School of Arts & Letters Home > English Department
What is the English Department?
The Mission Statement of the IU Southeast English Department states that the department “creates,
evaluates, and administers programs in writing and literature that foster students’ intellectual growth,
collaborative skills, multicultural awareness, effective citizenship, and technological competence. While
preserving literary and rhetorical traditions, the department is devoted to an innovative curriculum
that encourages lifelong learning, teaching students, whether as readers or writers, to see textual work as
an engagement with history, philosophy, and culture and as a means of participating responsibly in a
diverse and challenging world.”
Thus, for students interested in an English curriculum aligned with the more traditional career paths, particularly those leading to teaching and to graduate school, IU Southeast offers a scholarly environment that allows majors to gain knowledge and appreciation of the literatures of various periods and cultures. But the English faculty also strongly believe that the skills of critical thinking and writing are transferable to a wide variety of entry-level careers. Because of the flexibility and complementary strengths of the English department faculty and the program itself, our students have been able to combine courses in economics, management, human relations, and organizational theory within their English majors, making them even more attractive to businesses and organizations. In recent years, we have seen our majors enter the fields of teaching, publishing, business and industry, advertising, government, law, communications, and public relations.
For example, in a recent survey asking IU Southeast English alumni how their English degrees have helped them in their careers, one former English major, now working in finance, said that having a degree in English “prepared me for a great career in business administration.”
Why Study English?
In recent years the study of English at IU Southeast has become much more than a "preprofessional" major meant to provide an excellent foundation for graduate study. The English faculty at IU Southeast strongly believe that the skills of critical thinking and writing are transferable to a wide variety of entry-level careers. The English major therefore encourages inquisitiveness and imagination, qualities in demand in the working world.
A recent survey asked IU Southeast English alumni how their English degrees have helped them in their careers. One former English major now working in publishing wrote that he learned to "analyze thoroughly, rationally, and effectively." Another major, now working in finance, said, "IU Southeast prepared me for a great career in business administration."
The skills taught in the English curriculum at IU Southeast enable our graduates to respond more flexibly to changes in the job environment, to rise higher in their fields, and to experience greater job satisfaction than people with strict professional degrees. And because of the flexibility and diverse strengths of the English department faculty and the program itself, our students have been able to combine courses in economics, management, human relations, and organizational theory within their English majors, making them even more attractive to businesses and organizations. In recent years, we have seen our majors enter the fields of teaching, publishing, business and industry, advertising, government, law, communications, and public relations.
