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  Senior English major Halle Mason poses for a portrait while holding a stack of books in the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center in St. Paul on November 21, 2017. Mason is obsessive about Jane Austen and publishes a popular blog about dating.

Bachelor of Arts in English – Literature and Writing

Turn Your Passion into a Career


In the Literature and Writing program, you will be part of a community of thinkers and writers that is dedicated to addressing key literary, social, and cultural issues through a literary lens. Together, we express our passion for reading and writing while engaging in dynamic conversations about the past, the present, and the future of the world.

While cultivating your talents as a writer and thinker, you will develop valuable professional skills. According a recent Pew Trust survey, the most prized skills in the future workplace will be creativity, collaboration, curiosity, emotional intelligence, and advanced communication—the kinds of skills you will cultivate as an Literature and Writing major at St. Thomas.

Our graduates have excellent placement rates in the fields of communication, editing, publishing, marketing, and business. Their success reflects broader trends in the labor market. In fact, graduates with bachelor's degrees in English earn salaries comparable to a number of other majors, including business management and public policy (US Census, 2018 American Community Survey).

A Cutting-Edge Curriculum

  • Course Requirements
  • Four-Year Plan
  • Degrees Awarded
  • Outside the Classroom
  • Course Requirements

    Our program begins with an introduction to English studies and culminates in a capstone seminar that explores an engaging theme in our discipline. Recent topics have included Gothic Literature and the Literature of Social Transformation. The capstone course also includes speakers and activities designed to prepare you for a fulfilling career. Other courses in the major include British and American literature; professional editing; writing for video games; Victorian detective fiction; Native American literature; literature from a Christian perspective; and author-focused classes on James Baldwin, Mary Shelley, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Four-Year Plan

    Your four-year plan will vary because we want you to pursue your passions. We recommend connecting with a faculty member so you can start planning early on in your undergraduate career.

    Degrees Awarded

    • Bachelor of Arts in English
    • Combined Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English
    • Minor in English

    Outside the Classroom

    English students can apply for membership in Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, and its affiliated campus Literary Club. Students in the Literary Club go on theater outings and offer readings and other fun activities during the academic year.

    Course Requirements

    Course Requirements

    Our program begins with an introduction to English studies and culminates in a capstone seminar that explores an engaging theme in our discipline. Recent topics have included Gothic Literature and the Literature of Social Transformation. The capstone course also includes speakers and activities designed to prepare you for a fulfilling career. Other courses in the major include British and American literature; professional editing; writing for video games; Victorian detective fiction; Native American literature; literature from a Christian perspective; and author-focused classes on James Baldwin, Mary Shelley, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Four-Year Plan

    Four-Year Plan

    Your four-year plan will vary because we want you to pursue your passions. We recommend connecting with a faculty member so you can start planning early on in your undergraduate career.

    Degrees Awarded

    Degrees Awarded

    • Bachelor of Arts in English
    • Combined Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English
    • Minor in English

    Outside the Classroom

    Outside the Classroom

    English students can apply for membership in Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, and its affiliated campus Literary Club. Students in the Literary Club go on theater outings and offer readings and other fun activities during the academic year.

    English Minor

    Express your creativity and take your love of reading and self-expression to the next level! The English minor is flexible, allowing you to choose any four courses (16 credits) above the core English requirement. You may choose literature courses, professional writing courses, or creative writing courses in whatever combination you choose. Or you might decide to focus on a specific area such as writing or women’s literature. Many English courses satisfy Integrations in the Humanities (IH), Global Perspectives (GP), Fine Arts (FA), Signature Work (SW), or Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DISJ) core requirements. An English minor enriches and strengthens any major with advanced communication and project management skills that are highly valued by today’s employers.
    Person sits at a table with a laptop writing in a notebook.

    Career Paths

    We give you the tools and knowledge you need to work in a variety of different industries after graduation.

    • Law
    • Editing
    • Writing
    • Teaching
    • Marketing
    • Non-profit administration
    English student video

    Find Joy – and a Career

    A Literature and Writing major conveys to employers that you have advanced communication skills. It also signals that you are a creative thinker who knows how to solve problems with empathy and intercultural awareness.

    During your time at St. Thomas, you will have opportunities to gain practical experience through internships, collaborative research, and editing our literary arts magazine, Summit Avenue Review. The Twin Cities is a major publishing hub, so you will have many opportunities to get involved in the local literary scene.

    A St. Thomas student works with English faculty.

    Combined BA + MA

    Our department offers an accelerated program for English majors, the only program of its kind in the region. Talented undergraduates can complete both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in just five years instead of the traditional six.

    Take the Next Step

    best-value-logo-2022-transparent.pngThere is more to learn about St. Thomas; including our ranking as a Best Value School by U.S. News & World Report, the many classroom and extracurricular activities that will be part of your student experience and so much more. Schedule a visit to see our beautiful campus or start your application today.