English Degrees
In a complicated job market, versatility is your most valuable asset. And no degree is more versatile than a degree in English.
Your ability to write well, process complex material, and express your ideas will serve you in any profession. And, research shows that enjoying literature is linked to stronger empathy—our ability to understand and feel for others.
It’s no surprise then that NWU English alumni have left their mark in so many fields. Our alumni are writers and journalists and teachers. They’re also marketers, lawyers and physicians, as well as entrepreneurs and social servants.
Get amazing results.
Become an excellent writer. Our English majors regularly enter select master of fine arts (MFA) programs in creative writing. And they write well in a variety of professions ranging from law, journalism and business to public relations and marketing. Alumni include Kent Haruf, a National Book Award finalist; Ted Genoways, a James Beard Award finalist; Justin Runge, a Best New American Poets winner; and Chris Dunker, an award-winning education reporter for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Improve your judgment. As NWU English majors analyze texts and produce well-documented research, they become excellent judges of content. Does the evidence support the conclusions? What are the strengths and weaknesses of a given argument? Choose NWU English, and you’ll quickly learn to tell the difference between fluff and substance.
Set yourself apart in your field. NWU English produces countless alumni who use their English study to stand out in other fields. Science/English double majors write more competitive research grants. Dozens of NWU physicians have credited their liberal arts study of literature for making them stronger doctors with a better understanding of their patients’ needs.
Take advantage of NWU’s variety. Few universities of Nebraska Wesleyan’s size feature two full-time creative writing professors. NWU offers courses in poetry, fiction, reporting, play writing, screen writing—even grant writing. And literature courses range from Shakespeare to contemporary American fiction. Faculty lead exciting study trips to culturally rich locations such as Rwanda.
English faculty
NWU English features professors with a wide variety of interests and strengths. They include a poet whose latest book explores the 1969 Stonewall Riots; an expert in the literature, film and culture of Africa; and a pair of literature professors who double as blues and rock guitarists.
