Welcome to the Department of English

In today’s media-saturated world, the ability to think critically and express oneself with clarity and precision are crucial to leading an engaged and productive life. A core liberal-arts discipline, English provides rigorous instruction in language skills, enhancing students’ ability to speak and write with the clarity, persuasiveness, and intellectual sophistication that distinguish university-educated people.

Courses in literature and language also help students refine their aesthetic sensitivity, logical rigor, and capacity for seeing the world as complex and multifaceted. The English department enhances the informational and technological literacy of High Point students, equipping them for success in a wide range of professions.

English Will Take You Places

Twenty-first century professions demand a more sophisticated understanding of texts and the contexts that produce them. Work in English prepares students to become creative thinkers and communicators who can thrive in this global information economy. Students may choose an emphasis in either literature or writing, but all classes emphasize the research and evaluation of information, ethical practice and the human connection achieved through reading and writing.

Why Major in English?

• English is among those majors whose students learn the most through their college education, making the English degree an especially good investment. (Arum & Roksa, Academically Adrift)

• Employers most want and need the four “soft skills” that make English majors so versatile: critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration and oral and written communication skills. (2012 Woods Bagot/Global Strategy Group Study)

• Study in English provides an excellent foundation for graduate and professional degree programs, especially the study and practice of law. (American Bar Association)

• As English majors, students obtain the meta-skills necessary to learn how to learn and how to adapt to a world characterized by constant change.

The English Minor

The English department invites majors of any program to minor in English literature or writing. The minor gives all High Point University students the opportunity to hone their critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration and oral and written communication skills.

High Point’s English Department has some of the university’s most academically distinguished and professionally active faculty—writers and scholars whose publications and research programs are directly related to their teaching and who are dedicated to mentoring students. All English majors work one-on-one with a faculty member to create a senior portfolio, a selective body of work individually designed to help the student achieve his or her creative, academic and professional goals.

HPU reflects the national trend: graduates in English are suited for a variety of professional contexts, and their critical and communication skills enable them to advance. Here are just a few examples of what our graduates are doing:

• Project Manager, Fortuna Enterprises
• Producer, Fox News
• Professors of English, Metropolitan University, Francis Marion University, and Gardner-Webb University
• Account Executive, DDB New York
• Editor, Lucky Dog Publishing
• Ph.D. candidate, University of Kansas
• Communications and Marketing Manager, Patience Service Inc.
• Corporate Manager of NW Operations, Landura Management
• Editor, AccuWeather
• Coordinator of the Living Learning Center, Appalachian State University

Featured Graduate & Student Profiles:

Sarah Patterson, ’15 – Pursuing Masters in Publishing at Rosemont College

“My experience at HPU has shown me my dreams for the future and opened my eyes to the talent that is behind every person you pass on the street whether that be poetry, photography or digital design.“

Shannon Curley, ’14 – Brand Writing & Editorial Intern / Junior Brand Writer at Hasbro Inc.

“The English department at High Point University is absolutely phenomenal and I would never have even thought I could get this internship without the support of all of my amazing professors. Attending HPU has made me a more confident person, as it is simply the most encouraging and supportive environment a student could ask for. Attending this school makes me want to succeed – equipped with the education and experiences I have received here, there is no excuse for me not to.”

Lauryn Polo, ’14 – Pursuing Masters in Writing at Lenior Rhyne

“My junior year I was a part of a book project in my Community Writing class. We interviewed women at Learning Together (a program in High Point that helps women from other countries learn English while giving homework help to their children) and we learned their literacy narratives. The final project was a book that will now be a part of the course reading for the class, but the most rewarding part was getting to know those women and what they went through. It gave us all a new perspective on literacy, and for me it changed my academic life.”

The Department of English offers the B.A. degree in English Literature and the B.A. degree in English Writing. To graduate from High Point University with these degrees, students must complete the following:

B.A. in English Literature

B.A. in English Writing

Requirements for the B.A. in English Literature (37 credits):

Requirements for the B.A. in English Writing (37 credits):