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English - A.B.

About this Degree

The English Department at the University of Georgia is a diverse scholarly community of more than 40 faculty, 60 graduate students, and 400 undergraduate majors and minors.

English Degree

Our classes focus on discussion, critical and collaborative thinking, and writing and analysis. Students have the opportunity to  participate in the verbal worlds of other times and places, drawing on the full range of linguistic tools, historical knowl­edge, and interpretive experience at our disposal. In English classes, we work to deepen our understanding of the critical and creative imagination.

The skills developed in our classes—writing, communication, collaboration, analysis, research, and interpretation— help prepare students for a range of different careers. The English Major allows for great flexibility, and students can choose to focus their studies according to their own interests. Since English majors always have a choice of which classes to take (there are no individual courses that are required), it is relatively easy to fit your English courses around other required courses. The English Major complements other disciplines well. 

What you will learn

In any given semester, you will find courses covering a wide range of topics. We offer classes focused on particular genres (fantasy, poetry, science fiction), classes based in historical periods (like Modernism or Medievalism), classes focused on particular kinds of writing (creative writing, technical writing, digital storytelling) and more. We also offer classes focused on the way literature interacts with various big ideas and topics, like Literature and Revolution, Literature and the Natural World, Literature and Philosophy, and Literature and Childhood. The majority of our courses are taught in a discussion format with great attention paid to the nuances of language and style. English classes are generally small, so students have the opportunity to get to know their professors.



As an English major, you will hone your skills as a reader, writer and communicator. Every organization and company needs people who can read and write well.  If you have ever gone to a museum’s website, or listened to a podcast, or clicked through an email advertising a sale at your favorite store, there was someone like you on the other end creating these examples of successful communication.  Companies and organizations have stories to tell—to stakeholders, to other businesses, and to the public, and someone majoring or minoring in English has the necessary close reading skills, audience awareness skills, argument crafting skills, research skills, and rhetorical sensitivity to thrive in content producing and editing positions.  Some (though certainly not all) possible career paths include: nonprofit organizations; marketing and public relations; publishing; web content production; and libraries.



See here for more information on where recent English Department grads have gotten work after graduation: 

View Career Center

Other Degrees/Programs Offered:

The Creative Writing Program at the University of Georgia directs and supports the emergence of the artistic voice in print by offering a Ph.D. in English with a creative dissertation. Students are encouraged to develop a course of research that complements their writing practice and prepares them professionally for a teaching career at the university or college level. The program fosters serious conversations among our students about aesthetics and criticism, experience and culture, and politics and history—not only in the classroom but through public readings and lectures. Our faculty and students play an active role in the cultural life of Athens, both as artists and organizers.

Additional information about this program can be found here

Virginia Walter Scholarship

This scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding English major. Candidates, who are nominated by faculty, must have a GPA of 3.6 and have completed at least six upper-division English courses. The winner must be enrolled at the time of winning the award.

Joshua David Brown Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to the outstanding rising junior in the English Department. Candidates, who are nominated by faculty, must have a GPA of 3.6. 

H. Grady Hutcherson Memorial Scholarship, Prigge Family Scholarship

These scholarships are awarded to outstanding English majors who are eligible for need-based aid.

Undergraduate Prizes

The English Department awards two Undergraduate Essay Prizes for critical writing at the upper-division level: one for an essay focused on primary materials and one for an essay that makes extensive use of secondary sources.

Digital Humanities Prize

This prize is awarded each year for outstanding student work in the digital humanities that has been created as part of an English class.

Virginia Rucker Walter Poetry Prize

Every year, undergraduate students are invited to enter the annual Virginia Rucker Walter Poetry Prize. Students may submit up to three poems for consideration.

Additional information about these scholarships and awards can be found here

More Undergraduate Scholarships & Awards

Assistant Events and Outreach

Coordinator

Book Critic

Case Assistant

Cognitive Therapist

Communications Specialist

Computer Programmer

Consultant

Consumer Researcher

Copywriter

Corporate Communications Specialist

Customer Service Representative

Digital Media Consultant

Documentation Specialist

Editor

Educational Sales Representative

Emergency Medical Technician

Freelance Writer

General Books Coordinator

HR Assistant

Information Abstractor/Indexer

Instructional Consultant

IT Specialist

Leadership Consultant

Legal Assistant

Library Technical Assistant

Literary Assistant

Manuscript Reader

Market Researcher

Marketing Coordinator

Ingersoll Rand Intuit
Abercrombie & Fitch Joseph W. Jones Research Center
Advertising / Marketing Agencies Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
AMAC King & Spalding
Black Hawk College Libraries
Board of Regents Macon County Board of Education
Booz Allen Hamilton Market ResearchFirms
Communications Firms National Management Services
Community Loans of America Newspapers / Magazines / Books 
Consulting Firms Nonprofit Organizations
Cornerstone Family Service North Georgia Medical Transport
Delta Premium Supply Professional Journals
Diamond Sports Management Publishing Companies
Editorial Departments Regions Bank
Energy Efficient Designs Sapphire Technology
Follett Higher Education Group St. Martin's Press
George Walton Academy The Grier School
Government Agencies Vaughan & Murphy
Helicopter Express Warrens, Anderson Timmons, Baker 
Humane Society of Northeast Georgia Lavender Law Firm

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