The study of literature and language is at the very heart of a liberal education. A degree in English is excellent preparation for any profession or occupation that stresses language use. Given the exponential growth of information usage in our culture and the simultaneous decrease in basic literacy (not every communicative act has a spell-check available), English graduates are desirable additions to business and professional communities and are widely accepted into a variety of professional and graduate-level programs, including literature, law, theology, medicine (with appropriate science and mathematics preparation), library science, communications, media, and business.

UNC’s English program offers a Master of Arts degree in English, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in either Liberal Arts or Teaching, an English Minor and a Writing Minor. We also assist students in editing and publishing The Crucible: The Literary/Arts Magazine of UNC.

The program’s course offerings range from the major periods of American and English literature to such areas of study as Asian American Literature, Creative Writing, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Film Studies and Theory, Folklore, Latina/o literature and Literature of the Americas, Rhetoric and Computers, Women’s Literature, and various topics in World Literature.

Of the two emphases available to English majors, the liberal arts emphasis offers a balanced approach to literature, language, writing, and oral communication, requiring students to take courses in English, American, and World Literatures, Traditional and Modern Grammars, and a variety of electives. This emphasis is especially suited for those interested in professional and graduate degree programs such as law, theology, medicine, and library science. The Liberal Arts emphasis is excellent preparation for professions stressing language usage, such as writing and teaching-related fields.

The teaching emphasis affords future teachers broad coverage of literary history, special topics in literature, courses in pedagogy, language, and writing. This emphasis provides specialized training that enables our graduates to “practice what they teach.”

Among our recent graduates, those majors who have chosen the liberal arts emphasis have entered various graduate and professional programs, have found employment in a variety of industries, have begun careers in writing, and have been accepted into a variety of post-baccalaureate internships including the El Pomar Foundation’s Nonprofit Leadership Program and the Publishing Institute in Denver.

Those majors who have chosen the teaching emphasis have proven to be both excellently prepared and well received in the profession. Last year fifteen of our majors with an emphasis in teaching took the Praxis exams, examinations required for new teachers. All but one passed. In the last two years, 97% of our students with an emphasis in teaching have found employment as teachers.

The program also offers an English Education Focus for Teaching Elementary School, a Film Minor, Writing Center support, and Writing Internships.

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