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OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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An English degree is about more than the book. English majors learn to see complex problems in their full richness and don’t take the first answer, or the simplest answer, as truth. In our courses, numerous kinds of texts – from medieval poems to postmodern novels, adapted screenplays to literary criticism itself – appear as windows into the cultures and conditions in which they were produced. English majors develop habits of mind attuned to the reasons why people do what they do and write what they write. Our graduates are engaged, empathetic people pursuing a creative, critical, and useful degree.
Program Highlights
The English major includes an array of subjects ranging in literary history to film and visual culture, creative and nonfiction writing, rhetoric and literacy, and the digital humanities. We focus on the big picture and the details: close reading skills and critical analysis, how literacy and language change over time, and how social and historical movements are represented in texts. Reading, writing, active listening, discussing, presenting, and debating are foundational activities in our classrooms. Your first courses will prepare you to understand major historic, cultural, and literary time periods, including surveys of World, U.S., and British literatures and a wide range of elective courses. Upper-division classes call upon you to dig deep into specific authors, historical moments, themes, theories, and writing styles.
In the Fall of 2021, in-person classes will return to Moreland Hall – a historic building in the heart of campus, across from the Memorial Union. English majors have access to several study abroad opportunities, from studying post-colonial literature in Cape Town, creative writing in Rome, or Shakespeare in Sydney. Our students also have access to the Smith Media Lab for video projects, podcasts, and other creative endeavors.
Faculty
Faculty in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film are a prolific and distinguished group of scholars, teachers, and creative writers. In the midst of the global shutdown of 2020-21, faculty members still managed to publish books at top university presses and creative publishing houses. In keeping with the land-grant mission of Oregon State, during this same time they also published articles in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Washington Post, and other news outlets. They've started new podcasts, served as expert commentators for venues such as the New Yorker, published open-source literary projects, arranged international musical collaborations, and coordinated creative responses to world events. For their scholarly and creative work, they received awards and recognitions from sources ranging from the Oregon and Connecticut Book Awards Committees to AP Teachers on the College Board website. Throughout this tough year, they mentored students at every point in the English major, offering them a Liberal Arts experience within a Research-One University.
Professionalization
In today’s highly competitive job market, adding a professional internship experience to one’s degree is attractive to potential employers who often are seeking job candidates with a more versatile and “seasoned” background. While the vast majority of internships are unpaid, the value of an internship experience is significant. The knowledge and experience attained and the internship’s notation on a resume may make the difference in landing a particular job. In recent years, English majors and Writing minors have interned with a wide variety of sponsors: OSU Marketing and Web Communications, OSU Press, INTO OSU, Nike, the Seattle Mariners, King 5 TV in Seattle, Calyx Books in Corvallis and Portland Monthly, to name a few.
A Literary Community
SWLF is home to the English Literature Association, a friendly organization aimed at encouraging the enjoyment and application of the English language in all aspects. SWLF also hosts three lecture series – the Visiting Writers Series, the Literary Northwest Series, and the Critical Questions Series – that bring renowned visitors to campus. The Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement, the largest prize given to a writer by a university in the west, has been awarded to Joyce Carol Oates, Tobias Wolff, Rita Dove, Colson Whitehead, and, in 2021, Lynda Barry. Courses center around the work of the Stone Award recipient, who also visits OSU to deliver public readings and to meet with students.
The Four-Year Graduation Guarantee
The School of Writing, Literature, and Film guarantees that students can earn a BA in English in four years. Thanks in part to this guarantee, our School graduated 48 talented undergraduates for the 2019-20 academic year. The four-year graduation guarantee ensures that our students know how they’re progressing through their degree, what courses they can take, and what opportunities are available.
Minors and Certificates
The School of Writing, Literature, and Film hosts not only the BA in English and the BA in Creative Writing, but also several online and on-campus minors and certificates. Students can choose English, Writing, Applied Journalism, or Film as independent minors, and can complete the Writing minor online through our Ecampus. We also feature a new certificate program in Scientific, Technical, and Professional Communication.
Alumna Karli Rumberg (2017) completed her Masters of Education at Stanford University and now teaches at Presentation High School in San Jose.
Alumni
Graduates from our BA in English go on to exciting careers in a range of different fields:
Garrett Kitamura (2018): Law student at the University of Virginia
Sydney Sullivan (2018): PhD student in English at the University of Arizona
Justin Bennett (2019): Intern at U.S. Congress / Peace Corps Education Volunteer in Rwanda
Learning Outcomes
