Why study English at Montclair State University?

The English Department is a vibrant community of teachers and students devoted to the study of literature, language, and culture. English majors pursue an engaging course of study that is intellectually rigorous yet flexible and dynamic. In addition to its undergraduate major and minor, the department offers a master’s degree, a variety of teacher education programs, and programs in Film Studies, Creative Writing, and American Identities and Cultures.

In the English Department, students learn to read and write critically, and to think and conduct research independently. Their intellectual horizons are broadened through an introduction to works from a range of historical periods and countries around the world. The major helps them become fluent in critical methods—historicism, race and gender studies, formal and textual analysis—that they can apply not just to literature, but also to the representations at the heart of their rapidly changing world. Students develop higher-level writing and thinking skills that support careers in teaching, publishing, law, journalism, communications, the mental health professions and business.

We invite you to learn more about the English department, our faculty, and some of our alumni in these pages. 

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Our Programs

The Department of English offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs, including three brand-new programs: an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing, an English major with a concentration in Film, and the new five-year BA-MA degree. We also offer our traditional major and minor in English, as well as minors in our Creative Writing, Film Studies, and American Identities and Cultures programs.

Our MA in English offers small seminar classes with world-renowned experts in English literature as well as a wide variety of programs for teachers. Our teacher education programs include two degrees at the BA level (grades K-6 or preschool to grade 12), and two new BA/MA options that allow students to get their certification plus a Masters Degree.  For details on course requirements, consult our curriculum guides and the university catalog.

Programs of Study

Careers

The skills that you develop in studying English—reading, writing, thinking, research—matter in the workforce, in democracy, and in your personal life. English majors learn to interpret difficult texts, conduct independent research, evaluate conflicting arguments, understand cinematic vocabularies of image and sound, and communicate effectively by mastering the English language. They acquire and develop skills that not only help to land them a job, but also strengthen their chances for promotion after they’ve landed it, when employers and supervisors recognize their talents for research, analysis, communication and persuasion.

Our graduates become teachers at every level, kindergarten through college, at home or in remote areas of the world. They are editors, lawyers, journalists, entrepreneurs, policy analysts, public relations personnel and public servants. They work in publishing, technology, media, entertainment, business, the arts, communications, education, government and non-profits. They are informed citizens, independent researchers, careful readers, artful writers.

Careers in English

Image of a faculty member presenting about Digital Humanities.

Our Faculty

Our faculty are dedicated teachers and productive scholars with national and international reputations in their fields. We are actively engaged in research and creative work, and publish books, articles, essays, reviews, poems, stories, novels, translations, and much else. Almost all of our classes are taught by full-time, tenure-track professors, and we take an active interest in our students’ academic careers.

Meet Our Faculty

Contact Us

Contact English
Location:
Dickson Hall, Room 170
Phone:
973-655-7031