English (BA)

Through focused study in literature, language, and writing, English majors at Plymouth State University develop the essential skills of critical thinking, cogent analysis, and effective communication. The major explores both canonical and non-canonical texts in British, American, and Global literatures, and introduces students to trends in literary history and to contemporary questions raised by theorists and literary critics. Our renowned writing curriculum helps students develop their own original voices in both imaginative and expository writing. This core curriculum, along with 16 credits of Advanced Study (3000/4000 level) in EN courses of the student’s choosing, comprises the standard English major and prepares students well for a variety of life paths. Students who seek certification as English teachers must declare and follow the Teacher Certification Option.

Teacher Certification (5-12) Option

The Educator Preparation programs at Plymouth State University are approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education. The University is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE).

Graduates who complete this Teacher Certification Option are eligible for 5-12 teacher certification in the state of New Hampshire. Because of New Hampshire’s membership in the Interstate Certification Contract, Plymouth graduates are eligible to earn a certificate or license in another Contract state upon application to that state’s department of education. For further information, please see the Holmes Center for School Partnerships and Educator Preparation section. Requirements for certification may change, subject to changes made by the New Hampshire Department of Education. Teacher candidates can find the most current New Hampshire Department of Education standards at education.nh.gov/index.htm.

All teacher candidates who interact with students in public school settings through course-related field experiences, including English Internship in Teaching, are subject to New Hampshire state legislation that requires a full disclosure criminal records check. This may include fingerprinting. The processing of the criminal records check is conducted at the site school before the clinical experience begins. The fee for this processing is the responsibility of the teacher candidate and is paid directly to the school district. Each new site will require a separate fingerprinting and background check. Inquiries should be directed to the Holmes Center for School Partnerships and Educator Preparation.

In order for teacher candidates to participate in clinical experiences in diverse settings that are essential for their development as teachers and required for accreditation, teacher candidates must be willing and able to travel outside of the Plymouth area beyond walking distances. All Internship in Teaching candidates should plan for and be able to secure their own transportation by the junior year.

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Directions should total 20 credits (unless the major has a waiver for a specific Direction).

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The foreign language requirement for all BA degrees calls for 0-8 credits: one year of one language (6-8 credits); or one 3000/4000 level world language course (4 credits); or being a native speaker of a language other than English (zero credit). American Sign Language I and II fulfill this requirement; however, American Sign Language does not satisfy the Global Awareness Connection.

English Major, Writing and Literature

Teacher Certification (5-12) Option of BA English

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English Internship in Teaching requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.70; a minimum grade of C in Currents in Global Literature (EN 3515), Teaching Writing: Grades 5–12 (EN 4318), Teaching Reading: Grades 5–12 (EN 4558), Teaching Digital Literacy, Grades 5–12 (EN 4560), Teaching Literature: Grades 5–12 (EN 4559); a minimum grade of C in three of Rethinking Early American Literature (EN 2440), Rethinking Modern American Literature (EN 2460), Rethinking Modern British Literature, 1660-1945 (EN 2490), Rethinking Medieval and Renaissance Literature (EN 3420).

Check all course descriptions for prerequisites before planning course schedule. 

To complete the bachelor’s degree in 4 years, you must successfully complete a minimum of 15 credits each semester or have a plan to make up credits over the course of the 4 years.  For example, if you take 14 credits one semester, you need to take 16 credits in another semester.  Credits completed must count toward your program requirements (major, option, minor, certificate, general education or free electives).

English major without an Option

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Directions should total 20 credits (unless the major has a waiver for a specific Direction).

Elective Options

Teacher Certification (5-12) Option of BA English

Check all course descriptions for prerequisites before planning course schedule. 

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Directions should total 20 credits (unless the major has a waiver for a specific Direction).

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Required for the Option

English Major, Writing and Literature

Check all course descriptions for prerequisites before planning course schedule. Course sequence is suggested but not required.

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Directions should total 20 credits (unless the major has a waiver for a specific Direction).

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Required for the Option

Students who complete degree programs in the Plymouth State University Department of English should be able to:

• Use cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts to inform their understanding of all kinds of texts
• Display analytical skill in their written responses to texts
• Write fluently and understand writing as an artistic and/or intellectual process
• Understand the conventions of literary genre as creative writers and critics
• Capably use research to accomplish their reading, writing and thinking goals
• Understand the role of emerging digital technologies in writing, literature, and communication

• Understand the cognitive processes and social factors that contribute to language development;
• Support adolescent readers' development of skills and knowledge related to word recognition, vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and reading comprehension;
• Support adolescent writers' development of skills and knowledge related to writing clear sentences, compelling narratives, creative poems, and coherent essays;
• Ask incisive questions that spark students' intellectual curiosity;
• Orchestrate lively, respectful class discussions that explore stories and poetry and relate literature to students' own lives;
• Communicate effectively with students, parents, and colleagues.

Everybody knows if you major in English you can be an English teacher, or “go into publishing,” or maybe be a writer, whatever that looks like.

Many of our graduates have, indeed, gone on to teach at the secondary and university level; others work as freelance writers or editors, and still others have pursued graduate studies and earned advanced degrees – including the M.Ed, M.A., Ph.D., J.D., and MFA degrees. Alumnus Nathan Bieniek says that the English major “required me to think deeply and to think for myself. The professors demanded that of us and that training has served me well in my graduate academic pursuits.” 

But an undergraduate degree in English – shorthand for the intensive study of reading, writing, and analytical and creative thinking – can be a gateway to numerous opportunities, some of which might surprise you, as they have surprised some of our own English alumni over the years. Alumnus Derek Heidemann’s first job right out of PSU was doing light assembly for telecommunications products. But, he notes, “word got out that I had a degree in English and they bumped me up from the back room to the Marketing department.”

English can get you there!

Here’s a sampling of current and recent PSU English alumni job titles and places of employment.

• Marketing Associate, DDK + Company (NY)
• Leadership Development Coordinator, 603 Forward
• VP of Corporate Marketing at Foundry
  Impact Director, City Year (NH)
• Communications Coordinator, Business Transformation Office at MIT Lincoln Lab
• Senior Partner, Zozimus Agency (marketing and PR)
• VP of Marketing, Virtuous
• Senior Manager of Study Abroad, Board Liaison, AFS Intercultural Programs USA
• HR & Engagement Specialist, Associated Grocers of New England
• Social Media Coordinator and Content Marketer
• Reporter, Cap City News (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
• Senior Manager, Customer Support, at Modo Labs
• Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
• Digital Project Manager at CCA Global Partners
• Integrated Communications Manager at Jarvis Products
• Associate Editor, Codeword
• NH Department of Agriculture
• Academic Advisor, Southern New Hampshire University
• NHPR (New Hampshire Public Radio)
• Instructional Designer, Middlebury College
• Service Journalism Reporter, McClatchy
• Advising, Career & Transfer, Clerk IV, Mount Wachusett Community College
• Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Holderness School
• Content Manager, CatholicMatch.com
• Director of Marketing, Core Medical Group
• Marketing Communications Specialist, Orbita
• Legislative Editor, Colorado General Assembly