Degree Programs

An English major pairs well with any number of other fields of study. The ability to communicate clearly through the written word is essential to all careers and vocations.

Majors

• English, B.A.
• English, Creative Writing Emphasis, B.A.
• English Education, B.A.

Minors

• English Minor
• English, Creative Writing Minor
• English, Professional Writing Minor

Why study English?

Literature enables readers to imaginatively enter and share the stories, feelings and experiences of other persons. It presents, with beauty and power, perennial human situations and issues – problems of identity, purpose, relationship and meaning.

The study of creative writing enables students to view writing as a process of seeing and re-seeing the world. It helps them learn to value and express their own stories, to reflect on their lives and to believe they have something of use to put into words.

Our curriculum seeks to meet the needs of all students pursuing the broad aims of a liberal education — not just specialized courses for English majors. Students who study literature and writing will grow in their abilities to read, to think and to express themselves logically, coherently and imaginatively.

Program Outcomes

English

Hope College students completing an English degree will:

• Collaborate effectively in reading and writing communities
• Write well in various forms, both creative and critical
• Incorporate research effectively and innovatively
• Write successfully across the genres (creative writing majors)
• Use tools of literary analysis and theory to interpret
• Read widely and interpret within a broad range of literature
• Integrate what they have gained from their English major with their post-graduation plan

English Creative Writing

Hope College students completing an English creative writing degree will:

• Students will demonstrate expertise in genre-specific conventions and craft.
• Students will offer effective feedback to peer work in progress across multiple CW genres.
• Students will develop an awareness of themselves as writers, including the ability to articulate artistic sensibilities and the skill of reading like a writer.

English Literature

Hope College students completing an English literature degree will:

• Students will write convincing, well-organized arguments about literature for an audience of fellow literary scholars.
• Students will find, analyze, and incorporate research effectively.
• Students will use tools of literary analysis and theory to build arguments.