The Best Colleges For An English Major

December 3, 2022

A Guide To The Colleges You’ll Want To Attend As An English Major

Are you interested in English studies and are thinking about majoring in English in the next couple of years? Are you looking for a major that contains a lot of reading and writing? If so, then this is the perfect blog for you! Reading this will hopefully help students find the right college for them since we’re looking at the best colleges for English majors. Then, you’ll be able to head on to applications and get ready to read, write, and study at the university of your dreams.

What Does An English Major Consist Of?

It’s Not All Reading And Writing

An English major combines close reading skills with critical writing skills while examining literature’s connections to history, culture, and other forms of study. While most colleges start students off with studies in how to be effective writers and readers, after that type of coursework, they’ll usually integrate into studies of particular time periods and research skills-based classes. Here are some other useful things that English majors will learn while they’re in their studies:

Working under deadlines well. Many English majors have many deadlines to make while taking classes at school. Lots of these deadlines include long papers and even deadlines for finishing up books or stories. The ability to make these deadlines allows them to not only be on time for projects, presentations, and papers but it helps them work efficiently, which is a great skill to have after graduation.
The ability to argue a point. As an English major, students will learn to question what they read and try to figure out their own answers, although there is rarely one. In learning how to find these answers, students are taught to argue on topics they learn in class and try to make a point out of them. For any projects in the workplace in the future, this is a great skill to have.
Grammar and spelling skills. Although this answer may be obvious, English majors learn a lot about grammar and spelling during their college years. They know the differences between the many “theirs” and are able to use words correctly in their sentences.

A picture of writing. — English majors learn a lot of skills they can use in the real world and in their jobs while in college. They learn how to communicate effectively and how to think critically with a lot of attention to detail. They also know how to use tone in their writing and know exactly what to write for any projects or papers they have to write for their classes. With these skills, they’re able to get jobs related to communicating, writing, and reading. These jobs can even be in publishing, creative writing, and more which you’ll find out below!

What Can English Majors Do After College?

There are So Many Options To Choose From

Although there are some typical routes for an English major to go on after college, there are many different options to choose from. They could go on to teach or could even write for newspapers in their area. Since they learn so many skills during their college years, many employers look for English majors to fill many different jobs. Some of these jobs can include ones in journalism fields, English fields, communications fields, and even marketing fields. Other jobs include careers in:

Law
Publishing
Reporting
Media
Creative Writing
Public Relations
Politics

As long as you put your mind toward trying to find a job after college, English majors should have a good opportunity in any field of their choosing. Not only can they find jobs in the fields listed above, but they can learn new skills quickly, making them a great candidate for any job they want. Many employers look for those who can communicate well and know good grammar, so either way, an English major should be all set for their career after college!

A girl with a graduation cap on — Although it may be hard to try and decide what to do after getting your college degree, there are many different options for English majors. The courses you’ll take at your college of choice will help you decide what career path you want to go toward in life.

Best Colleges For English Majors

A Guide To The Best Of The Best

A lot of colleges, if not all, have English degree programs at their school, but the main goal is to find one that has everything you would want out of an English degree. Here are some of the best colleges out there for an English degree:

University of California (Berkeley). Here, students will be able to learn about a variety of different historical periods and different cultural regions of the English language and writing. This university is also ranked number one in English by U.S. News, making it even more well-known. If you want to learn more about the history of the English language, this is the place for you!
Yale University. At Yale, students will learn how to write all genres and periods throughout the history of the language. Their undergraduate program here also allows students to learn foundational research and writing skills while cultivating argument and analysis skills. According to their website, students are able to go on to careers in every sort of field imaginable as well. If this sounds like the place for you, make sure to submit your application!
Columbia University. Here, students will be able to read critically and imaginatively while also appreciating the power of language and literature in general. Students majoring in English will receive a broad understanding of the literary meaning and encounter various geographical landscapes against which literature in English has been produced. If you’re looking to study these types of subjects, then this is the school for you!

A picture of someone writing in a notebook. — Each of the colleges listed are some of the best for English degrees and ones you’ll definitely want to consider. You’ll be able to learn about the past, present, and future of literature while also reading a lot about the language itself.

Colleges Continued…

More Colleges You’ll Want To Look For

Harvard University. Here at Harvard, students have lots of different courses and studies to choose from in their English department. Students will be able to think and write about the multitude of artful, musical, moving ways that people have used words. They’ll also study how literature has been used to represent the world. If this sounds like a good plan, this may be the place for you!
Brown University. The English department here at Brown allows students to study old and new literature and culture. They also have a wide variety of different courses, including ones like poetry, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Students here learn an array of new information in whichever courses they choose to take!
Stanford University. Here at Stanford’s undergraduate program for English, students will learn how to master the power of language while also exploring topics like fiction, poetry, and graphic novel. If you’re someone who’s looking to combine creativity with criticism, this is the exact school for you!
Princeton University. At Princeton, students are taught that powerful writing begins in wide reading, and they’re encouraged to test the boundaries of reading itself across media and culture. If testing the boundaries of reading sounds like a good study for you, this is the place to go.

A picture of open books. — All of these schools will allow students to gain a greater knowledge of the English language and how it came to be. Each of them has many similarities but also differences in what they offer and what they teach their students, so be sure to look for the one that’s the best fit for you!

Although there are more colleges out there that offer great English degrees, these are some of the top ones you’ll want to apply to and research for your future career with an English degree. They all offer different types of courses, but all have intriguing and exciting ones to learn about. Be sure to research the ones you love, just so you know everything you’d need to have a great experience at your dream college.