Career Options

Career options for English majors

A liberal arts degree in English is excellent preparation for a career in teaching, writing, publishing, journalism, law, government, and many other fields. At Gettysburg College, students of English gain skills that give them an edge in any career: critical thinking, persuasive argumentation, close reading, and concise communication.

Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification

Alternative routes to teacher certification are state-defined pathways through which an individual who already has at least a bachelor’s degree can obtain certification to teach without necessarily having to complete a college, campus-based teacher education program. These programs offer the opportunity to gain provisional teacher certification and classroom experience. These routes usually take one of two different forms, Teaching Residency Programs and Teaching Fellowship Programs. It is strongly recommended that interested students carefully research specific programs to determine their eligibility, the time commitment each program requires beyond certification, and the target organization’s ongoing support for professional development.

Teaching Residency Programs

Residency programs offer a combination of theory and practice, and integrate a yearlong classroom apprenticeship with carefully designed sequence of master’s-level coursework. Residents receive a stipend for living experiences throughout their training year, and a subsidized master’s degree upon completion of the program. Residents spend the full academic year in an urban public school, developing under the mentorship of a veteran teacher. Over the course of the year, Residents transition from a collaborative, co-teaching role in the classroom to a lead-teaching role. Some residency programs include:

Graduate School Options

Graduating English majors often pursue graduate studies in writing and literature and in fields such as business, social work, law, and urban planning, among others. Recent Gettysburg College English graduates have been accepted into graduate programs (MA, MFA, PhD and Law) at prestigious institutions such as the University of Virginia, Columbia University, Georgetown University, University of Iowa, and Johns Hopkins University.