Hone your skills as a writer
As an English major at Marietta College, you will gain the education to become a perceptive reader, logical thinker, and persuasive writer.
Our graduates are authors and English teachers — as well as attorneys, software engineers, hospital administrators, technical writers, public relations specialists, grant writers, and CEOs. Majoring in English is about learning to interpret and analyze information, crucial and marketable skills in today's information-driven economy.
The English Department at Marietta is led by a team of successful authors and poets who are dedicated to sharing their knowledge of literature and theory. These talented professors guide students through the process of creation and discovery.
English majors at Marietta are encouraged to use their own artistic vision to examine works of literature and conduct original research. This research is presented and celebrated each spring during the campus-wide All Scholars Day.
This degree also offers an optional minor in Creative Writing, which allows students to express their creativity through original works while receiving constructive feedback in a positive environment. The Creative Writing and the English minor complement any major and show employers that you have excellent communication and writing skills.
What will you learn while studying English?
Whether you are analyzing Shakespeare or preparing an annual report, at Marietta College, you will gain the education to become a perceptive reader, logical thinker and persuasive writer. Majoring in English is about learning to interpret and analyze information, crucial and marketable skills in today's information-driven economy.
Creative Writing
This degree also offers an optional concentration in Creative Writing, which allows students to express their creativity through original works while receiving constructive feedback in a positive environment.
Endless Possibilities
Our graduates are authors and English teachers — as well as attorneys, software engineers, hospital administrators, technical writers, public relations specialists, and CEOs.
More Info
In your senior capstone project, you will work with professors and students as a community of scholars to apply cutting-edge theoretical approaches to literature, whether your focus is cultural studies, textual criticism, postcolonialism, or cognitive psychology. Your project will demand the kinds of critical analysis and communication necessary both in graduate school and professional careers.
Other campus opportunities include workshops and readings with visiting writers; presenting your poetry or fiction at our Pizza, Poetry and Prose series; and submitting your work to Pulse, the literary magazine published by Marietta’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society. The Department also brings in professional writers to conduct workshops with students and present public readings to the community. This includes Andrew Grace, Amy Irvine McHarg, Dan Chaon, Anthony Doerr (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Joni Tevis, Sharon Hatfield, Andrew Hudgins, James Harms and David Citino.
- Outcomes — Internships
- American Shakespeare Center
- Bird Watcher's Digest
- Marietta Chamber of Commerce
- Marietta Community Foundation
- Marietta Municipal Court
- Marietta/Washington Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Offenberger & White
- Outcomes — Graduate Programs
- Emerson College
- Marquette University
- Ohio University
- Purdue University
- The University of Ohio State
- University of Baltimore
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Dayton
- University of Findlay
- Outcomes — Professions
- Law Professor
- Community Manager — Union of Concerned Scientists
- ESL Professor
- Content Editor
- Outreach Associate/Communications Manager
- Marketing/Communications Manager
- IT Project Manager
- High School English Teacher
- Rewards for writers
The English Department invites all students to enter these contests every year:
The Lawrence M. Howard Memorial Scholarship
Value: approximately $1,400
Open to juniors and first-semester seniors
Applicants submit a portfolio of writing samples
Guidelines for submission are available at the English Department officeThe Stephen Schwartz Prize for Poetry
Value: $100
For the best poem submitted by a studentThe Emerson Prize
Value: approximately $140
For the best poem or group of poems by a student, representing a substantial creative effortThe Margaret Ward Martin Prize
Value: approximately $115
For the junior or senior submitting the best original piece of creative writingThe Burton E. Stevenson Prize
Value: approximately $100
For the best essay devoted to American literature
Further information and printed guidelines are available at the English Department office (Thomas 216).
FAQs
- Are there specific scholarships for English majors?
Yes! However, the majority of the scholarships are awarded to students after their first year at Marietta College.
- Does the department accept AP credit toward the major?
The department recognizes the accomplishments of students who have AP credit in English. Any student who scores a 3 in AP English Language and Composition will get credit for WRIT 101. Any student who scores a 4 in AP English Language and Composition will get credit for WRIT 102. Any student who scores a 4 in AP English Literature and Composition will get credit for ENGL 151.
- Can I study abroad as an English major?
Yes, and we encourage our English majors to investigate the idea of broadening their educational experience by studying abroad.