English Studies

The English Studies major opens up to your choice of coursework across the subjects of literature, creative writing, professional writing and linguistics. You will develop sensitivity to nuances and patterns in language, ability to handle ambiguity and possibility, and creative and critical habits that will deepen your understanding of the power of the written word and its effects in the world. Along the way, you will learn professional skills that will make you a strong candidate for a limitless variety of rewarding careers.

Program Requirements English English Scholarships Minnesota Transfer Pathway

Program Highlights

• Faculty who know who you are and where you are going.
• Options to add a concentration to your major in Creative Writing, Linguistics and Literature.
• Internships in professional, language-rich, challenging environments. 
• Study abroad opportunities worldwide, including Alnwick Castle (England) and Mary Immaculate College (Ireland).
• Student publications that offer professional editing, production or writing experience, including The Upper Mississippi Harvest, Kaleidoscope, and Linguistic Portfolios, downloaded thousands of times worldwide. 
• More than a dozen department-based scholarships awarded each year
• Classes increasingly available online.
• Available as a minor to complement another SCSU major. View minor requirements.

Program Distinctions

• Published faculty writers include Monica Pelaez, whose Lyrical Liberators: The American Antislavery Movement in Verse, 1831-1865 was published in 2019 and reviewed in American Literary History; Matthew Barton, author of books analyzing video games and digital media, including Dungeons and Desktops; Sarah Green and Shannon Olson, who have published a long list of creative works in poetry, fiction and non-fiction; Michael Dando, who has published in top-tier publications in the field of English Education and is a requested keynote speaker. 
• Study abroad opportunities at St. Cloud State at Alnwick in England, Mary Immaculate College in Ireland and Nelson Mandela University in South Africa
• Recent graduates have distinguished themselves at graduate schools and in careers in the corporate and non-profit sectors doing freelance writing, technical writing, social media development and brand management.