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English, Bachelor of Arts
Get your English degree in New York City with St. John’s University!
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Get your English degree in New York City with St. John’s University!
The Department of English at St. John's University features a distinguished faculty and diverse array of courses.
The department hosts thriving undergraduate and graduate programs, including the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), combined Bachelor of Arts / Master of Arts (B.A./M.A.), Master of Arts (M.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).
Please follow our department blog for the most current descriptions of our courses and upcoming events, as well as faculty bios, office hours, departmental publications, departmental forms, and advertisements for jobs and internships.
The department sponsors an active intellectual life, including several readings and lectures each year. Undergraduate-led activities include the literary journal of student poetry and fiction, Sequoya, as well as the English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta. Undergraduates may also participate in graduate-student-led endeavors such as the annual graduate conference and the St. John's Humanities Review, founded in 2003, which features book reviews, essays, and interviews by distinguished contributors from around the world. The University features an award-winning Writing Center that employs many English majors as Writing Consultants, helping other students with every stage of the writing process and engaging in scholarship about writing center studies.
Department Chair
Melissa Mowry, Ph.D., professor of English, received the 2013–14 James L. Clifford Prize for her article, “Past Remembrance of History: Aphra Behn’s The Widdow Ranter, or How the Collective Lost Its Honor.”
Melissa Mowry, Ph.D. St. John's College of Liberal Arts and SciencesIn recognition of her contributions to academic research on 18th-century English literature and culture, a St. John’s professor of English was honored by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) this spring. Melissa Mowry, Ph.D., professor of English, received the 2013–14 James L. Clifford Prize for her article, “Past Remembrance of History: Aphra Behn’s The Widdow Ranter, or How the Collective Lost Its Honor.”
For more information about admission to this and other undergraduate programs at St. John’s University, please visit Undergraduate Admission.
The B.A. in English consists of 36 credits (12 courses). To declare an English major, make an appointment with your Dean in St. John Hall, Room 145.
Core Courses (9 credits)
Courses Prior to 1900 (9 credits)
Additional Electives (15 credits)
You may choose electives from any English course at or above the 2000 level. You may count ENG 2100: Literature and Culture only once toward the major. English courses offered by the College of Professional Studies (CPS) do not count toward a St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences English major.
Senior Seminar (3 credits)
Students who major in English develop strong reading comprehension and writing skills, as well as powerful analytical thinking, which is why most law students prepare for their future careers as English majors. Because almost every field of employment needs people who can read and write with skill, an English major or minor is an asset. If you are interested in eventually pursuing graduate education, know that St. John's Department of English has placed its alumni in top graduate English programs, including Brown University, Columbia University, SUNY Buffalo, and the CUNY Graduate Center.
Explore opportunities at St. John's with our pathway generator.
Prepare for the high demand for audiologists with a Doctor of Audiology degree from St. John's!
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at St. John’s distinguishes itself through its integration of rigorous research and writing with pedagogical theory and practice.
The Master of Arts (M.A.) in English at St. John’s offers broad and intensive engagement with literary, cultural, and writing studies.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in English and Business Administration offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete both undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in French and Business Administration offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete both undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
Bonjour! French is the second most frequently taught foreign language in the world (after English). It is the only language other than English spoken on five continents. Learning French opens up many opportunities for students in fields like international business, education, translation, and the arts.
Completion of a minor in French requires 15 credits of the following courses chosen in consultation with a departmental advisor.
Bienvenue! Studying French at St John's University provides students with the opportunity to acquire a command of the French language!
For highly-motivated students, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers a combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.) program in French and Library and Information Science.
Hallo! Willkommen! A minor in German, the most spoken language in the European Union, opens doors for students in the fields of science, technology, business, journalism, and the arts. Completion of the minor requires 18 credits of the following course offerings, chosen in consultation with the department chair.
Ciao! Career opportunities abound for professionals with Italian language skills in the fields of international banking, fashion, travel and tourism, politics, journalism, law, commerce, translation, and the arts. The 15-credit minor in Italian allows students to supplement their major field of study with an understanding of the rich language and culture of Italy.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Italian and Business Administration offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete both undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
For highly-motivated students, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers a combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.) program in Italian and Library and Information Science. The program allows you to complete your undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study, with internships available at the graduate level.
wɛlkəm The Linguistics minor trains students in the principles of grammatical analysis. It serves as an excellent complement to majors in English, Government and Politics, Philosophy, Theology, and modern languages. Students in the minor must complete 18 credits of the following courses, chosen in consultation with an advisor.
Γειά σας The Greek language has been hugely influential in the development of western culture and civilization. Today, Greek is one of the main languages of the European Union. The study of Modern Greek language and culture provides students with the key to understanding the importance of the Hellenic tradition in European intellectual development.
Привет – Privet! Russian is the sixth most spoken language in the world and is an important language for such diverse fields as business, journalism, science, technology, mathematics, literature, music, ballet, cinema, and theater. Russian is considered a strategic language by the United States government, which provides scholarships for studying the language and employment for those fluent in the language.
More than half of New York speaks Spanish and the United States's second-largest Spanish-speaking population after Mexico. A wide variety of career fields – including business, education, medicine, and journalism – seek candidates with Spanish language skills. For this reason, a major or minor in Spanish opens up many opportunities for you once you graduate.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) program in Spanish offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
The Master of Arts (M.A.) program in Spanish at St. John’s University will allow you to immerse yourself in the literature, language, and culture of the Hispanic world, preparing you for further scholarship, teaching at all levels, and many related careers.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Spanish and Business Administration offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete both undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
For highly-motivated students, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers a combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.) program in Spanish and Library and Information Science.
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders offers a 21-credit minor sequence in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
You can prepare for further education in these exciting fields through the Bachelor of Arts degree program in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, which can be completed on both the St. John's Queens and Staten Island campuses. Through this 120-credit degree program, you will gain an understanding of the process of human development and communication and how these processes can become impaired.
The Master of Arts program in Speech-Language Pathology is designed to provide the academic and clinical education that graduates need to meet the profession’s existing and emerging demands.
The Office of Student Financial Services is committed to providing students and their families with the information they need to navigate and understand the financial aid and payment process.
St. John’s offers a free online application for all 100+ undergraduate programs, and graduate applications carry a low cost for most programs.