English Outcomes

What can you do with an English major?
A degree in English is one of the most flexible degrees you can earn. It prepares you to be a careful interpreter, a strong communicator, an effective researcher, and an attentive listener. Such skills are invaluable in a rapidly changing job market that places a premium on adaptability. Graduates of the Gordon English Program have become lawyers, teachers, ministers, scholars, editors, administrators, comedians, IT professionals, and more. Many are published writers, and others have gone on to study at institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Duke, University of London, Notre Dame, Boston College, Brandeis, and SMU.

Abby Scott ‘18
Ph.D. Candidate in English, University of Notre Dame

My time at Gordon taught me so much about integrating my faith and my scholarship. I was encouraged to think about what it means for my studies to be not only a means to a degree but also something with which I could glorify God. The English Department at Gordon taught me to view my courses not as chores but as a way to engage with the grand narrative of Creation, whether it be through asking deep and challenging questions about the way in which the nature of God is made clear through a particular work of literature or simply by writing an exciting essay about a topic of interest. I am confident, too, that my English education at Gordon is what allowed me to transition so seamlessly from undergraduate to graduate work.

Maggie Swofford ‘16
Marketing Associate and Assistant Editor, Hendrickson Publishers

Majoring in English was hugely important to my current work for myriad reasons, but the most important one is that I got the tools and training to be a better writer. I use everything that I've learned and all the feedback I got from professors in the promotional emails, book jacket copy, blog posts, social media posts, and more that I work on in my current job. In particular, the encouragement I received to use my words thoughtfully to express an idea as concisely as possible has been revolutionary in successfully completing those tasks, as well as producing more compelling poetry (a personal pursuit of mine). Many people understand the idea of how important words are to effective communication, but it's hard to put that into practice without proper guidance. I feel very lucky to have had kind but firm teachers to develop that skillset.

Edison Thayer ‘17
Real Estate Agent and Pre-Med Student, Harvard University

My time as an English major instilled a deep sense of the importance of logical thinking, cogent argumentation, and articulate communication. While in school, it is easy to forget that many of the skills learned are protean and change with you as the world around you changes. As a real estate agent, track and field coach, and pre-med student, I fully believe that my work in each would be inferior without the skills learned during my undergraduate studies at Gordon.