English language studies takes into consideration the historical and practical uses of the English language. Through their study, students interested in careers in English language can employ their skills in the fields of literature and composition as well as becoming fluent in English as a second language.
Most first year study involves an overview of the subject. This will offer students a great introduction to the English language either as a second language or for further study in one of the many major sub-disciplines of the field such as literature and composition. Studying English as a foreign language will involve a lot of oral and aural practice and reading for non-native speakers, alongside practical work and in-course assessment.
Depending on the sub-discipline, students will likely move towards doing more independent work as their course progresses. This may consist of translation projects, longer oral presentations, composition or literary analysis. Most English language courses combine exams, oral presentations, and written practical work.
Most undergraduate English language courses run for three or four years and in some cases universities will facilitate work experience.
It is common that humanities-based courses will require students to complete long-term research projects including a final dissertation or Capstone project, ensuring the completion of a rigorous curriculum and to prepare students for post-graduate studies and/or a career in their field.
A bachelor's degree is adequate for some non-research and teaching careers in English language. For example, graduates with a bachelor's degree may start as journalists or content writers, or may work in jobs that value good written and verbal communication skills such as social media management, marketing, and administration. In addition to these positions, many students with a BA in English go on to teach English literature, composition, or as a second language abroad.
Graduating from college with a degree in English will serve you well in the job market as it provides you with a wide variety of marketable skills such as great written and verbal communication skills, the ability to write and edit original content, as well as an in depth knowledge of multiple forms of media. This opens up almost limitless career paths to explore in teaching, literary research, publishing, and marketing.
Many recent graduates will enter into 'entry-level' positions, working as editorial assistants, content writers, or as sales representatives. Some will work as research assistants, library technicians, or go on to teach.
Other careers in English language that require a higher degree of responsibility will typically require further education, training and/or experience to qualify for, eg. teaching, research, and management positions.
Most English students go on to work as content writers and editors for websites and print publications. Their work involves the ability to write clearly and quickly to provide information and entertainment to consumers. This work can be adapted for use in social media, journalism, marketing, fiction and non-fiction writing, editing, and publishing.
An undergraduate degree in English is often the first step to go onto further postgraduate study often involving specialization in particular fields and areas of English language and literature and/or undertaking work in new, sometimes interdisciplinary fields, such as creative writing, marketing, or more focused literary research.
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