Welcome to the English Department!
An English major offers you a deeper understanding of the world through the study of literature, language, and writing. The strong reading, critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills you will develop will prepare you for any career you wish to pursue after college. English majors go on to graduate school as well as rewarding careers in publishing, editing, teaching, technical writing, journalism, public relations, business, social media, law, and library science.
The English Department offers courses in British, American, European, and nonwestern literature as well as small seminar classes on authors including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Langston Hughes, Virginia Woolf, and Salman Rushdie. You can choose from a diverse range of courses, including Postcolonial Literature, Modern British and American Poetry, African American Literature, British Fiction Since 1945, Film and the Environment, History of Children’s Literature, Business Writing, Writing for Online and Social Media, and Writing Poetry. Classes are discussion-based, and professors value the warm relationships they develop with you.
Career Ready
How does the FSU English Major prepare you for a job?
In Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success (2015), Hart Research Associates reported on the results of a survey designed to learn “which learning outcomes employers believe are most important to be able to succeed in today’s economy.” The survey of 400 employers found a high percentage identified the following abilities to be essential:
• The ability to effectively communicate orally (85%)
• The ability to effectively communicate in writing (82%)
• The ability to work effectively with others in teams (83%)
• Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills (81%)
• The ability to analyze and solve complex problems (70%)
• The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple sources (68%)
These are exactly the skills you will be learning as an English major, making you well-prepared for a wide-range of fulfilling careers.
“A Force for Cohesion”: What Journalism at FSU Can Do for You
By Raena Hunter Doty, '25, English major and Gatepost Arts & Features Editor
Thursday nights at FSU tend to be quiet as the week wraps up—but not for Sophia Harris (’25), Editor-in-Chief of The Gatepost. Instead of resting up for the last day of the week, Harris spends her evening polishing articles, copy editing, and laying out the student newspaper well into the wee hours of the night.
Meet Our Faculty
Lisa Eck, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Chair (On Sabbatical), English Department
Desmond McCarthy, Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Coordinator, English Department and Journalism Program Coordinator
Patricia Lynne, Ph.D.
Professor and First-Year Writing Coordinator, English Department
Kelly Matthews, Ph.D.
Professor and Secondary Education Coordinator, English Department and Liberal Studies Advisor and Coordinator
Professor Rachel Trousdale Wins Inaugural Cardinal Poetry Prize
English Professor Rachel Trousdale, Ph.D., has been honored with the inaugural Cardinal Poetry Prize presented by Wesleyan University Press for the manuscript of her upcoming collection of poetry, Five-Paragraph Essay on the Body-Mind Problem.