Careers and Outcomes

You Could Be Anything

You could be a teacher. You could be a writer or an editor. In fact, you could be almost anything. A major in English is one of the most flexible of degrees, opening doors in fields from library science to law, business, editing, publishing and even politics.

Or if your primary interests lie elsewhere, you can, like students across many disciplines, complete a minor in English as a complement to your major field.

A major or a minor in English at Elmhurst will help you develop and demonstrate your abilities to read closely, write with clarity and power, and think critically, weighing claims against their supporting evidence. We help you build skills that are necessary in any field—skills like problem solving, professional writing, understanding others in a diverse society—and then help you translate those skills into a productive and satisfying career.

Our Graduates

Elmhurst English graduates have gone on to further study in a variety of graduate programs, including:

  • University of Illinois–Chicago
  • University of Chicago
  • Cambridge University (U.K.)
  • Northwestern University
  • University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Northeastern University in Boston
  • Washington State University
  • Northern Illinois University
  • Western Illinois University
  • Loyola University
  • Columbia College
  • John Marshall Law School

Others have pursued careers in secondary education as well as editorial positions at publications like West Suburban Living. One of our alumni is a senior editor in the Office of Communications at the University of Southern California; another is a reference specialist with the University of Illinois Archives. Our annual Alumni Career Panel will help you to see the wide-ranging possibilities available to English majors.

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