The English Department at CSU Channel Islands offers small, interactive courses in which students can engage with theory, interpret literary texts that speak to their experiences, and produce creative and critical writing that imagines new and different worlds. We invite students to explore diverse artistic and expressive works in genres old and new. We read within and against the tradition. We situate interdisciplinary, global Englishes as the living traditions of a vibrant and evolving field of study. We write both to understand our current realities and to explore possible futures. We examine language and literacy practices through structural analysis and a sociocultural lens.
Our regionally, nationally, and internationally-engaged faculty support students outside of the class through a speaker series, community-engaged projects, field trips to write at the Santa Rosa Island Research Station, and literary and professional internships to explore writing careers.
(See English Program website for further information).
Options
We offer three options and a certificate in professional writing; these are ways that students can organize their elective choices to pursue further study in preparation for graduate school, careers, or personal growth. The options and certificate, which are optional, require 1-2 courses beyond the required 4 electives to complete.
Careers
A background in English provides graduates with a solid foundation for a variety of careers, including law, business, education, publishing and government, as well as graduate work in film studies and media, creative writing, language, literary and cultural studies, and critical writing. We develop future English teachers in pre-professional courses within the discipline and cultivate digital citizenship while building skills in professional communication.
Program Learning Outcomes
By the time they graduate from the program, English majors will be able to:
- Express original and creative ideas in writing and speech;
- Practice effective editing, including appropriate use of English grammar and usage conventions;
- Analyze a diversity of texts, ideas, and problems from multiple perspectives (multicultural, interdisciplinary, international, experiential, theoretical and/or educational);
- Find, evaluate, and synthesize scholarship, research, and information from a variety of sources and disciplines;
- Articulate an accurate perception of their performance in the program.
Summary of Units:
In addition to the courses below, students seeking the Bachelor of Arts in English must have fulfilled the lower-division writing requirement (at CI, ENGL 105).
