B.A. in English

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Program Distinctives

• Rigorous education from a Christ-centered perspective developing you as a thoughtful reader and drawing you closer to beauty and creation.
• Personal access to highly accomplished faculty who serve as guides and mentors and offer diverse insight and expertise.
• Writing Program – Take courses in novel writing, editing, character development, and more through our writing program and its corresponding minors in creative writing or writing with technical, professional, or public rhetoric tracks.
• Departmental minors are available in theatre, writing and classical studies, as well as in classical Christian education, pre-law, marketing, design, and more.
• Internship opportunities in a wide range of professional environments. Recently students have interned with Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, MedExpress Urgent Care, Keystone State Music Theatre, the Coram Deo School (Dallas, Texas), the Human Trafficking Institute, and Urban Impact.
• Christian Writers Conference —  Annual department-sponsored event  which has hosted Gene Luen Yang, Andrew Peterson, Karen Swallow Prior, and Christian Wiman as speakers.
• Literary research opportunities and honors projects under the direction of experienced faculty on such writers as George Herbert, Robert Frost, Seamus Heaney, Marilynne Robinson, Shakespeare, and Walker Percy.
• Award-winning theatre program open to students of all majors, featuring two mainstage productions and numerous other student productions every academic year.
• Active on-campus groups including Lambda Iota Tau (literary honorary which sponsors poetry readings and other literary events) and Alpha Psi Omega (theatre honorary which coordinates our student-directed one-act play festival each semester).
• Tight-knit community and camaraderie – The English Department cultivates community outside the classroom through events like The Hearth, which is open to the entire campus and involves faculty and students gathering fireside to discuss a piece of poetry or literature. They also lead other fun events throughout the year such as apple orchard readings.
• Student publications to which you can submit original pieces and/or contribute as an editor, including The Echo (departmental publication featuring creative literary pieces), as well as The Collegian (newspaper), and Journal of Law & Public Policy.
• Vocation-enriching humanities core classes woven into your academic schedule that will strengthen your critical thinking and communication skills, cultivate empathy, and help you develop a well-rounded understanding of the world.

Career Opportunities & Outcomes

• Career paths: writer, editor, lawyer, paralegal, reporter, professor, publisher, public relations specialist, content marketing strategist, technical writer, grant writer, and more.
• If you are like 96% of Grove City College graduates, you will be prepared to compete for exciting full-time positions or entry into prestigious graduate or professional programs within six months of graduation. You will also have access to our award-winning Career Services Office, helping you get started building a future after graduation.
  • Our alumni are building careers with respected companies and organizations like Tor Books and Scholastic Publishers, UPMC Health, Certify Inc., Net Health, the Human Trafficking Institute, the U.S. Department of State, and Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Our highest achieving students have pursued graduate degrees at Oxford, NYU, The University of Chicago, Duke University, and Baylor University.
• Wherever you take your gifts, you are sure to stand out as a thoughtful communicator who can discern Truth, creatively solve problems, and benefit any industry — from publishing and education to health care and media.

Program Specifics

• 36 major credit hours of rigorous undergraduate coursework that will build your foundation in literature while giving you space to double major or minor in business, marketing, writing, history, economics, communication, political science, or entrepreneurship, etc.
• English major curriculum includes:
  • Core requirements in British literature, American literature, and classical literature.
  • An introduction to Shakespeare and world literature from Asia or Africa/Latin America.
  • English electives surrounding periods and genres from options including Chaucer and the Middle Ages, romantic literature, science fiction, 19th and 20th century American and English novel, poetry and modern poetry, and modern drama, among many others.
• For detailed course descriptions, refer to the College Catalog.

Student & Alumni Stories

Audrey Glickert '23
B.A. in English

“My experience as an English major at Grove City College taught me of the virtues of attentiveness and patience. As we read and discussed works ancient and modern, Grove City's professors encouraged me - and Grove City's curriculum required me - to read closely and to grow in wonder at the beauty and truth of literature before rushing to decipher a particular meaning or frame the right argument about the text.” — Sarah (Soltis) Reardon ’23, B.A. in English

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