Undergraduate Program Overview

Practical, creative, versatile, and engaged.

Through an exciting array of courses in literary and cultural studies, creative writing, rhetoric and composition, and linguistics, English majors and minors develop skills, perspectives, and knowledge for a lifetime. The English curriculum at Marquette prepares undergraduates for many career paths in a wide range of fields. English is an ideal choice for students who wish to gain broadly applicable, transferable skills in writing, textual analysis, and critical thinking, while cultivating a deeper understanding of the ways in which literature and language work. Students who wish to study English may choose from three concentrations and four minors and may also participate in the Honors in Humanities Program and the Accelerated Degree (BA/MA) Program. Descriptions of these programs can be found below. For more information or to declare your major, contact Dr. Steve Hartman Keiser, Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Choose your major concentration

Degree Offered: B.A. in English (Language Arts Concentration)

Designed for Education majors seeking Department of Public Instruction certification. Take literature, language, and writing courses in addition to courses in the College of Education.

A wide range of courses are offered in British, American, and Anglophone literature and culture, as well as in professional writing, rhetoric and composition, and linguistics.

Language Arts Concentration Requirements (33 credit hours):

Degree Offered: B.A. in English (Literature Concentration)

Designed for students who wish to study British, American, and other Anglophone literature and culture. Study great literature to cultivate your critical imagination, your cultural knowledge, and your own writing. Encounter a rich variety of voices across history and discover your own creative voice in this enduring conversation. Courses address a wide range of periods, authors, genres, and themes. In addition to classes on literature and culture, students may take two classes in creative writing, professional writing, or rhetoric and composition, one of which may be the Writing Internship class.

Literature Concentration Requirements (30 credit hours)

Degree Offered: B.A. in English (Writing-Intensive English Concentration)

Writing is key to who we are and all we do. Study how your writing works and how you work as a writer. Take courses in creative writing, workplace writing, and public writing as well as literature. You will graduate ready to write for the rest of your life.

A wide variety of courses are offered in all areas of writing, including literature, composition, creative writing, professional and technical writing, and journalistic writing and magazine editing. You'll also have opportunities to be a peer tutor in the Ott Memorial Writing Center and to complete internships with local arts groups, schools, businesses, or nonprofit organizations.

Writing-Intensive Concentration Requirements (36 credit hours)

English Minors

Designed for students who wish to study British, American, and other Anglophone literature and culture. Study great literature to cultivate your critical imagination, your cultural knowledge, and your own writing. Encounter a rich variety of voices across history and discover your own creative voice in this enduring conversation. Courses address a wide range of periods, authors, genres, and themes. In addition to courses focusing on literature and culture, students may take one class in creative writing, professional writing, or rhetoric and composition.

For more information, access Marquette's Undergraduate Bulletin.

Writing is key to who we are and all we do. Study how your writing works and how you work as a writer. Take courses in creative writing, workplace writing, and public writing as well as literature. The Writing-Intensive English minor emphasizes deep understanding of purpose, genre, medium, and audience through academic study of the writing process. Writing students become self-aware, flexible, and empowered communicators as they explore creative, research and communication contexts that serve their personal and professional goals. You will graduate ready to write for the rest of your life.

For more information, access Marquette's Undergraduate Bulletin.

Marquette’s creative writing minor will allow you to hone your fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, and multimodal storytelling skills in community with other creative practitioners. It will augment any area of study, from history to health sciences, as it deepens your capacity for observation, empathy, and imaginative problem-solving.

For more information, access Marquette's Undergraduate Bulletin.

The Literature of Diverse Cultures minor introduces students to methods and modes of analysis in critical race, ethnic, and indigenous studies. Students cultivate their critical imagination, cultural knowledge, empathy, creative problem-solving, and writing skills through study of texts from a rich variety of traditions, including African American literature, Native American literature, postcolonial literature, queer literature, and women’s literature. 

For more information, access Marquette's Undergraduate Bulletin.

Our Majors at a Glance

Side-by-side Comparison of English Concentrations and Student Learning Outcomes

Honors in Humanities Program


Additional Information

Meet our Majors!  (Check out these videos by current students.)

Why Major in English?

Beyond the Classroom

Accelerated Degree Program (BA/MA Program)


Undergraduate Resources