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An Oct. 3 article was an important survey of challenges facing the liberal arts in Minnesota. But from our perspectives as the chair of the English department, past English chair, and assistant dean of curriculum and instruction at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, we often find reports of the demise of the English major and liberal arts to be exaggerated.
This is because, quite simply, English at the U is flourishing. We currently have approximately 350 majors, making English the seventh most popular major in the entire College of Liberal Arts, which consists of 32 departments and over 150 majors, minors and certificates. The English department has 162 minors, a nearly threefold increase since 2010 due, in part, to our addition of a very popular creative writing minor. Our certificate in editing and publishing is also a popular concentration.
Why is this?
For one, majoring in English is by no means a bad investment of a student’s time and tuition dollars. Recent studies have shown that while graduates with English degrees may start out earning less than peers in other fields, they out-earn them in the second half of their careers. Due to its wide-ranging study of human experience, cultural diversity and historical nuance, English is also gaining popularity as a major option for students wishing to pursue postgraduate careers in health and medicine. According to the American Medical Association, English has the highest admittance rate of non STEM-majors for candidates applying to medical schools (in fact, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, humanities majors have a higher admittance rate to medical school than biological science majors). English offers a foundation in critical thinking, communication and empathetic imagination that has long been a reliable preparation for success in any career path.
At the U, nearly all English classes are fully enrolled every semester, many with extensive waitlists. Students come to our courses not only for practical career training but to fulfill their love of reading, passion for writing, and hunger to reflect on essential questions about who we are as individuals and communities. The following courses — all offered this semester, and all highly popular — give some idea of how the study of English literature and creative writing at the U offers a rigorous and versatile educational experience: “The Story of King Arthur,” “Literature in English of the Global South,” “Shakespeare,” “Environmental Futures,” “Literature, Science, and Technology,” “Murder, We Write,” “Jane Austen’s Afterlives,” “The Business of Publishing,” “Science Fiction and Fantasy” and “Screenwriting.”
While the liberal arts, like all fields in higher education, face significant struggles, the study of English at the University of Minnesota continues to offer robust artistic and intellectual training for the world in which we live.
