English (B.A.)

English majors seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree start by choosing between two exciting areas of concentration, which we call “tracks”: Creative Writing and Literature, and Professional and Digital Media Writing.

The Creative Writing and Literature track gives students a solid grounding in the most important literary genres, movements, and writers worldwide.

It also develops their skills in writing literary criticism as well as fiction, poetry, and/or creative nonfiction.

Students on this track learn what it is like to envision and craft literary works, as well as to critically analyze and respond to them—they learn both sides of the creative equation.

Working on the Calliope (ESU’s literary magazine), on the Stroud Courier (ESU’s student newspaper), or on both, they also develop and hone valuable writing and critical thinking skills that will serve them well in a wide range of professional careers, as well as in academia or in the literary world.

They enjoy special events, such as poetry readings, and fellowship surrounding the celebration and pursuit of artistic writing.

The Professional and Digital Media Writing track is all about breaking into the writing and editing workforce. It also leads to a B.A., preparing students for a variety of writing fields in the corporate, educational, non-profit, and governmental sectors. Students take classes in specialties such as writing for the web and social media, journalism, technical writing, grant writing, and advertising and public relations.

Many professional writing students actually launch media careers by volunteering at the Stroud Courier (available in print and online), where they develop news and feature writing skills while trying out Adobe InDesign, the industry standard for magazine and newspaper production.