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English - B.A.

COLLEGE: College of Arts and Sciences
DEPARTMENT: Department of English
113 Satterfield Hall
Tel: 330-672-2676
E-mail: english@kent.edu
Web: www.kent.edu/english 

Resources:

 
DESCRIPTION: The Bachelor of Arts in English allows students to focus on topics of personal interest while developing a broad background in English studies. All students take core classes, surveying English and American literatures and approaches to literary study. They also choose from a wide variety of elective courses in three areas (historical; writing and language studies; and genre, cultural studies and literary theory) and complete a capstone senior seminar. English majors can participate in the English Club and Sigma Tau Delta and earn various scholarships and awards.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES:
 At the undergraduate level, our programs prepare students for careers in professional writing, editing, publishing, public relations, and teaching, as well as for graduate and professional studies in language, literature, education, law, and communications.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Authors, writers and editors held about 281,300 jobs in 2008. Writers and authors held about 151,700 jobs and editors held about 129,600 jobs. About 70 percent of writers and authors were self-employed, while 12 percent of editors were self-employed.

Among the 30 percent of salaried writers and authors, about half work in the professional, scientific, and technical services and in publishing (except Internet) industries. These industries include advertising, public relations and related services and newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers, respectively. Other salaried writers and authors work in broadcasting, professional and social organizations, and the motion picture and video industries.

While 51 percent of salaried editors worked in the publishing, except Internet industry (half of those for newspapers), a large number of editors were also employed in other industries. Business, professional and social organizations, information services, and educational institutions employed editors to work on their publications or Web content.

Jobs are somewhat concentrated in major media and entertainment markets—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC—but improved communications and Internet capabilities allow writers to work from almost anywhere. Many prefer to work outside these cities and travel regularly to meet with publishers and clients and to do research or conduct interviews in person. As a result, job location is less of a requirement for many writing or editing positions than it once was.
ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS:
 General Admissions for Freshman Students: Students most likely to be admitted and succeed at the Kent Campus are those who have graduated with at least 16 units of the recommended college preparatory curriculum in high school, who have achieved a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), and whose composite ACT score is 21 or better (980 combined critical reading and math SAT score). For more information on admissions, visit the Admissions website for new freshmen.

General Admissions for Transfer Students: Generally, a transfer applicant who has taken 12 or more semester hours with a college cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale may be admitted. An applicant who has taken fewer than 12 semester hours will be evaluated on both collegiate and high school records. For more information on admissions, visit the Admissions website for transfer students.
CULMINATING REQUIREMENTS:
 Capstone Senior Seminar
GRADUATION
REQUIREMENTS:
 Minimum 121 total credit hours  and  42 upper-division hours for graduation. Minimum 2.00 GPA overall and 2.00 GPA in major required for graduation.
LANGUAGE
REQUIREMENT:		 Yes
STUDY ABROAD/AWAY OPPORTUNITIES: Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate with required study abroad in Dresden, Germany

There are many Study Abroad/Away Opportunities, for more information contact the Office of Global Education.
PROGRAM FEE:
 None
STUDENT
ORGANIZATIONS:
 The English Club; Sigma Tau Delta
GRADUATE
PROGRAMS  		English: Comparative Literature; Concentration for Teachers; Literature and Writing (M.A.), Teaching English as a Second Language (M.A.)