English Degree Requirements

The fear behind this search is straightforward: you like reading and writing, but you are worried that an English degree is a fast track to unemployment. That concern is understandable, and anyone who dismisses it is not being honest with you. English does not lead to a specific job title the way nursing or accounting does.

What it does lead to is a set of skills — analytical writing, critical reading, argumentation, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly — that employers across industries consistently say they value and consistently say they cannot find. The National Center for Education Statistics shows that English remains a substantial degree category, though enrollment has declined from its peak¹. The graduates who thrive are the ones who pair their English training with practical skills and intentional career planning.

For the full career and ROI analysis, see the english degree overview. This page covers exactly what the program requires.

Core Coursework: What Every English Major Takes

English programs typically require a combination of survey courses, period-specific literature courses, theory, and a capstone. The exact requirements vary, but the structure is broadly consistent.

Foundational courses (first two years):

• British Literature Survey I (medieval through 18th century) — Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and the Restoration/Enlightenment writers.
• British Literature Survey II (Romantic period through contemporary) — Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, the Brontes, modernists, and postcolonial writers.
• American Literature Survey I (colonial through Civil War) — Puritan writers, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Dickinson.
• American Literature Survey II (post-Civil War through contemporary) — Twain, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Morrison, and contemporary voices.
• Introduction to Literary Analysis/Critical Reading — how to read literature analytically. Close reading techniques, thesis construction, and evidence-based argumentation.
• College Writing/Composition — usually a university requirement that English majors complete early.

Upper-level courses (junior and senior years):

• Literary Theory and Criticism — structuralism, post-structuralism, feminism, post-colonialism, queer theory, new historicism, and other critical frameworks. Often the most intellectually challenging course in the major.
• Shakespeare (or pre-1800 requirement) — most programs require at least one course focused on Shakespeare or literature written before 1800.
• Period, genre, or author-specific seminars — Victorian literature, African American literature, modernist poetry, the novel, Southern literature, etc.
• Senior Seminar or Thesis — a capstone research project producing a substantial analytical paper (20-30 pages).

BA vs BFA in Creative Writing

BA in English (Literature track) — the standard degree focused on reading, analyzing, and writing about literature. Analytical papers, not creative work, are the primary output.

BA in English (Creative Writing track) — combines literature courses with creative writing workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or screenwriting. You produce original creative work and critique peers' work in workshop settings. This track is competitive at many schools, sometimes requiring a portfolio or application for admission.

BA in English (Professional/Technical Writing track) — available at some universities. Focuses on workplace writing: technical documentation, editing, digital content, and communications. The most directly career-connected English track.

BFA in Creative Writing — offered at some institutions as a studio-intensive degree similar to a BFA in art. More workshop hours and fewer general education requirements than the BA. Less common and more competitive.

Common Concentrations and Specializations

Literature — the traditional core of the major. Analysis of literary texts across periods, genres, and national traditions.

Creative writing — fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, or playwriting. Workshop-based with emphasis on producing original work.

Rhetoric and composition — the study of persuasion, argumentation, and writing pedagogy. Strong preparation for careers in writing education, communications, and content strategy.

Professional/technical writing — workplace writing, documentation, and editing. The most directly employable concentration within English departments.

Linguistics — sometimes offered within English departments. The scientific study of language structure, meaning, and use. Connects to careers in NLP, language technology, and speech pathology (with additional education).

Film and media studies — analysis of visual storytelling, often housed partly in English departments. Critical analysis of film, television, and digital media.

Prerequisites and Admission Requirements

English programs at most universities have no competitive admission process beyond university admission. You declare the major and begin taking courses.

Prerequisites for upper-level courses:

• Completion of composition requirements
• Introduction to Literary Analysis (or equivalent) — prerequisite for most upper-level literature courses
• Survey courses may be prerequisite for period-specific seminars

Creative writing track admission may require a portfolio submission or competitive application at some schools, particularly for workshop courses with limited enrollment.

Foreign language requirements — many English programs require two years of a foreign language as part of the BA structure. This requirement comes from the college of arts and sciences, not the English department specifically.

Skills You'll Build (and What Employers Actually Value)

Analytical writing — constructing clear, evidence-based arguments in prose. This is the single most transferable skill the degree develops, and it applies to legal writing, business communications, policy analysis, content strategy, and journalism.

Close reading and critical thinking — extracting meaning from complex texts, identifying assumptions, and evaluating arguments. Employers in consulting, law, and research value this ability to process and synthesize large amounts of information.

Research — finding, evaluating, and synthesizing sources across databases and archives. Academic research skills translate to market research, policy research, and investigative journalism.

Editing — English majors develop a strong ear for language, grammar, and style. Professional editing and proofreading skills are in demand across publishing, marketing, and corporate communications.

Empathy and perspective-taking — studying literature builds the ability to understand experiences and viewpoints different from your own. Research suggests this translates to stronger interpersonal skills in professional settings.

What Nobody Tells You About English Requirements

The reading load is not metaphorical. Upper-level English courses assign 200-400 pages of reading per week, per course. If you are taking three English courses simultaneously, that is potentially 600-1,200 pages per week of dense literary and critical text. This is the real challenge of the major — not the difficulty of any single assignment, but the sheer volume of reading required to participate meaningfully in seminar discussions.

Literary theory changes how you think, not just how you read. Many students dread the theory course, expecting impenetrable jargon. Theory is difficult, but it is also the course that most fundamentally changes your analytical capabilities. It teaches you to examine underlying assumptions in any argument, which is the skill that transfers most powerfully to careers outside academia.

The seminar format requires participation, not just attendance. Upper-level English courses are discussion-based. Your grade depends partly on the quality of your contributions to class discussion, which means you must complete the reading and arrive with ideas. Students who are uncomfortable with discussion-based learning may struggle with the format.

Academic careers in English are extremely competitive. If you are attracted to English because you want to be a college professor, the job market for tenure-track English positions has been contracting for decades. PhDs in English often compete against hundreds of applicants for a single position. This does not mean you should not study English — it means you should not plan your career around becoming a professor unless you fully understand the odds.

Your writing portfolio is your resume. For any writing-related career (content marketing, journalism, editing, communications), employers want to see writing samples. Save your best work from every course. Build a portfolio website by junior year. The English majors who get hired are the ones who can show what they produce, not just list the courses they took.

For a comparison with related programs, see communications degree requirements for a more career-focused writing path, or history degree requirements for another reading-intensive humanities program.

FAQ

Is English a useless degree?

No, but it requires more intentional career planning than vocational degrees. English graduates work in content marketing, publishing, education, law, public relations, technical writing, journalism, and corporate communications. The degree builds transferable writing and analytical skills that employers value, but you must actively translate those skills into a career path. Graduates who combine English with practical experience (internships, freelance writing, digital skills) have strong employment outcomes.

How much writing does an English degree involve?

Significant amounts. Most literature courses require two to four analytical essays per semester, each running 5-15 pages. The senior thesis or capstone is typically 20-30 pages. Creative writing courses require original work plus critical responses to peers' work. You will write more than in almost any other major except journalism.

Can I go to law school with an English degree?

Yes, and English is one of the strongest pre-law majors. English majors consistently score among the highest on the LSAT because the degree develops reading comprehension, logical argumentation, and analytical writing — the exact skills the exam tests. Law schools do not require any specific undergraduate major.

What is the job outlook for English majors?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports median annual wages of $73,150 for writers and authors², though earnings vary enormously by specialty and experience. Technical writers earn a median of $80,050³. The strongest job growth is in digital content creation, UX writing, and corporate communications. See the English careers page for detailed paths.

Do I need to know a foreign language for an English degree?

Most BA programs require two years (four semesters) of a foreign language, though this is often a college-wide requirement rather than an English department requirement. Some comparative literature courses may require reading ability in a second language. The language requirement is increasingly being reduced or made optional at some institutions.

Is English harder than people think?

The difficulty is different from STEM fields — it is not about solving problems with definitive answers. The challenge is in the volume of reading, the quality of analytical writing expected, and the ability to construct original arguments from textual evidence. Students who excel at memorization but struggle with ambiguity may find English more difficult than expected.

More on this degree:

• English Degree Guide — Overview
• Is It Worth It?
• Career Paths
• Salary Data
• How Hard Is It?
• Internships
• Best Colleges