English and Foreign Languages

Department Mission Statement:

To empower students as critical thinkers and participating citizens in pursuit of truth, beauty, spirituality, social justice, and global leadership.  To prepare scholars who are competitive candidates in graduate and professional schools and their chosen careers, and who are leaders with skills based upon humanistic values.

Department Vision:

To become a nationally competitive department composed of programs whose graduates may choose among the most prestigious graduate and professional schools and careers by building the minors in English, Spanish, and Writing; by maintaining high academic standards in all classes; by continually evaluating and up-dating curricula; by recruiting and retaining faculty who are excellent teachers and add to the scholarship in their fields.

Department Majors:

Two degree options in English are available to students—a teaching track to prepare students to teach high school English and a non-teaching track to prepare students for graduate school or professional post-graduate education.  The Program provides a thorough grounding in writing, research methodology, and critical approaches to literature for both options.  The teaching track curriculum ensures that students are prepared to teach language arts and literature at the secondary level.  In addition to survey courses in American, African American, and English literature, teaching majors are required to take Shakespeare, Seminar for Jr/Sr English Majors, and History of the English Language.  Students in the non-teaching major aspire to enter graduate school, law school, or to have a career in the publishing industry.  The major curriculum prepares them with emphasis on language (style options, word functions, development) and critical approaches to literature.  Graduates with the English major have entered graduate programs at UNC-Greensboro, Temple University, Hollins College, UNC-Wilmington, Pennsylvania State University, among others.  They have entered law schools of Kentucky State University, Howard University, UNC-Central, and Indiana State University.

In addition to courses for the major in English, the Department offers General Education courses in English composition ((EN 102) and Introduction to Literature (EN 103), as well as General Education language requirements in Spanish and French, plus a Minor in Spanish.

Student Organizations. 

The Department sponsors two organizations for English Majors:  the international honor society for English Majors, and Women in True Scholarship (WITS), a learning and service organization open to all English Majors.

Minors Offered:

A Concentration in English, a Minor in Writing, and a Minor in English are also offered. These programs provide a sequential plan of study in language and literature to augment such Majors as Theatre, Middle School Education, Psychology, and Political Sciences.