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Undergraduate Studies

Advising

Careers in English

Declare English

Current Courses

Enjoy English classes, but worried about a job?

Crazy about creative writing, but wondering about life after graduation?

Thinking about communicating in the workplace?

Good news! A typical English graduate makes $2.76 million in a lifetime. Graduated English majors (ages 25-29) earn salaries on par with Business, Computer Science, and Economics majors. Businesses and tech companies are asking for more English majors who can think critically, communicate clearly, and solve problems.

Whatever career you pursue, you’ll need clear thinking and strong writing.

Visit our careers page

See what our alumni are doing now

An infograph showing careers
Interested in exploring more about career pathways open to English majors? Visit our Career Tracks page.

In our diverse and stimulating classes, you’ll sharpen your reading, reasoning, and writing skills so you can present the most polished version of yourself to the world. With classes capped at 20-25 students, you get individualized attention from expert wordsmiths and critical thinkers.

Our faculty are at the top of their game. They’ll train you to cut through today’s text overload with confidence. Your classes will prepare you to read efficiently and analyze content expertly; to tell stories that engage and to make arguments that convince; to communicate to different audiences and to express yourself inventively.

And you’ll enjoy yourself! Our energizing classes feature all those classics you’ve wanted to read as well as the latest fiction, non-fiction, poetry, film, and television, from the United States, Britain and the English-speaking world. Check out our latest course offerings here.

You’ll be joining former English majors like Cormac McCarthy (a UT English alumnus), Reese Witherspoon, Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett, John Mulaney, Diane Sawyer, Martin Scorsese, Toni Morrison, and previous US Poet Laureate (and former UT Professor) Joy Harjo.

Look, we get it. You’re preparing for a competitive job market. Our graduates are some of the most versatile employees in the workforce. They thrive in business and nonprofits, law, education, media and journalism, medicine, science, and technology. Why? Because they’re skilled communicators and critical thinkers who can think on their feet.

Don’t believe us? Check out our careers page and our diverse English alumni. They’re crushing it. As an English major, so will you.

Declare your major or minor

Forms

  • Petitions (we highly recommend consulting with your English advisor or the Director of Undergraduate Studies about petitioning courses)
  • Independent Study Form
  • Earning Academic Credit for an Internship
  • Sample Internship Proposal
  • Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society Application

Contact

Photo of Gerard Cohen Vrignaud

Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud

Associate Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies

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photo of Marcel Brouwers

Marcel Brouwers

Teaching Professor, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies

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English

College of Arts and Sciences

301 McClung Tower
Knoxville, TN 37996-0430
Main Office: 865-974-5401
Office of Graduate Studies: 865-974-6933

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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
865-974-1000

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.

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