English
Looking Forward
96% of our alumni surveyed stated that they would major or minor in English again if they were given the opportunity to do so. How you articulate your experiences and abilities makes a major difference in how future employers, graduate programs, and yourself see you. Reflecting on what you have done, the competencies/skills you have gained, and how you see yourself can make all the difference in those discussions.
Competencies and Careers
Competencies Developed in the Program
- Students in the English major can expect to develop strong Communication, Information Literacy, and Cultural Navigation competencies. Want to know more about these professional competencies? Career Readiness.
English majors end up in a wide variety of careers and below are some of the most common possibilities:
- Lawyer
- Technical writer
- Editor
- Copywriter
- Professor
- Advertising/Marketing
- Social media marketing
- Public relations
- Librarian
- Grant writing
- Journalism
- Paralegal
- Non-profit
- Publisher
- Freelance writer/editor
- Consultant
Meet with your advisor!
Do you have a career option in mind but you’d like resources to help you chart a path toward that goal? Come with your Academic and Professional Development Manager, Jon Cook!
Contact the Liberal Arts Advisement Center to set up an appointment!
Meet with your Career Director:
Your Career Director can help you get connected to alumni, find companies that hare hiring, hone your resume, and strategically look for jobs. Set up an appointment with Christian Sagers here.
Career search:
BYU pays for students to use a great job/internship website called handshake which you can access here: https://byu.joinhandshake.com/login
Professional Certifications
- Professional writing certificates: https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=professional%20writing
- Project management certificate: https://www.byupathway.edu/certificate/project-management
- Mediation: https://cpcr.byu.edu/
- TESOL Certificate: https://ling.byu.edu/tesol-minor
- Foreign language certificate: https://cls.byu.edu/programs/certificate/about
Grad School
- Pre-professional office
- Prep/application Timeline
- Is Grad School Right for Me?
- Grad School Handouts: Research
- Grad School Handouts: Resources
Types of grad school common to English majors:
- Law school (Juris Doctorate)
- Masters of Fine Art
- Master of Arts/Science/Public Adminstration
- PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy)
•Guide to grad school: Peterson’s Guide to Grad School
Beyond the Office
I'm not planning on working full-time. How can I use my English degree in meaningful ways outside of being employed full-time?
Freelance Resources
How to Start a Side Hustle
Volunteer Resources
Manage A Household
Parent Strategies for Improving Their Child's Reading and Writing
- Model good habits by reading and writing in front of your child.
- Make reading materials—ones they will truly care about—readily available for your child
- Talk with your child. Children expand their vocabulary and understanding of sentence structures through conversations with others.
- Give your child authentic writing tasks to help them find their voice and develop their sense of power
Helping Parents Get a College Education Helps Children Succeed
FAQ's
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Toggle ItemHow can I articulate the value of my English degree to future employers/ grad schools?
The Liberal Arts Advisement Center specializes in career readiness and your major advisor Jon Cook can meet with you to discuss your narrative so that you can highlight the skills and competencies you have gained in your time here at BYU and in the English major. The Humanities College at BYU aims to ensure each of their graduates leaves proficient in the 3 competencies of: Communication, Information Literacy, and Cultural Navigation. Email Jon to set up an appointment to start working on this at jon_cook@byu.edu
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Toggle ItemHow can I gain experience or make myself more marketable while here completing my English degree?
The English+ requirement is a great way to start! Finding an internship/experience that aligns with a specific career path or skill you are interested in can be extremely beneficial to your candidacy. We also have opportunities to do mentored research with professors; we have clubs and University publications where you can spend time gaining experience and walking away with work product as well.
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Toggle ItemWhich minors could I add to make my English degree more marketable?
We have a lot of students opt to add a minor to an English degree since students need 120 hours to graduate and English is a shorter major. Some of the more common minors for our major are Editing, Digital Humanities, TESOL, Legal Studies, Global Women’s Studies, and Communications. These can all add specific direction to help focus or round out your English major. We also have minors in Professional Writing and Communication and Creative Writing that you could do if you don’t choose those tracks.