Inside English
VCU College of Humanities and Sciences

Inside English is part of a series of brochures relating VCU majors to occupational fields. The information in this pamphlet can help you with planning your education and career.

English focuses on the written word and involves the study of literature and writing. The curriculum in English is designed to help the student acquire an understanding of literary heritage, develop an appreciation of language, and strengthen communication skills.

Through the general education requirements, taken in the freshman and sophomore years, students typically develop the following skills:

• curiosity and intellectual ability to ask the right questions - to think critically.
• interpersonal skills to understand and influence others.
• ability to communicate, in writing and orally, along with the ability to analyze and synthesize information.
• a breadth of background from the sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities.
• a sense of ethics that will not be compromised by immediate personal gain or prejudice.

Students majoring in English usually develop the following skills:

• high proficiency in writing and reading.
• ability to analyze written information.
• strong communication and persuasion skills.
• comprehensive command of grammar and vocabulary.

Sample courses taken by English majors include the following:

• Contemporary American Literature
• African American Writers
• Modern Poetry
• Romantic Literature
• Approaches to Literature
• Medieval Studies
• Shakespeare
• Southern Literature
• Playwriting
• Fiction Into Film
• Creative Writing: Fiction, Poetry or Scriptwriting
• Introduction to Linguistics
• Women Writers
• Renaissance Studies
• Feminist Criticism
• Form and Theory of Fiction

To become more marketable:

• Participate in, and take on leadership roles in, extracurricular activities (for example, The Commonwealth Times, Activities Programming Board, the Writer's Corner, and the English Club).
• Enroll in the Cooperative Education program to gain valuable work experience.
• Take electives related to your career goals (e.g., business or mass communications) or minor in a supporting area such as philosophy of law, computer science, writing, foreign languages, or psychology.
• Arrange for an internship through the department or get a part-time job in the field.

English majors with appropriate education and experience work in a variety of jobs, including the following:

• Advertising Worker
• Bank Officer
• Editor
• Financial Planner
• Freelance Writer
• Fund-raiser
• High School English Teacher
• Journalist
• Market Research Analyst
• Media Buyer
• Paralegal
• Personnel Interviewer
• Public Relations Specialist
• Speech Writer
• Sales Representative
• Retail Store Manager

Many options for graduate school are open to the English major. Literature, creative writing, composition and rhetoric, law, medicine, counseling or social work, library science, business, and education are all areas of graduate study which English majors have pursued successfully. Students wishing to enter the teaching profession (grades K-12) can participate in VCU's five-year teacher education program.

Further information is available at the Career Center (Commons, first floor) or through the division:

Virginia Commonwealth University
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of English
Hibbs Building, 900 Park Ave.
PO Box 842005
Richmond VA 23284-8684

804-828-1331
Fax: 804-828-2171

A Student Guide to the major is available through the department. You might also wish to talk with Dr. Lawrence Laban, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Hibbs 314.

This brochure is published by the VCU Career Development Council in cooperation with academic departments.

Back to main page.