Swamped with images, information, sounds and new technology daily, the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in English at Messiah University, a nationally ranked Christian university in Pennsylvania, prepares you to analyze, interpret, understand and change the world around you.
Your professors in the English degree program, who are also published authors and lecturers, will teach you to hone your writing skills and will provide you with many opportunities to get your writing published outside the classroom. You may even present your work at an international conference or compete for an Oxford fellowship like other Messiah English majors have done. You can also get involved in on-campus writing organizations such as the Peregrine Review or the The Pulse—Messiah’s student-run media group.
One of the most critical needs in our culture is the need for cross-cultural knowledge, awareness and empathy—and our English program will give you just that. Through your ability to empathize with those from other cultures, you will be better able to understand and respond to their particular spiritual, emotional and physical needs. Your training in close reading, research and communication will better enable you to communicate God’s love in an intelligent and useful way.
Interested in teaching English? Take all of the required English degree courses and apply to Messiah’s Teacher Education Program to earn your secondary teaching certificate. In addition to the strong literature and writing curriculum in the English degree program, you’ll also work to the complete the state-required theoretical background and practical experience to become an English teacher in grades 7-12.
