Bachelor of English: Text, Business Writing and Digital Studies at University of New Hampshire

The modern workplace requires that employees be adaptable. The Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted a long-term study that showed people held 11.7 jobs between the ages of 18 and 48, and those numbers are increasing with people moving between jobs more frequently every year. It is crucial that we prepare our students not just for one industry, but rather arm them with the transferable skills of critical reading, writing, analysis, production, theory and aesthetics of new forms in digital media and business. Students will leave this major option with the skills that are in the highest demand in all fields today. 

This major option addresses the growing demand for graduates who are well-versed in a combination of humanistic and digital skills and able to work in a variety of professional environments. In particular, graduates of this option will be prepared for careers at cultural and historical institutions, as well as in emerging job markets of information management and online content delivery. This specialization complements areas requirements for the English major but it is not limited to English majors. Double majors are encouraged. Small classes, a great sense of community and a diversity of faculty specializations create an atmosphere that propels students toward success. Students will receive real-life work experience through our internship class, and they will also leave this major with a digital portfolio that contains a collection of professional projects that can be used on the job market. 

In this English major option, students are trained in the critical reading, analysis, production, theory and aesthetics of new forms in media and business. These forms include but are not limited to social media, business writing conventions, modes of digital storytelling (i.e. audio and video essays, podcasts and wikis), digital archives, web design, and online communities and interaction. Students are also trained in analysis through traditional humanistic literature and they are expected to fulfill the core learning objectives shared by all English major tracks. These include:

• the ability to communicate and debate effectively with others, both orally and in writing,
• the ability to closely examine a variety of texts (including modern digital artifacts and archival materials)
• developing the ability to use a variety of media and communication platforms;
• experience and practice in dynamic critical thinking and creativity

Undergraduate students in the English Department at the University of New Hampshire have many options as they advance to degree. They can choose to complete a general English major or opt to follow one of several specialized tracks: English Literature, Journalism, English Teaching, and Linguistics. I. All undergraduate English majors acquire the same core skills. These include:

• Proficiency in analytical writing, critical thinking, and public-speaking.
• Knowledge of important literary genres and subgenres
• Fluency in literary terminology,
• A broad understanding of British-and-American literature, from the medieval period in England and the moment of first contact in America to the present day.
• Demonstrated proficiency in writing an analytical essay that offers a sophisticated close-reading or explication of a literary text. This essay will have a clear thesis and proceed in a logical fashion, with interpretive claims supported by evidence from the text.
• Demonstrated proficiency in literary research and in writing an extended thesis-driven research paper in which sources are correctly and responsibly cited.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to read across the color line in the US and /or how to analyze literary works written in English from outside the UK and the US--from India, Africa, and the Caribbean, for example.