English Language and Literature, B.A.

There is an Online Degree Completion (ODC) Option Available. Click to learn more.

FSU’s online degree completion programs allow you to complete your upper-division (junior and senior level) courses online. To be admitted to an ODC program, you must already have completed the University College Core Curriculum (General Education Requirements) or be dual enrolled with a partnering community college. A partnering community college is a community college in which there is a signed articulation agreement between FSU and the community college.

Why choose English?

From Chaucer to Chesnutt, "Beowulf" to Batman, and Romanticism to rap, English is epic in variety, vitality and versatility. Just as books are windows to the world, English opens doors to a myriad of careers. Witness English majors Clarence Thomas, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and Reese Witherspoon, the Academy Award-winning actor who played a lawyer onscreen in Legally Blonde.

Studying English can lead to law school, but strong reading, writing, speaking, analyzing, and researching skills can also land you a job in education, advertising, public relations, marketing, finance, journalism, publishing, editing, technical writing, the arts, or the public or nonprofit sectors. As an English major, you can write your own ticket, maybe even to teach overseas. Earn a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature, or focus further with one of three available concentrations: Teaching Licensure Concentration (Secondary English 9-12), Pre-Law Concentration, and Creative & Professional Writing Concentration.

Enroll in the writing certificate program to add new skills and another credential to your resume or declare an English minor or Pre-Law minor or Teaching English as a Second Language minor. Either way, you will learn from faculty— distinguished scholars, experienced editors and award-winning authors--who are building on Chesnutt's legacy.

What Will You Learn?

The Department of English contributes to the liberal arts education of all students. Our composition courses provide a foundation for scholarship by developing written communication skills. Literature courses introduce different genres, stylistic periods, and methods of interpretation. Creative writing courses inspire students to express their voices. Overall, the study of English polishes presentation skills and sharpens critical thinking.

What Will You Do?

As an English major, English minor, or certificate student, the skills that you gain in reading, writing, analyzing, and researching will prepare you for a wide range of careers. Although many English majors become teachers, the degree can also lead to careers in advertising, public relations, marketing, finance, journalism, publishing, editing, technical writing, the arts, or the public or nonprofit sectors. The degree can even take some graduates overseas to teach English as a second language.

The study of writing and literature also gives students an edge in graduate or professional school. English is a common major for pre-law students. And many medical schools welcome the major.