Department website: https://academics.potomacstatecollege.edu/majors/two-year-programs/english
Degree Offered
- Associate of Arts
Nature of the Program
Why Study English? To Major in Versatility.
It’s an excellent liberal arts degree. You’ll become a more proficient and intelligent reader and writer, and develop a deeper, broader understanding of cultures. Majoring in English will enable you to develop skills in writing, analytical reading, and critical thinking, communication, and focused creativity in preparation for numerous career paths.
Many students are finding it valuable to earn two certified majors or to “double major.” An English degree, when combined with certain other majors, is exceptional preparation for the job market. It is unlikely that you’ll hold a single job from graduation until retirement. Rather graduates are likely to find employment in four to six different fields before retirement. Majoring in English will provide the foundation for a lifetime’s education.
Career Opportunities
A degree in English offers many opportunities. Four-year graduates continue their education by attending graduate school or use their English degree as a pre-professional degree for medical or law school. Still others become associated with writing in media-related fields, creative writing, or management positions. Business and industry leaders consistently call for applicants with a solid command of written and spoken English.
Faculty
Chair
- Cassandra Pritts - M.A. History (Duquesne University)
Year @ PSC (2011)
Professors
- Deanna Armentrout - M.A. English (University of South Dakota)
Year @ PSC (1998) - Steve Oberlechner - M.F.A. Creative Writing (West Virginia University)
Year @ PSC (2008) - Tom Sydow - M.F.A. Creative Writing (California State University - Long Beach) University)
Year @ PSC (2007)
Assistant professors
- Caitlin Hudgins - Ph.D. English (Temple University)
Year @ PSC (2017) - Mia Martini - Ph.D. English (Purdue University)
Year @ PSC (2017)
Instructor
- Rachel Del Signore - M.A. English (West Virginia University)
Year @ PSC (2022)
Admissions
Entering freshmen are admitted directly into the major.
Benchmark Expectations
Students in the English major must maintain a 2.0 GPA overall and a 2.0 in the major. Students must earn a C- or better in all required English courses for graduation. All majors must meet with an English department adviser each semester. Students who do not meet these benchmarks may be removed from their major.
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum GPA of 2.0 in all English courses is required. | ||
| GEF Elective Requirements (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8) | 24 | |
| ENGL 101 & ENGL 102 | Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research (GEF 1 - Minimum grade of C- is required) | 6 |
| WVUE 191 | First Year Seminar | 1 |
| ENGL 200 | Foundations of Literary Study | 3 |
| Select three of the following ENGL Historical Breadth courses (GEF 6 - Minimum grade of C- is required): | 9 | |
| American Literature 1 | ||
| American Literature 2 | ||
| British Literature before 1800 | ||
| British Literature 2 | ||
| Foreign Language | 6 | |
| Elective | 11 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| WVUE 191 | 1 | ENGL Historical Breadth Course (GEF 6) | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 3 | Foreign Language | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | GEF 2 | 3 |
| GEF 2 | 3 | ENGL 200 | 3 |
| GEF 4 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL Historical Breadth Course | 3 | ENGL Historical Breadth Course | 3 |
| GEF 3 | 3 | GEF 7 | 3 |
| GEF 5 | 3 | GEF 8 | 3 |
| GEF 8 | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 60 | |||
Major Learning Outcomes
English
Upon successful completion of the A.A. degree, English majors will be able to:
1. Locate and interpret texts within diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts.
- Identify genre conventions and analyze their effects;
- Identify and analyze effects of complexity or ambiguity in texts, culture, and discourse;
- Situate texts in social, economic, political, and literary histories;
- Connect texts to other literary or cultural texts.
2. Demonstrate a general knowledge of the social and structural aspects of the English language.
- Articulate the role of social forces on language variation;
- Analyze natural language, predominantly English.
3. Demonstrate a range of contextually effective writing and communication strategies.