Career Options (ENG)

What can you do with an English major? Ask Dr. Paul LeBlanc, president of SNHU, who studied and taught English. Famous English majors include Joan Cusack, Matt Damon, Martin Scorcese, Alan Alda and Gwyneth Paltrow; add to them Sally Ride, Vin Diesel, Stephen King, Diane Sawyer, Paul Newman and Joe Paterno. Former SNHU English majors populate all walks of professional life -- teaching, editing, writing, media, law, and business -- because the skills they bring are essential to public life and professional work.

The English major fosters creativity and a command of language. English majors can analyze complex issues, find new and creative ways to solve old problems, research and evaluate evidence, and construct logical arguments from diverse points of view. And they write well.

It's no surprise, then, that law schools attract English majors. Many journalists and editors for online and print media, as well as communications and marketing professionals, studied language and literature.  English majors work in such complex fields as policy analysis and conflict mediation. Our information age demands articulate, precise writers in professions from medicine to information technology. And let's not forget teaching, from kindergarten through college, and the wide range of training positions in industry, business and the private sector. Many banking and finance professionals studied literature and language, then got their business training on the job.  Finally, some great writers had day jobs as doctors (William Carlos Williams), editors (Toni Morrison), journalists (Stephen Crane), sailors (Herman Melville) and businesspeople (Shakespeare).

Majors in English, Creative Writing, Communication, along with majors in History, Political Science, and other liberal arts majors, are likely to go into fields that involve reading, writing, editing, or communication, both oral and written, in some way.

Information on careers in Teaching & Writing -- Teaching K-12 (along with educational administration jobs)

NH Dept. of Education
(Certification and Alternative Certification info)

• http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/beEd.htm
• http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/programsupport/boc.htm
• University of Phoenix

Dept of Ed and Certification in nearby states

• Massachussets
• Vermont
• Connecticut
• Reciprocity for certifications

Listings of Jobs in Education (K-12)

• N.H. School Administrators Association
• Nationwide Listings for new and experienced teachers

Information on careers in Teaching & Writing -- Teaching College

People with Masters and Ph.D.s in English, Literature, and Comparative Literature become professors, but also work in companies and non-profit organizations as writers, grant-writers, editors, and communication and public relations coordinators.

• Masters & PhD programs in English & American Literature
• Modern Language Association (MLA) site for prospective grad students
• Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and Nonfiction (MFA) from Southern New Hampshire University
• Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) programs in Creative Writing

Information on Law School & Legal Careers
People with law degrees practice law in small and large firms, but also work for government offices at the state and federal level; they enter politics; and they work for non-profit organizations, providing legal counsel.

• American Bar Association page on Pre-Law majors/ minors
• Pre-Law Minor at SNHU
• Princeton Review site on law school: application, rankings, LSATs, etc.
• Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) site: loans, applications, LSATs, etc.

Information on Careers in Communication
People with BA’s, MA’s and Ph.D.’s in Communication(s) teach and work in educational administration (admissions, career counseling, student services) at all levels; they become journalists, reporters, editors, public relations’ staffers; they work for political campaigns; they provide web design and content; they become speechwriters (for businesspeople, college presidents, etc.) and much more.

• National Communication Association
• Public Relations Society of America
• PR student website
• Society for Professional Journalists
• Comprehensive list of national master’s degree (MA) programs in Communication 

Communication Programs in the Northeast

Connecticut

• University of Hartford
  Quinnipiac University -- Interactive Communications
  Quinnipiac University -- Journalism

Maine

• University of Maine -- Communication and Journalism

Massachusetts

• Boston University -- Film, Mass, PR, Journalism
• Emerson College -- PR, Sales, E-Commerce
• Fitchburg State College -- Applied, Communication Theory
• Regis College
• Simmons College -- Communications Management

Other Northeast Programs
University of Buffalo – SUNY (NY)
Canisius College (NY)
Columbia University (NY) Strategic Comm.
University of Delaware (DE)  Mass Comm, IPC, Org.
Farleigh Dickinson University (NJ) Corporate, Org.
Fordham University (NY)
Georgetown University (DC)
The George Washington University – Online Master’s in Public Relations (DC)
Hofstra University (NY)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Johns Hopkins University (DC)
Long Island University – Brooklyn (NY)
Marist College (NY) Org. Comm & Leadership Online
Montclair State University (NJ)
New School (NY) Mediated Cultures
University of Rhode Island (RI)
Robert Morris College (PA)
SUNY – College at Brockport (NY) Rhetoric, Media, IPC, Org.
SUNY – College at Potsdam (NY)
SUNY Institute of Technology (PA)
Syracuse University (NY) Media Studies
Temple University (PA)
Towson University (MD)
Westchester University (PA)