English BA

Total Units Required: 120

A student sits in a tree reading a book.

The Department of English offers a Bachelor of Arts in English with three options:

The option in English education. This option is designed for students considering teaching English and language arts at the middle school and high school levels. This option provides pre-professional preparation in the subject matter knowledge needed by California English teachers. When combined with the Minor in Secondary Language Arts, this option fulfills all requirements for the Single Subject Matter Preparation Program in English, which will lead to a California teaching credential. If students who finish this option choose not to pursue a teaching credential, they leave the program as highly skilled writers, presenters, and analysts who are positioned to work in a variety of careers.

The option in English studies. This option provides students with a breadth of knowledge of English’s sub-disciplines (composition and rhetoric, creative writing, linguistics, and literature) as well as an opportunity to focus on a specific area of interest. This option pairs well with the department’s minor and certificate programs and provides excellent preparation for careers in business, education, publishing, and nonprofit settings where effective communication and critical problem-solving skills are valued.

The option in literature. Students gain extensive knowledge of American, British, comparative, and multicultural literature and cultures. Students in this option take a range of courses that hone their analytical skills, expand their understanding of critical theories, and enrich their understanding of literary movements. This option is excellent preparation for graduate study in English, as well as for professional programs such as law and medicine. Like those in the other English options, graduates of the literature option leave the program with marketable skills valued by businesses, educational institutions, publishers, marketers, and related career fields.