About the English Major at UW-Parkside

The English major is designed to suit the needs of UW-Parkside's heterogeneous population of traditional and non-traditional-aged students and their varied career paths and goals. Often combined with other majors and minors, it can become a valuable tool for students to achieve a traditional liberal education, helping them acquire a broad view of human experience, a critical approach to cultural traditions, and more complete self-understanding.

Each of its three concentrations, while offering a solid grounding in literature and communication skills, emphasizes a distinct area of expertise and understanding.

• The Standard Major is especially appropriate for those planning further graduate or professional study or literary careers, and offers the opportunity to explore the traditions of British and American literature in depth.
• The Writing Concentration enables those who envision careers in business, industry, or public service to sharpen their communication skills in both general and specialized areas.
• The Language Arts Concentration focuses on the needs of education professionals, fulfilling the state of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requirements for teacher-training; it is also appropriate for students generally interested in linguistics and language studies.
  

The department has an active English Club open to majors and other interested students, and a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, a national English Honor Society.

The English Minor

Students who desire to take a substantial number of courses in English but who do not intend to major in the subject should consider the English minor. The minor provides a foundation for further study, vocational or a vocational, in English and the liberal arts, and serves as a useful concentration for students planning to enter professional fields.

The Certificate Program

The Professional Writing Certificate

Degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students who want to specialize in writing for career enhancement but do not intend to major or minor in English should consider the professional writing certificate, which consists of 15 credits.

The Film Studies Certificate

Offered through the English Department and Humanities Program, the film studies certificate allows students to obtain an interdisciplinary concentration in film studies. All students awarded the film studies certificate must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the history of film across numerous cultures, genres, and movements, as well as the major features of film study and analysis. Additionally, students must complete 15 credit hours of course work in classes with a substantial film component, participate in the film studies certificate presentation/discussion, and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all film certificate courses.