The study of English teaches students critical modes of thinking that are beneficial in almost any academic or professional endeavor. By focusing on major theoretical schools of the twentieth century--such as structuralism, post-structuralism, feminism, Marxism, deconstruction, queer theory, psychoanalysis, and post-colonialism—students studying English learn how to integrate an array of demanding analytic paradigms.
A corollary set of intellectual skills developed as a Dartmouth English major is the knowing deployment of a sophisticated critical vocabulary. In recent years, approximately 100 members of each Dartmouth class have graduated as English majors. Some continue their study in graduate school; others prepare to teach English in secondary schools; others become journalists, writers, and editors; and many go on to law school and medical school.