English
Academic Department
The English Department gives students a chance to explore how language, culture, and stories mold the world. Our programs teach students critical thinking, how to ask questions, and develop skills for a wide range of careers.
Shape Your Passion for English
Classes Taught by Experts
Our faculty are active researchers who are dedicated to teaching students fresh approaches to the study of literature and education. Students are also taught how to build professional and technological skills they need to succeed.
Students explore literature and language through discussion and collaboration.
Our Students Are Our Priority
Students in the English Department can always rely on faculty mentors for guidance. With smaller class sizes, students get plenty of direct attention from their professors. This allows professors to get to know their students throughout their time in the program.
Two students in class
Department News and Announcements
Check Out Scholarship Opportunities
The English Department awards several scholarships. To find out more about scholarships, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.
Forrest “Frost” Frease was a faculty member in the Department of English at UNC from 1949 to 1980. After he retired, Frosty and his wife Cynthia set up these scholarships to help a strong English student in their last year of college. Students are chosen based on how well they do in their English classes and how much potential they show.
To apply for the scholarships, students must fill out the UNC Universal Scholarship Application by March 1 each year.
Students are not required to show financial need or complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They also don’t need to write a long essay – a short response to the essay question is enough. The scholarship amount may vary, but it is at least $500.
Forrest “Frosty” Frease taught in the UNC Department of English from 1949 to 1980. After he retired, Frost and his wife Cynthia started the Frease/Colwell Honors Program Award to honor a top senior English major.
Students are selected based on their academic potential and the skills they show in their English classes. Preference is given to those who are also a part of the honors program.
To apply for the scholarships, student must fill out the UNC Universal Scholarship Application by March 1 each year.
Students are not required to show financial need or complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They also don’t need to write a long essay to be considered, a brief response to the essay question is enough.
Celebrating Our Department
HSS Honors Convocation 2025
Alumni Highlights
Class of 2023
The EED program at UNC was hands down the best experience I have had with college courses. The adaptability and knowledge of the professors, combined with the ability to comfortably and sadly make mistakes and try crazy/weird ideas allowed me to become the educator I am today.
Ajay Nelson
English Secondary Education w/ emphasis on Special Education
7th Grade Literature and Composition Teacher at Frontier Charter Academy
Class of 2023
This program introduced me to voices from diverse backgrounds and cultures, helping me approach others on and beyond the page with greater empathy and understanding. The unwavering support of the faculty also gave me both the confidence and the opportunities to pursue and share research that is relevant and meaningful.
Angie Brown
Top of Funnel Content Curator at the Augustine Institute Campus Ministers at UMSL
Careers in English
English majors understand people, cultures, and history in a deep way. This helps them think clearly, solve problems, and learn from the past to help build a better future. Most importantly, English majors get a broad education, not just training for one specific job.
Media and Communication
Many UNC graduates get jobs in media and communication. They work as writers, news reporters, and public relation workers.
Education
Many alumni with education jobs become teachers, but some use their degree in other ways, like helping design lessons and working in schools in different roles.
Leadership and Management
UNC graduates are ready to be leaders and managers in non-profit groups, schools, and both private and public companies.
Learn Beyond the Classroom
Once the program director approves the internship application, the student gets in touch with the company to set up an interview. After students get an internship, they work with the English program and the company to make a plan for what they will learn. Later, the company sets up formal terms of the internship to be approved by the internship program director.
Student majoring in English or minoring in writing. Applicants must:
- Have a minimum grade-point averages of at least 2.6 in their majors
- Have completed a minimum of 12 hours of English classes (excluding English 122 and English 123) at UNC
- Have an academic status of junior or senior
To apply for an internship, contact the Writing, Editing, and Publishing Concentration Director to learn more.
When Should Students Apply?
Summer internships are ideal because they don’t get in the way of regular classes. After the internship, a student should still have at least one semester of classes before they graduate.
Students make a list of what they want to learn, and the internship supervisor must agree to it before the internship begins. During the internship, the student turns in weekly notes, a midterm report, and a final report to their faculty internship supervisor. At the end of the internship, the supervisor turns in an evaluation that helps decide the student’s final grade. Students who get hired as interns sign up for the internship as an elective class. The internship program faculty supervisor decides how many credits a student will get, depending on the kind and level of the internship.