English Major: Text, Business Writing and Digital Studies Option (B.A.)

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

If you're interested in majoring in English: Text, Business Writing and Digital Studies please contact Carla Cannizzaro, Senior Academic Advisor, Department of English, 230F Hamilton Smith Hall, (603) 862-1313.

Degree Requirements

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

• Eleven courses (44 credits) are required for the major.
• Courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C- or better.
• Majors may only count one online course towards their major requirements.
• ENGL 403, ENGL 415 and ENGL 444 courses may not be used to satisfy major requirements.
• English majors may use one major-required course to satisfy one Discovery category requirement.
• Students must meet the following distribution requirements below. Note that any one course may satisfy more than one requirement.

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Must be completed with a minimum grade of “C" to count towards the major.

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Students may include any advanced-level ENGL courses in which 20% of student assessment/work includes a digital humanities, digital research, or digital production component (even it taken to fulfill literature requirements). ENGL 602 may NOT be double counted for this requirement. Look for the 'DH' designation in the course descriptions during registration. 

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The Internship Experience: Experiential learning course that allows students to apply all of the writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills into an on-the-job experience, enabling them first-hand practice with writing documents at work, peer collaboration, public speaking opportunities/presentations, and supervision and evaluation.  Students must have JR or SR status to enroll in this course. 

Digital Portfolio:  A minimum of six polished projects represented in a digital portfolio started in ENGL 602 and expanded over your career at UNH.  A reflective essay will accompany this portfolio. This is a non-credit degree requirement. The Digital Portfolio is completed during enrollment in ENGL 796 'The Internship Experience'.

Please see your advisor if you have questions about other courses that might fulfill these requirements.

Sample Degree Plan

This sample degree plan serves as a general guide; students collaborate with their academic advisor to develop a personalized degree plan to meet their academic goals and program requirements.

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Students who successfully apply AP or Transfer Credits towards the ENGL 401 First-Year Writing requirement may enroll in ENGL 419 How to Read Anything during their first semester.  

Program Learning Outcomes

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.