English Bachelor of Science Degree

Our faculty offers exploration in fantasy worlds, Twitter bots, social justice, Afrofuturism, transgender poetics, graphic novels, Twine interactive game fictions, speech technologies, the rhetoric of science and terror, digital poems, and dangerous texts. You’ll gain expertise in articulating your innovative ideas, building collaborative teams, managing projects, creating powerful messaging that gets results, providing critiques and feedback, making intelligent and ethical arguments and decisions, and speaking in ways that make you stand out.

Preparing You for Today’s Dynamic Careers

Today’s emerging careers require English language expertise, writing, and analytic skills paired with computer science, new media, linguistics, animation, and more. Today’s writers are also content creators who use digital tools to communicate a range of messages across a variety of platforms and collaborate with game designers, animators, scientists, engineers, and digital media strategists. 

In the English BS degree, we introduce you to digital tools that interface with the study of language, literature, and media. Additionally, your BS in English includes professional electives in any area you choose, which empowers you to customize your English degree around your career goals. You’ll have access to a range of computing and tech courses and the world-renowned faculty who teach them.

Are you interested in writing for video games? Your professional courses can come from RIT’s major in game design and development.

Do you have a passion for science? Choose professional electives from our majors in biology, biomedical sciences, physics, and more.

In RIT’s English BS degree, you will learn:

• Writing–Gain a complete command of the English language, including grammar, rhetoric, and argument. This gives you an edge in all types of writing, from effective presentations to video game text, and everything in between.
• Storytelling–Learn to tell smart, moving stories about yourself, your organization, your clients, or the products you’re tasked with selling.
• Digital Creation and Literacy—Become an expert in creating, reading, and interpreting digital content, developing skills that combine writing and tech, using digital tools for textural analysis, and more.
• Close Reading, Critical Analysis, Interpretation–Articulate deep knowledge and understanding of all kinds of media, concepts, and theories, as you interpret difficult concepts, analyze and defend positions, and provide and accept constructive criticism.
• Communication–Gain expertise in nuance and subtext, and the different modes of writing and speaking in traditional and digital formats. You’ll also understand how to assess different audiences in order to strike the proper tone and articulate ideas in clear yet sophisticated ways.
• Cultural Literacy–Learn about the power of language and its role in creating cultural meaning. You’ll learn how different social and cultural contexts affect language and meaning, and learn about different cultures through their media traditions, from major literary works and genres to critical traditions.
• Research–Master a variety of research methods, including digital tools and data methodologies, specific to English majors, as well as presentation techniques.
• Organization–Attain the skills needed to work independently and in teams, manage projects, set schedules, meet and manage deadlines, organize projects, execute planning and research, lead and participate in discussions, and present ideas and information.

Tracks

RIT’s English BS offers two concentrations that provide you with an opportunity to tailor your degree to your interests and career aspirations.

Creative Writing–At RIT, creative writing is more than writing poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. We analyze, write, and revise the traditional and innovative writing that inspires you. With a concentration in Creative Writing, you’ll learn how to analyze and write in multiple genres and forms, including worldbuilding, digital creative writing, and playwriting. With our organizational affiliations to RIT Storytellers, Mental Graffiti, and Signatures Arts and Literary Magazine, you can gain valuable professional experience while expanding and refining your writing horizons.

Literature and Media–Literature involves reading and analyzing meaningful works of writing to dissect and understand their historical, cultural, and literary significance. In this concentration, you’ll examine a range of works, both classical and contemporary, to expand your critical thinking, analytical, and interpretive knowledge of writing and text. While you'll study Shakespeare, Austen, and Morrison, you'll also dive into everything from graphic novels to banned books, from anime to the works of rapper and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar. Add to that hands-on experience with the digital tools that English majors need, and you'll be able to pursue your specific interests at the same time you're setting yourself up for professional life.

Worldbuilding & Transmedia Storytelling—Through worldbuilding, the act of developing and representing either reality-based or imaginary worlds, we create and bring stories to form, critically analyze, and explore real-world implications of technological and societal changes.  Models developed through worldbuilding can illustrate the many, and often competing, social forces at play in the world—the dynamic interplay of governance structures, economics systems, social relations, and cultural influences. Different people feel the push and pull of these social forces in different ways. At times, these forces may give some groups of people advantages or opportunities, while at the same time creating disadvantages and obstacles for others. In building worlds, we can intentionally craft a view that is informed by diverse perspectives and experiences. We can examine and test out ideas. We can inspire and envision real change.

English as a Double Major

Are you interested in pairing an English degree with your interests in programming, computing, law, foreign language, business, or the arts? With its focus on writing, critical thinking, and communication, an English degree deepens your expertise in both areas and broadens your skill set for a career in a range of dynamic fields. An English degree can complement the following RIT majors:

• Applied Modern Language and Culture
• Business Degrees
• Computer Science BS
• Criminal Justice BS
• Humanities, Computing, and Design BS
• Film and Animation BFA
• Game Design and Development BS
• Human-Centered Computing BS
• Illustration BFA
• Marketing BS
• New Media Interactive Development BS

In addition, an English bachelor's degree is an excellent major for those wishing to pursue careers in law or medicine. RIT’s Pre-Law and Pre-Med programs provide academic advising and guidance on course selection to help you build the core competencies needed to become a strong candidate for admission to law school, medical school, or graduate programs in the health professions.

Study Abroad

Opportunities to study abroad enhance your understanding of global cultures. Students may study full-time at a variety of host schools and are able to select courses in their major as well as liberal arts courses. Visit RIT Global to learn more about the range of study abroad programs available, including opportunities at RIT’s global campuses in Croatia, Kosovo, and Dubai. Recent English study abroad programs have taken place in Spain, France, Croatia, and Portugal.

RIT’s Pre-Law Program

Law schools welcome applications from students majoring in a wide range of academic programs. RIT’s pre-law program will help you navigate the admission process for law school, explore a range of legal careers, and guide you through course selection to ensure you build the skills and competencies required of competitive law school applicants. The program is open to students in all majors who are interested in pursuing a career in law.

Furthering Your Career in English

Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees: Today’s careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable you to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining the valuable hands-on experience that comes from co-ops, internships, research, study abroad, and more.

• +1 MBA: Students who enroll in a qualifying undergraduate degree have the opportunity to add an MBA to their bachelor’s degree after their first year of study, depending on their program. Learn how the +1 MBA can accelerate your learning and position you for success.

3+3 Accelerated BS/JD Programs

RIT has partnered with Syracuse University’s College of Law and University at Buffalo School of Law to offer accelerated 3+3 BS/JD options for highly capable students. These programs provide a fast track to law school where you can earn a bachelor’s degree at RIT and a Juris Doctorate degree at Syracuse University or University at Buffalo in six years. Interested students may apply to the option directly, with successful applicants offered admission to RIT and conditional acceptance into either Syracuse University’s College of Law or University at Buffalo School of Law.

RIT's English degree is one of the approved majors for the 3+3 option.

Learn more about Accelerated Law 3+3 Programs.

RIT’s Teaching Partnership Programs

Whether your goal is to go into early childhood or elementary education, become a secondary education teacher with a content area specialty at the middle or high school level, or work in the higher education or counseling fields, RIT’s partnership programs with local universities provide a guided pathway to a career in teaching. 

These 4+1 or 3+2 programs enable you to earn your bachelor’s degree at RIT and a master’s degree in education at one of our partner universities. As you progress, you’ll benefit from focused academic advising, career exploration opportunities, and resources for research, learning, and skill development.  

RIT’s English degree is eligible for RIT’s Teaching Partnership Program. 

Learn more about RIT’s Teaching Partnership Programs.