Generally once a year, the English Department offers a half-course in Career Planning for English Majors (LIT 199). While the course was originally designed for students who were not planning to be teachers, both teaching and non-teaching majors have found the course helpful, and everyone from freshmen to seniors has benefited from taking the course. As a half-course, LIT 199 can be taken on top of a full load of four regular courses without special permission. It is graded Pass/Fail.
LIT 199 focuses on exploring career options, researching actual internships and job openings in particular fields, noting what kinds of skills, experiences, and requirements internships and job openings request, learning about the culture and basic etiquette of the professional world (including tips on networking and interviewing), and preparing a résumé and cover letter to apply for an internship or job.
Students have praised the course, saying, for example, that it “helped me get a job and I am very grateful for the course – it was a great resource!” Other students note,
- “I am very happy that I took this class and would suggest this course to anyone looking to work on their career path after college.”
- “I find this course extremely valuable for young English majors. The course material of intensive workshopping for resumes, application letters, and the interview process are extraordinarily important for anyone, but especially for those pursuing a career path not as easily defined as that of an engineering or nursing major. I highly recommend this course for all English majors.”
- “This course taught me things that are necessary for life, and I think this class should be a requirement for every major.”
- “The course offered many different outlets to help figure out what English majors can do and the instructor brought in many different people and resources for the class.”
- “I took this course as a recommendation from my advisor because I have said multiple times that I don’t know what I want to/could do with my major and I am happy that I am walking away with at least three solid ideas.”
- “This course really helped me understand I have a multitude of career options after college. I already knew this but it taught me valuable skills to obtain these careers and gave me an inside understanding of the job market so that I might do all I can to achieve whatever dreams I have for my career later on.”