Discover Diverse Career Options Through Reading and Writing
Good readers make the best writers — and we’ll teach you to apply your comprehension skills across the board.
Why earn your English Literature degree at ÁùºÏ²Ê¿â’s?
English Literature majors have ample opportunities to attend live theatre and meet visiting writers, contribute to student publications, study abroad, and intern with an organization connected to publishing, literacy, education or communication.
Internships
Intern in a variety of settings where they use their analytical and communication skills and gain professional experience. Students have recently interned at the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Badgerdog children’s and adult creative writing workshops; Literati Books, a curated books-of-the-month club for kids; Women’s Storybook Project of Texas, whose mission is to connect children with their incarcerated mothers through the joy of literature; Annie’s List; and the Harry Ransom Center.
Study Abroad
Take courses in creative writing, literature and literary studies at St. Edward’s partner universities including The National University of Ireland in Galway, Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and The University of Roehampton in London.
Research
You’ll have the opportunity to conduct research on topics that interest you and present it at the Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression, on campus, or at professional conferences. Recent presentations have included Intersections between the political thought of John Milton and Nicolo Machiavelli and How Mary Shelley repurposed the poetry of John Milton to build a feminist ethical vision in the nineteenth century.
On the Hilltop
Student Organizations are a great avenue for meeting students with similar interests and adding to your portfolio. Take up the opportunity to edit, write, design and publish for one of our four student-run publications. The Sorin Oak Review is a literary magazine that showcases poetry, prose and artwork of students. The academic journal, Arete, publishes student research, nonfiction essays and commentary and Hilltop Views is the weekly students newspaper, published in both print and online. Share your witty thoughts with B. Hooved, the student humor journal.
Reap the Rewards of Austin
Home to the Texas Book Festival and infamous Central Library, your courses will draw on the resources of Austin’s cultural and arts scene to help literature come to life. In your Shakespeare class, you’ll attend at least one live performance and interact with the actors. In Milton, you’ll visit the Harry Ransom Center reading room to examine the archives of Milton’s works.
What will you learn?
Learn to analyze literature alongside professors who share your passion for the printed page and develop a global mindset by studying a diverse range of authors from different cultures and communities.
Students in the English Literature major choose one of three specializations, while building a broad foundation in American and British literature from a variety of periods.
- The General Specialization offers literature electives that appeal to more specific interests like Native American Literature, Literature of Crime and Punishment, Uncanny Literature, and Science and Fiction.
- The Creative Writing Specialization guides students through Poetry and Fiction workshops, Writing for Stage and Screen, Fantastical Fiction and Creative Nonfiction.
- The Language Arts Teaching Specialization provides students with writing and linguistics coursework to fulfill teacher education requirements in Texas.
What skills will you gain?
Upon completing the English LIterature program, you’ll be ready to…
- Analyze American and British literature across multiple time periods.
- Confidently meet teaching-education requirements to teach English in Texas.
- Write a screenplay with new worlds and developed characters.
- Use critical thinking to understand elaborate texts for various audiences and purposes.
- Creatively and effectively communicate complex messages for appropriate audiences.
- Implement research methods to successfully construct and introduce an idea or argument
What do our graduates do?
Acting majors go on to a variety of careers and graduate schools from ÁùºÏ²Ê¿â’s. Here’s a sample:
- English Teaching Assistant in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
- Youth services librarian at Matheson Memorial Library
- Graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin
- Student at the Columbia University Publishing Institute in Oxford, United Kingdom
- Graduate student at Brandeis University
- Fellow at the Library of Congress
Explore Details About the BA in English Literature
Major Requirements: The Bachelor of Arts with a major in English Literature requires 42 hours of core coursework, providing a strong foundation in literary history and analysis and many elective options. Students choose additional electives from one of three specializations: General Literature, Creative Writing, and Language Arts for Teachers.
General Education Requirements: The English literature degree requires an average of 38-44 hours of general education courses that students complete over four years in addition to their major courses and electives.
View and download the full .
1. English Literature - General
Students in this specialization gain a broad foundation in American and British literature from a variety of periods, and also take literature electives that appeal to more specific interests.
Major Requirements: 42 hours of English Literature major courses are required.
View and download the full (PDF).
A few examples of electives in the General specialization have included:
- Native American Literature
- Literature of Crime and Punishment
- Science and Fiction
- "Radicals and Revolutionaries" in Literature
- Uncanny Literature
- Literature of Love
2. English Literature with a Creative Writing Specialization
The Creative Writing specialization also offers a broad foundation in American and British literature from multiple periods, but allows students to take electives in creative writing.
Major Requirements: 42 hours of English Literature major courses, 9 hours of which are concentrated on creative writing.
View and download the full (PDF).
A few examples of Creative Writing electives within the Literature major have included:
- Poetry and Fiction workshops
- Writing for Stage and Screen
- Fantastical Fiction
- Creative Nonfiction
3. English Literature with a Language Arts Teaching Specialization
The Language Arts Teaching specialization offers a broad foundation in American and British literature from multiple periods but provides students with writing and linguistics coursework to fulfill teacher education requirements in Texas.
Major Requirements: 42 hours of English Literature major courses, 12 hours of which are concentrated on writing and linguistics.
The required writing and linguistics courses are these:
- Grammar and Style
- Introduction to Creative Writing
- Analyzing Rhetoric
- Workplace Writing
View and download the full (PDF).
The English Literature minor makes an excellent pairing with nearly any other major. Recently, for instance, students have paired the English Literature minor with majors in Video Game Development, Criminal Justice, Biology, Communication, Business, and many others. Talk to any of our English Literature professors to figure out how to make this minor work for you.
Students who wish to earn an English Literature minor must take the following coursework, totaling 24 hours.
Required Courses
- British Literature I
- British Literature II
- American Literature I
- American Literature II
- One Course from Period Studies
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Students must select three courses from the English Literature electives.
English Literature faculty members stay active in their fields and bring their expertise to the classroom. They are part of a larger group of Literature, Writing and Rhetoric faculty.
Alan Altimont, PhD
Associate Professor of English
Alan Altimont teaches Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Drama, British Literature, and writing for live stage, screen, and games. His aim as a teacher is to familiarize students with literary cultures past and present, and to foster young writers eager to make their own contributions to these wonderful inheritances. He has published articles on John Berryman, Andrew Marvell and William Shakespeare, and recently translated the Latin poems of the 11th-century bi-sexual Angevin priest, Marbod of Rennes.
Barbara Filippidis, PhD
Professor of English
Barbara Filippidis teaches Victorian, modern, and postmodern literature. She has directed the Honors Program and created the first honors Living and Learning Community. She enjoys mentoring students as they prepare papers to present at conferences both on and off campus and is the ÁùºÏ²Ê¿â’s 2015 Advisor of the Year. She has published articles on Walker Percy and T.S. Eliot and is currently researching poetry by working-class writers to include in Victorian and early 20th-century classes.
Christopher Flynn, PhD
Associate Professor of English and Area Coordinator for English Literature
Christopher Flynn teaches 18th-century and Romantic British literature, Irish literature, and French cinema. He has taught abroad in Angers, France, on two occasions. Flynn has published a book and several articles and essays on British and Irish literature, several creative nonfiction essays, and poetry. He has also directed several short films. He is currently at work on Swimming with Byron, a feature-length documentary about the spaces and places of British Romanticism.
Brian Sheerin, PhD
Associate Professor of English​
Brian Sheerin teaches Medieval and Renaissance literature, specializing in Shakespeare Studies. His passion for anything old and British helps students delve deeply and creatively into works ranging from Beowulf to Paradise Lost. He regularly takes his Shakespeare students to live productions of local plays, and recently he co-led a study abroad trip to Ireland and England for literature majors. Sheerin has published a book and several articles on the intersection of economics and literature in Renaissance England.
Alex Barron, PhD
Associate Professor of Literature
Alexandra Barron teaches classes on literature, film and Gender Studies. She is also the Director of the Freshman Seminar Program and the Faculty Advisor to PRIDE. Barron teaches classes at every level of ÁùºÏ²Ê¿â’s general education sequence although her focus is on teaching first-year students. She also teaches a number of Women’s and Gender Studies classes including LGBT Literature & Film and Gender & Globalization. As the Director of the Freshman Seminar Program, Barron oversees the selection on the Common Text every year, the book all incoming students read before they arrive on campus. Past selections include Just Mercy, Half the Sky, Brain on Fire and Dear America. In the summer of 2019, she participated in the Social Justice Journey to the border with 10 ÁùºÏ²Ê¿â’s students and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Cory Lock, PhD
Professor of Literature
Cory Lock teaches American literature with a focus on the American West and the U.S./Mexico Borderlands. Her articles and book chapters investigate the intersections of regionally specific literature and culture with socioeconomic change and national perspectives on identity, cultural practice, and the environment. Lock’s scholarship of teaching and learning focuses on equity issues and mission identity as relevant to liberal arts institutions’ core curricula.