
• Graduate or professional school in law, information science, business, and more
• Professional writing--journalism, technical writing, speechwriting, editing
• Teaching at all levels, from elementary school to college
• Researching and grant-writing for government agencies, nonprofits, corporations