Contact Information

School of Arts & Sciences

(315) 792-3028

English



The English major at Utica College combines a traditional program in British, American, and world literature with linguistics and writing. Together with the core curriculum and a wide variety of electives, the major provides an excellent liberal arts education, preparing students for careers in business, civil service, law, or teaching as well as for graduate study.

More about English...

Special Opportunities


English majors at Utica College benefit from close interaction with respected and dedicated teachers who provide opportunities not always available in larger departments. The expertise of the faculty in the English Departments incorporates all areas of American, British, and western literature as well as linguistics and rhetoric. Faculty members mentor students through independent study projects as well as in more informal settings.

Dr. Mary Anne Hutchinson directs the London Learning Experience, a three-week three-credit independent study trip. Students visit important historical and literary sites in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, and Greenwich, and complete independent study projects for credit. Study-abroad opportunities also are available at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth and through Syracuse University's Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA).

Students may also complete the undergraduate English major and then receive professional teaching certification through the completion of Utica College's Master of Science in Education degree.Many of Utica College's English majors also complete the minor in education, which certifies them to teach English at the secondary level or become elementary school teachers. Through the study of literature and language, English majors add to their understanding of history, psychology, sociology, art, and political science.

The English department sponsors a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and the Ampersand, the College's literary magazine. The Ampersand is an impressive collection of Utica College students' literary and artistic work. Student editors oversee its production from submission and selection of materials to design and publish. The Harold Frederic English Society offers students interested in literature, drama, and the arts excursions to Syracuse Stage and the SU Drama Department productions, as well as a Spring semester trip subsidized by their fundraising activities. HFES has traveled to New York City and is planning future trips to Washington, D.C. and Boston. Outstanding English majors are offered the opportunity to take Major Honors tutorials with individual faculty members. An advisory board made up of local alumni in the fields of education, business, and journalism advises the faculty on course offerings and policy. The department also publishes The Spectator, a semi-annual newsletter for its alumni.

Faculty


Utica College is proud of the publishing record of the English department's faculty members but even prouder of their outstanding teaching. Dr. Frank Bergmann has won the College's Distinguished Teaching Award.

Recent publications range from Dr. Diane Matza's Sephardic American Voices to Professor Oliver de la Paz's Names Above Houses, which was a winner in the Crab Orchard Award Series in 2001, to Dr. Steven Torres' Precinct Puerto Rico mystery series from St. Martin's Press. Dr. Frank Bergmann is currently preparing a critical biography of the late Walter Edmonds, author of Drums Along the Mohawk. Other members of the department research such diverse subjects as working women's fiction, language variation autobiography, Elizabethan drama, and late Victorian aestheticism.

Facilities


One of the department's professors directs the College's Writing Center, which employs Utica College students to assist fellow students with writing problems.

Utica College maintains seven academic computer laboratories on campus. These labs contain either IBM-compatible or Apple Macintosh computers. Classes are taught in some of the computer labs; all labs are accessible to any UC student during published hours. The labs are equipped with laser printers, and the computers have word processing, spreadsheet, and database programs. Student assistants and a Computer Help Desk provide any assistance that students need.

Career Opportunities


Students in UC's English department are able to plan a course of study that will help them develop and advance toward their career goals. Graduates from the past 10 years have found jobs in such diverse fields as technical and scientific editing, publishing, civil service, and law. Many graduates are now teaching at elementary and secondary schools in central New York and throughout the country.

UC Graduates


"Progressive employers look for the ability to think outside the current or traditional paradigm. English majors, because of their inherent love for reading and writing, exercise the --Robert Kistler '88, Hospital Administrator

"My English major has provided me with a foundation in grammar and classical literature which has proven invaluable for the courses I teach. My background knowledge in Shakespearean literature, mythology, and the mystery genre has given me confidence when teaching my own students."
--Carol Parker '90, Junior High School English Teacher

"The good thing about having a degree in English is that you don't have to be locked into one career. A degree in English has given me unlimited options." --Nancy Havas Farrell '87 Production Editor, Prentice Hall

"I am grateful for the mentoring I received from everyone in the English department. I wish to pass on your gifts."
--Mary K. Cardinale '90, Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric, University of Rhode Island