English B.A. with Language Arts and Reading Teacher Certification

Program Overview

The English B.A. with Language Arts and Reading Teacher Certification program at UNT provides comprehensive training in English language and literature, preparing students for careers in secondary education. Faculty excellence and limited class sizes foster collaboration and close student-professor interaction. Graduates pursue diverse careers in fields such as law, publishing, education, and journalism, while also pursuing advanced degrees and making notable contributions in literature and other areas.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The English B.A. Upon completion, graduates will be eligible to sit for the certification examinations in Language Arts and Reading. The program emphasizes the development of writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills, while introducing students to American, British, and world literatures, creative writing, literary theory, composition, language arts, and rhetoric. The program aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the English language and literature, as well as the skills necessary to effectively teach these subjects to secondary students.

Teaching:

• The program boasts a faculty comprised of scholars and researchers from top graduate programs across the country.
• Faculty members are recognized for their teaching excellence and have received prestigious awards, including the BBC International Short Story Award, a $1 million U.S. State Department grant, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.
• Class sizes are restricted to foster collaboration among students and facilitate close interaction with professors.

Careers:

• The English B.A.
prepares graduates for careers requiring strong writing, communication, and analytical thinking skills.
• Graduates pursue careers in various fields, including law, publishing, education, advertising, journalism, and public relations.
• Many alumni teach English composition, British or American literature, or English as a Second Language in public and private schools.
• Some graduates pursue master's and doctoral degrees in various fields at competitive graduate programs nationwide.
• Notable alumni include:
• An editor with Rolling Stone magazine
• A curator in the Rare Book Division of the New York Public Library
• A member of the public relations staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm
• Novelists Karleen Koen, David Lindsey, and Larry McMurtry
• Poets Chad Davidson and John Poch
• Screenplay writer and director Ken Harrison

Other:

• The English major is one of the largest in UNT's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
• The program is widely recognized as a foundational liberal arts degree, preparing students for graduate study in literature or creative writing, as well as a range of careers.
• Students can participate in various student organizations, including the Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society.
• Creative writing students receive feedback from published writers, and the Visiting Writers Series provides a forum to meet accomplished authors.
• Students may assist faculty members with research projects or with one of the department journals—the American Literary Review, Studies in the Novel, or Conradiana.
• The program emphasizes the development of marketable skills, including:
• Writing clearly, concisely, and compellingly
• Communicating meaningfully to diverse audiences
• Developing solutions to complex problems
• Thinking critically, creatively, and independently
• Identifying and evaluating credible sources