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English

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

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Major in English at UW

We live in the world through language. As readers, thinkers and writers, we communicate and build the future through words. If you love literature, language or playing with words, the BA in English program at UW is for you.

Our Creative Writers, Rhetoric and Composition faculty and Literary and Cultural studies scholars will guide you in the understanding of how we make meaning and how words construct our worlds.

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Program Details

Tuition and Fees

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Program Requirements

Curriculum & Courses

Department

College of Arts & Sciences
Department of English

About the B.A. in English Program

Being an English major at UW is always exciting. Courses range from the canonical—“the best that has been thought and known”—to the cutting edge. You can focus on creative writing, composition, rhetoric or literary analysis.

Our internationally known faculty, who are also award-winning teachers, will introduce you to a wide range of English studies. Learn to write a lyric; pursue the postmodern through Monty Python; imagine how digital media transform communication—and more.

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UW students graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English will have demonstrated an ability to:

  1. Read, interpret and write about a diverse range of texts in English, for example, literature, film, digital media and popular culture
  2. Understand those texts analytically and critically
  3. Understand those texts on the basis of careful close reading
  4. Understand those texts through past and current literary theory
  5. Understand that those texts are culturally constructed in time, place and tradition
  6. Understand how those texts inform culture
  7. Participate in the critical and cultural discourses of English
  8. Participate clearly and appropriately through multiple spoken and written forms

Faculty members are committed to working together to achieve these shared goals and contribute to the academic success of our undergraduates.

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What Can You Do with an English Degree?

Unlike some degree programs, which train students for a single career path, English provides students with a set of essential skills that can be applied across a variety of different professions: proficiency in writing, oral and digital communication, research and critical thinking. Potential employers are always excited to see English majors in their applicant pools, as they love finding employees who can write. 

 

 

Common English Major Careers

  • Law
  • Education
  • Communications/Media
  • Publishing
  • Grant-Writing
  • Editing
  • Journalism
  • Library Sciences
  • Curatorial Work (Museums/Archives)
  • Government/Policy Work
  • Corporate/Non-Profit Work (Marketing,
  • Management, Sales, Entrepreneurship)
    Creative Writing

 

 

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Many of our English students go on to study at top graduate programs around the country, including:

  • Emory
  • Duke
  • Virginia Tech
  • U.C. Riverside
  • Kansas State
  • University of Kentucky
  • University of Oregon
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English B.A. Program Highlights

The world needs more Cowboys—and English majors! The English program at UW offers students plenty of flexibility and depth. (Did we mention the opportunity to study Shakespeare abroad in England and Italy?) Here are a few highlights that make our program unique.

 

Outstanding Faculty

Our English faculty are nationally and internationally renowned in their fields of study and are also award-winning, committed teachers. We have many top researchers in the department; their interests range from subjects like Scottish Literature to Medievalism & Pop Culture to Race & American Literature to Rhetoric, Media, & Culture to Postcolonial Literature. Browse our faculty's bios to learn more about their publications, honors, awards and the exciting courses they're developing for students like you!

Comfortable Class Sizes

We have one of the very best student-to-faculty ratios in the country. Many of our classes have as few as 10-15 students and our highest course cap is 32 students. So you'll have the opportunity to get to know all of your professors well and to benefit from lots of one-on-one mentorships. Our students tell us that they feel like they're part of a community, even a family, as members of UW English.  

Curriculum

We have an exciting, flexible curriculum; you'll have the opportunity to select from courses ranging from Jane Austen to Banned Books to Medieval Literature & Star Wars to Graphic Novels to Literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Since our degree program is fairly slender in terms of credit hours, you'll also have plenty of time to explore other interests.

Undergraduate Research

Qualifying students may participate in English Honors, where you'll have an array of choices for a thesis. Previous options have ranged from an academic paper of roughly 30 pages, an interactive website on a topic of choice, a short creative work like a film, a graphic novel, a collection of short stories, or a curated exhibit with a provided rationale.

I have genuinely wonderful memories of the classes I took at Wyoming. My coursework as a student opened up new horizons for me, and the faculty engaged with my writing and thinking in ways that showed genuine care and thoughtfulness.

- Dr. Marlene Tromp (1990)
President, Boise State University

Related Programs

Interested in a bachelor’s degree in English? You might also be interested in the following UW programs:

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