Known for the success of its engineering students, Tri-State University is also a great place to be an English major.

This is not as paradoxical as it sounds. At TSU, many of your friends will be of a technical bent. That can be handy for you personally and beneficial professionally. According to several recent studies, the “gold collar” jobs of the future will require both technological knowledge and a solid background in the arts and humanities.

There are plenty of other reasons. Award-winning faculty whose chief priority is teaching will help you move towards your future. You’ll also have numerous out-of-the-classroom opportunities that will contribute to both your enjoyment and your professional development: a professionally-equipped campus radio station, the school newspaper and yearbook, the Drama Club, Shakespearean Sonnet-o-thons, Sigma Tau Delta (the English Honorary Society), and a host of other activities.

Our programs are based on a core of skills essential to all professions and, indeed, to a successful life. At the heart of each program is an emphasis on reading, writing, listening, and critical and creative thinking. With a foundation in a love of language, literature, and reasoning, the study of English builds strengths in reasoning, analyzing, interpreting, recognizing patterns, evaluating, proposing alternatives, drawing conclusions based on evidence, solving problems, making decisions, and persuading an audience—all essential for success in the world of work.

Three concentrations to choose from: move easily among them to find the one best suited to your talents, interests, and aspirations.

Corporate English
A career-oriented program combining literature, writing, communication, and business courses, this concentration gives students who love language and literature a grounding in the business world. The increased understanding of human beings which accrues from reading great literature, and the superior communication skills developed, plus knowledge of the rudiments of business make for a potent combination.

Professional Writing
Professional writers produce sales and promotional publications, magazine articles, reports, and instructional documents. This concentration prepares students for writing careers in the business, public, civic, and information sectors and for graduate study. Students in this concentration enjoy specialized courses in journalism, technical communication, intercultural and corporate communication, and public relations.

Literature
Rich in literature and an excellent pre-professional degree, this traditional English concentration provides students with 2500 years of riveting visions of human experience. Literature has the power to change us: “A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self interest” (Karen Armstrong in A Short History of Myth, 2005).