English Teaching Major (B.A.) Manchester

Shaping skilled English educators through creativity and real-world experience

Inspire others to share your love of reading and writing with our English Teaching program. Considered one of the region’s best, our program gives you the tools, guidance and real-world experience for a rewarding career in English education.

Our faculty are not only master teachers, but thoughtful advisors and mentors to those who see themselves as educators. They offer a diverse spectrum of expertise—from Shakespeare to African literature, from 21st century journalism to deep knowledge of standards-based literacy education.

Our five-year Accelerated Master’s option allows you to work on requirements for your Master of Arts in Teaching degree while still in the bachelor’s program. You’ll spend the fifth year interning at an area school, preparing you to become state-certified to teach English Language Arts.

Combine your passion for reading and writing with theories of learning and teaching literacy—leading you to a career helping students develop the skills they need for a lifetime of learning.

All English Teaching majors must complete 10 courses (40 credits). Six of 10 courses must be at the 600-level or above. The English Teaching major prepares prospective teachers of middle- and high-school English (grades 5-12). This degree does not provide state certification. Students who wish to be certified must apply for admission to graduate study within the Education Department. Certification requires an additional year of course work and internship at the graduate level. The graduate coursework and internship can typically be completed in the 12 months following completion of the B.A. in English Teaching.

• All prospective English Teaching majors should enroll in EDUC 500 Exploring Teaching as early as possible.
• ENGL 419 How to Read Anything must be completed with a minimum grade of C. All other major courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.
• English Teaching majors must have a 2.5 GPA in the following program requirements:

Program Requirements

Diversity Requirement

Students must take one course that focuses on diversity in race, ethnicity, religion, gender or class, and theories concerning them. This course counts toward the ten courses described above. Consult with your advisor about courses that will fulfill this requirement.

Capstone Requirement

Student must take one capstone course during their senior year from any approved ENGL 700-level course in the major. Consult with your advisor about courses that will fulfill this requirement.

Combine the English Teaching major with UNH's renowned MAT, taken at the Manchester campus, and in five years students could be eligible for state certification in English and Language Arts teaching. Upon acceptance into the five-year master's option, students can apply 12 undergraduate credits to the advanced degree.

For more information about the English Teaching program, contact Susanne Paterson, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, at  Susanne.Paterson@unh.edu or the UNH Manchester Office of Admissions at (603) 641-4150.

Students will have the opportunity to compare philosophies of English teaching and learning, and to develop their own approaches to writing and literacy instruction in unit plans and lesson plans. In class, we will discuss theoretical and pedagogical ideas centered on student writing, engage in reading and writing exercises, produce and practice instructional activities and assessments, evaluate approaches to teaching writing, and review state-level standards and tests. Overall, the aim of the course is recognition of literacy skills (including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing) and consideration of how they can be used for learning goals including comprehension, analysis, description, and evaluation. Students will:

• Design activities, lessons, and units to meet established standards and objectives in writing and language use.
• Adapt materials for a variety of students’ needs, including exceptional learners.
• Identify teaching resources among mentors, professional literature, conferences, organizations (e.g., National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE]), technology, and websites.
• Reflect and write on the theoretical bases for instructional decisions, evaluating professional literature and using appropriate academic conventions.
• Deliver engaging, on-point writing and language instruction appropriate to audience and content; practice a variety of presentation and discussion strategies.