At a glance: English

Combining liberal arts studies with a focus on career development, the department of English offers five majors that give students both intellectual breadth and preparation for employment. We offer a world of opportunities for students considering careers that involve reading and writing. Visit the department's web site.

Degrees offered

Building off of a shared core curriculum of writing and literature courses, the English department uniquely offers five distinct majors:

Creative Writing
Journalism
Language Arts Education
Literature
Professional Writing*

*Requires a secondary major, minor or concentration in another area

Distinctive features

All five areas build off a shared core of writing and literature courses
Students can individualize their curriculum
Students obtain publication experience on at least one of five publications: The Northern Review, eMedia, Polaris, Characters, and Shakespeare and the Classroom
Students graduate with a strong grounding in theory and practice and a portfolio of publications appropriate for graduate school or employment applications
The required senior capstone project can be submitted for publication or for presentation at conferences
Students are encouraged to achieve high academic standards, apply for national scholarships and join faculty members at professional conferences
ONU English majors expand their horizons through experiential learning in internships, study abroad and other travel

Facilities

English department classes and faculty offices are in Dukes Memorial, one of the historic front-campus buildings. The department has a variety of instructional rooms, including two state-of-the-art computer classrooms, four rooms equipped with SMART Boards, a mobile laptop lab, two seminar rooms with a departmental reading area and a reference library.

Student organizations

Sigma Tau Delta
One of the nation’s top chapters, this active group organizes local philanthropy projects related to literacy (such as tutoring in local schools), creates a spirit of collegiality in the department through faculty-student activities, and annually sends students to the national conference, where many students have had their creative works or academic projects selected for presentation.

Secondary Education Society
A new chapter recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), this group was formed by dedicated LAE majors to focus on issues in the profession that have bearing on their future careers as teachers. They regularly attend the national NCTE or College English Association of Ohio conferences.

Professional placement

Graduates find jobs as teachers, reporters, freelance writers, ad managers and writers for public relations firms, lobbyists, editors, librarians, sports reporters and sports public relations personnel, wedding and special event planners and insurance underwriters.

Graduate schools

ONU English majors are accepted to graduate programs across the country in journalism, professional writing, literature, library science, creative writing and law. These graduate schools include: Florida Gulf Coast University, Kent State University, The Ohio State University, University of Dayton, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, West Virginia University

Career opportunities

English majors are generally desired by employers because they are articulate, write well, are perceptive readers, can research effectively and work well with others to collaborate on publications and projects.