English

What can you do with an English degree?

English helps you understand how stories, language, and culture shape the way we see the world. At Wooster, you'll read literature from different historical periods, places, and perspectives while developing the skills to think critically, write clearly, and communicate with confidence. As you explore literary traditions and contemporary cultural questions, you'll also discover the connections between literature, history, politics, society, and the environment.

The major gives you the flexibility to pursue your own interests while preparing for Senior Independent Study. Whether your passion is literary criticism, creative writing, or cultural analysis, you'll work closely with faculty mentors to develop an original project that reflects your curiosity, creativity, and goals.

Read Widely

Explore literature and expressive media across cultures, time periods, and perspectives.

Write with Purpose

Develop the research, writing, and communication skills that prepare you for a wide range of careers.

Create Original Work

Design a Senior Independent Study project in literary criticism, creative writing, or cultural analysis.

Why Study English at Wooster?

Design your own path through the major while preparing for an original Senior Independent Study project.

Work closely with faculty mentors who support your growth as a reader, writer, and researcher.

Develop skills that transfer across professions, including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and independent research.

Connect with an active community of alumni and peers who support students as they explore careers and graduate study.

Join one of Wooster's most popular majors, with opportunities to pursue internships, creative work, and professional development.

Featured Courses

Explore literature, writing, and culture from new perspectives.

Editing a Literary Magazine
Shipwrecked with Shakespeare
Writing in a Time of Climate Change
Indigenous Women Writers
The Gothic Imagination
Literary Theory and Research Methods
The Haunted Nineteenth Century
Advanced Writing in Experimental Forms

Develop your own voice.

Senior Independent Study is the centerpiece of the English major. Working one-on-one with a faculty mentor, you'll pursue an original critical or creative project that reflects your interests while strengthening your skills as a writer, researcher, and communicator.

Students also gain professional experience through opportunities such as editing literary publications, pursuing journalism internships supported by the Becky DeWine Endowment, and participating in a department that values both creative expression and rigorous literary scholarship.

Ready to Explore English?

Whether you're interested in literature, creative writing, journalism, publishing, law, or another field, English at Wooster helps you become a thoughtful reader, a persuasive writer, and a lifelong learner.

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Career Opportunities

English graduates build careers wherever strong writing, thoughtful analysis, and effective communication are valued. Among Wooster's alumni are a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a best-selling novelist. Others have found success in journalism, publishing, law, medicine, business, education, libraries, communications, and the arts.

Many also pursue graduate study in literature, law, medicine, business, education, and other professional fields.

Key Areas

English graduates have built careers in:

Journalism

Publishing and editing

Law

Medicine

Marketing and communications

Business and finance

Education

Libraries and archives

Film and media

Creative writing

Where Our Alumni Go

English graduates have worked with organizations including:

Huntington National Bank
Cleveland Clinic
Epic Games
SUNY Cortland Libraries
Falls & Co.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lakewood Public Library
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Graduates have also gone on to teach at institutions including Indiana University Bloomington, Vassar College, Rutgers University, and schools across the country.

Scholarships & Student Opportunities

The English Department awards more than $3,500 annually through scholarships, prizes, and writing awards that recognize excellence in critical and creative work.

Students may also pursue journalism internships through the Becky DeWine Endowment and compete for awards in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literary criticism, and Senior Independent Study.