The English Program

Every element of the English program at Concordia College New York is designed to promote strong thinking, writing, and communication skills. Our students become persuasive, clear communicators and advanced critical thinkers, who are able to synthesize information and make informed, ethical decisions. Consequently, our graduates excel in many professions. 

Graduates of Concordia’s English program:

Demonstrate critical thinking in their research and rhetoric. From the first core courses, students in the English Major are challenged to produce work that requires moral and ethical reasoning. They are expected to analyze, debate, synthesize, and sometimes dramatize texts that foster a global perspective and encourage them to examine the world and themselves.

Demonstrate creative self-expression and self-awareness. English Majors learn how to use their talents in the real world through experiential learning courses, internships, and creative self-reflection in the classroom.

Demonstrate effective multi-modal communication skills. English Majors write, speak, and create in every course, and their progress is evident in their Concordia English Experience portfolios. Through advanced writing courses, students demonstrate their skills in college publications, internships, and independent studies.

Demonstrate both breadth and depth in literary knowledge. English Majors experience literature in breadth in survey courses, and in critical depth through specialized topic courses at the 3- and 400 level. English Majors do not study literature in a vacuum; rather, they make strong connections between literature (of any era) and contemporary life.

TESOL Option

Students who wish to simultaneously pursue their MS TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in addition to earning a B.A. in English should contact their Academic Advisor for more information on this five-year option.

Sample English Program Courses Include:

• Genre courses in fiction, drama, and poetry
• Survey courses covering British and American literature from the Middle Age to present
• Writing courses, including creative writing, journalism, and new media
• In-depth studies of major literary figures
• Special topics, which have included African-American Literature, Women in Literature, and Origins of Drama
• Courses linking literature to criticism, culture, and current events
• Capstone experience, a required course in which students will create, develop, and present their own thesis project

Career Paths

Critical thinking, creative self-expression and effective multi-modal communication skills prepare Concordia graduates for a wide range of professional fields and career paths, including journalism, law, publishing, advertising, public relations, politics, teaching, entrepreneurialism and more.