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English

Develop valuable career skills in a flexible, hands-on English bachelor’s degree program that offers concentrations in both literature and creative writing.

Areas of Study

English

Creative Writing

A Look Inside the English Bachelor’s Degree Program at Wells

With concentrations in both creative writing and literature, our English program enables you to tailor an educational experience that meets your needs and interests. English students at Wells learn to say what they mean, to mean what they say, and to understand the world as a rich, complicated, and dynamic place. We also emphasize an awareness of a wide range of subject areas, so that your education in English will prepare you to approach professional writing or critical reading and research in any career field.

What You’ll Learn as an English Major

  • How to investigate any text—be it an article, journal, poem, essay, or book—and write your own papers or stories
  • How to critically interpret written works from many different areas and times and craft meaningful and persuasive arguments relating to that interpretation
  • Research, critical thinking, and communication skills you can apply to any career

English Clubs and Other Aurora Campus Programs

Want to see one of your stories published? Enjoy practicing your reporting skills? Wells has student publications and literary organizations that provide out-of-the-classroom and out-of-the-box learning for English majors. Students have the opportunity to write for publication, learn to closely edit the work of others, and meet with many visiting writers and publishers. Below are just a few clubs and activities that might catch your interest:

  • The Sycamore (student magazine)
  • The Chronicle (literary and visual arts journal)
  • The Cardinal (yearbook)
  • Collegiate (student government)
  • Campus Greens environmental club
  • Women’s Resource Center
  • The Book Arts Center

 

 

Ready to find out more?

Ready to learn more about Wells College and our English program?

Ready to Apply?

Take the first step toward earning your bachelor’s degree in English at Wells College.

Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning in the English

Meet nationally and internationally recognized writers who join our literature and creative writing courses as part of our Visiting Writers Series. Take part in interdisciplinary internships with the Wells College Press that offer hands-on experience with all aspects of book production, from inspiration to publication. Or pursue exciting internship opportunities off campus in nearby New York City and across the country. The English bachelor’s degree program at Wells offers a variety of enriching experiences designed to prepare you for today’s job market.

Internship and Study Abroad Opportunities

Internships in the English program offer an opportunity to link your classroom learning and independent work to a professional context. These experiences provide insights into publishing, technical writing, library work, journalism, and other careers through interactions with the individuals and groups who are driving them. The following is a sample of internships recently held by Wells English students:

  • Elle magazine, New York City
  • HarperCollins Publishing, New York City
  • New York State Archives, Albany, New York
  • The Perseus Book Group, New York City
  • The Rome Observer, Rome, New York
  • Frick Reference Library, New York City

Would you like to travel the world and write about your adventures? How about studying the British classics in Bath, England? English majors can pursue fascinating programs across the country and around the world.

Career Options for English Graduates

English is spoken by a quarter of the world’s population, even more as a second language than a first. It’s the language of global business. It’s also the number one undergraduate major for law school students. That’s why, when you earn a bachelor’s degree in English, you’ll enter the job market with writing, research, and analytical skills that will prepare you for careers around the world.

Recent graduates of the English program at Wells are now working in law, editing and publishing, marketing and public relations, social work, stage acting, law enforcement, and teaching. Our English majors have also gone on to a variety of graduate school programs at institutions such as Cornell University, Mills College, Brown University, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Simmons College, and the Denver Publishing Institute.

Current Research in English

Catherine Burroughs, Professor of English Literature submitted a proposal for her book, Closet Drama: Theory, History, and Genre; it is currently under review at several presses. Professor Burroughs contributed the chapter on drama to “The Cambridge Companion to Women’s Writing in the Romantic Period,” released by Cambridge University Press.

Professor of English Cynthia Garrett’s research explores gender and religious issues in early modern English literature, specifically lyric poetry. Her courses take students from British poetry and prose of the medieval period through the 19th century. Her own research and study has led her to begin writing historical fiction.

Assistant Professor of English Daniel Rosenberg’s chapbook-length collection of 22 poems, Mine, was a finalist for Verse Magazine’s Tomaž Šalamun Prize, and will be published in the magazine this year. His poems have also been accepted this month for publication in From the Finger Lakes: A Poetry Anthology and Boston Review.

Explore Other Programs at Wells

Faculty

Sydney Boyd outside of Stratton 08/22/2023

Sydney Boyd

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Mark Lucas

James Miranda outside of Stratton 08/22/2023

James Miranda

Dan Rosenberg

Dan Rosenberg

Megan Snell

Megan Snell

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