English, BA & English & Creative Writing, BA
Explore literature and discover your own voice. Develop marketable critical thinking, research, and writing skills with an English degree from Seattle University.
About this Program
Creating Strong and Critical Thinkers
With courses in literature, creative writing and writing studies, our English degree prepares you to read, write, and create in a powerful way, while providing you a foundation to pursue and be successful in a variety of careers.
Through the study of different perspectives and voices in literary texts, you will develop a broad and deep understanding of a range of human experiences and expressions, so you can make a difference in your career and the world.
In the Heart of Seattle’s Thriving Arts and Literary Scene
Designated a UNESCO World City of Literature, Seattle booms with passionate readers, writers, and thinkers. With a campus nestled in the heart of Capitol Hill, you are just steps away from cinemas, theaters, iconic literary sites, and more. Grab coffee at a local café as you study before a poetry reading or discover a local author at Elliott Bay Book Company.
Courses That Work for Justice
Discover how Literature Professor Jennifer Schulz teaches courses that help students engage with Seattle’s low-income and unhoused population.
Prepared for Success
Internships with Seattle’s Top Companies & Publishers
Gain real-world experience through internship opportunities in the Puget Sound region. Internships have included Sasquatch Press, W.W. Norton Company, Seattle Met, Alaska Airlines Magazine, Chin Music Press, Seattle Publishing and Yes! Magazine.
Student-Run Publications for Writing and Editorial Experience
Study with Visiting Writers Fragments, our annual literary magazine, features the best literature and visual art of the Seattle U community. Seattle University Undergraduate Research Journal (SUURJ), our peer-reviewed online publication, provides editorial apprenticeship through a credit-bearing program that trains students to share stewardship of the journal and learn vital online publishing skills.
You will have the chance to study with visiting professors from the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant artistic community. Visiting writers have included Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, Seattle Civic Poet Anastacia Renee Tolbert, novelists Kristen Millares Young and Kathleen Alcalá, memoirists Theo Nestor and Nicole Hardy, writer-activist Reagan Jackson, slam poet Daemond Arrindell, comic/graphic novelist Peter Bagge, YA authors Karen Finneyfrock and Stephanie Lewis, detective fiction writer Skye Moody, science fiction author Steven Barnes, and screenplay writer Stewart Stern.
Support for Your Success
With a passionate and dedicated faculty as well as several student-run organizations and study abroad opportunities, you will find both a support system and the tools to achieve your goals:
- Literature-focused undergraduate English/Creative Writing degree
- Personal attention from faculty
- Development of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and intercultural literacies
- Cultivation of critical thinking, creative thinking, reflection, and insight
- Cutting-edge curriculum in and across multiple writing genres
- Seattle University/Elliott Bay Book Company Reading Series
- Visiting writer/professors
- Fragments literary magazine
- Departmental honors opportunity
- SUURJ (Seattle U Undergraduate Research Journal) housed in the department
- Internships in publishing and more!
Students who study literature and creative writing develop strong research, reading and writing skills—skills that easily translate into careers in fiction writing, journalism, academia, marketing, advertising, technical writing, law, business and technology.
Popular Careers for English Majors
You will be trained to read, write and communicate exceptionally well, which gives you an edge in almost any career field you might explore.
English majors are successful in the business world (advertising and marketing are some of the more obvious choices), the legal profession (we’re used to reading all the time, after all), the entertainment industry, the arts world and in education.
According to a recent survey report of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the majority of business executives want college graduates with strong communication, critical inquiry skills and problem-solving abilities.
Indeed, many employers prefer hiring English majors and students in the humanities. The reasons are many. As a student, you will cultivate or practice
- Communication: the artful and thoughtful command of a wide-ranging vocabulary; the skillful presentation of points to different kinds of listeners.
- Critical thinking: the ability to ask the kinds of questions that bring into view the complexities and possibilities of problems; the skill of formulating a problem in such a way as to open up paths for further thought.
- Research: the ability not just to find answers to but to construct them using convincing evidence; the power to produce knowledge in the face of unknowns and uncertainties.
- Empathy: the ability to understand the positions of others by means of careful reading and reflection rather than projection; the power to imagine as fully as possible different points of view, combined with a sense of the limitations of this ability.
Hear From Our Alumni
Brandon Teola, ‘24
“The English department at Seattle University has provided me with transferrable skills like effective writing, critical reading, and clear communication that have prepared me to enter any career that I choose. The professors in the department cultivate an incredibly supportive community, and the courses focus on topics that are relevant in the contemporary world. Choosing Seattle University’s English department for my college experience is one of the best decisions I have made.”
BA in English
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Get In Touch
Kate Koppelman, PhD
Chair, English Department
Associate Professor, English
Associate Appointment, Medieval Studies
Associate Appointment, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Susan Meyers, PhD
Professor, English
Director, Creative Writing Program