English & Philosophy
The Auburn Montgomery English and Philosophy department offers students a wealth of opportunities to develop intellectually while pursuing diverse academic, professional and personal goals.
Students studying English at AUM benefit from a varied and supportive environment that includes small classes and intensive, personal instruction from experienced professors who hold terminal degrees and have published significant research in their specialties.
Why major in English?
The study of literature is the study of the culture of the English-speaking world. It involves engaging with some of the most fascinating ideas and thinkers of all time. It also means dealing with concepts and movements not simply through abstractions and generalities, but through great works of imaginative literature that capture the spirit of their times and the complex feelings of the people who wrote and read them.
It means learning about the passions and perplexities, the hopes and fears of human beings. They may appear very different from us, but they are essentially the same. Learning about them gives us the chance to learn about ourselves.
It provides an opportunity to grasp more profoundly what it means — and has meant — to be human.
Can I Get a Job?
Absolutely.
Your major in English will help you develop skills useful in just about any position. You will develop the ability to:
Think clearly
Analyze complex problems
Distinguish the essential from the non-important
Focus on details without losing sight of the whole picture
Research
Evaluate evidence
Find new, creative solutions to old problems
Express the results of your analysis in effective language
These are skills vital to genuine achievement in nearly every profession. And, in fact, the qualities that an English major develops have been repeatedly rated by Fortune 500 company executives as some of the most vital skills for employees to possess.