OPPORTUNITIES
Study Abroad
The department strongly encourages ETS majors to study abroad for at least one semester, particularly at the University's London campus. Going abroad can enrich your study of English in invaluable ways. For information on programs abroad and on courses available in the London program, consult the SU Abroad office.
If you plan to study abroad, be sure to consider in advance how the curriculum will affect your completion of requirements for the Liberal Arts Core and for your major or minor. You should also follow carefully the instructions for registering from abroad for the courses you will need in the semester when you return to Syracuse .
Internships and Community Service
You can increase the breadth and value of your ETS major if you participate in internships or community service programs. Internships supplement your academic requirements with workplace experience and thus can often help you sort out your career options. They can be pursued during a regular semester in Syracuse or during the summer in another location. To receive academic credit for an internship, you need to find a faculty sponsor who will help you formulate learning goals and create a plan for assessment. You will be responsible for regular reports on your internship experience—usually through a journal or regular email updates—as well as a final reflective essay. Internships are eligible for pass/fail credit only and must be registered under the course number CAS 470. The Internship Services at the SU Center for Career Services can help you find an internship and register for credit. The number of credit hours awarded depends on the number of hours worked. Pass/fail credits cannot count toward your major or minor but can count toward your Arts and Sciences electives.
If you are interested in participating in direct-action community service, you may wish to work with the Center for Public and Community Service. The CPCS arranges placements for students, faculty, and staff in service sites throughout the Syracuse community. Most community programs ask for at least 20 hours of service per semester.
Dual Major in English Education
If you are considering a career as an English teacher, you should consult the
Academic Services Office in the School of Education (270 Huntington Hall) about state certification requirements and the program in English Education. If you plan to teach in secondary school, you will take a normal ETS major program, except that your upper division courses must include ETS 325: History and Varieties of English, a course in Shakespeare, a course with significant attention to non-Western literature and/or literature by members of racial groups represented in American schools, and one of the following: WRT 301, WRT 303, WRT 307, or WRT 428. You will meet the same requirements except the Shakespeare course if you enroll in the Inclusive Program for elementary school teachers.
Creative Writing
The English Department's excellent creative writing faculty offers fiction and poetry workshops which can be counted as major electives. To be admitted to an upper division creative writing course, you must submit a writing sample. At least a week before registration begins, consult the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator about how to apply. Online versions of these workshops are offered through University College (no writing sample required).
Distinction in ETS
Outstanding junior ETS majors will be invited to participate in the Distinction Program, enabling them to earn the designation “Distinction in English and Textual Studies” with their degree. The Distinction Program requires students to demonstrate outstanding academic accomplishment by maintaining a 3.4 overall GPA and a 3.6 within the major, enroll in and complete the Senior Seminar in the fall semester of their senior year, and successfully complete a senior thesis project (which will include enrolling in the Thesis Workshop in the spring semester of their senior year). The “Distinction” designation will be granted upon graduation.
The Senior Seminar demands engagement in a graduate-style seminar course and the thesis project requires substantial research, critical analysis, and writing. These two projects serve as valuable preparation for students interested in graduate school, and both provide impressive credentials on applications to graduate school, law school, or other professional degree programs.
Click here for more information on Distinction in ETS.
Senior Seminar
In the fall semester, the English Department offers a Senior Seminar open to students enrolled in the Distinction Program and to students given special permission by the instructor. The Senior Seminar is particularly valuable for students planning to pursue graduate study in English because it provides opportunities for advanced work in a small class on topics of current importance in the field.
ETS Undergraduate Conference
The ETS Undergraduate Conference, first held in 1997, is now an annual fall event organized by ETS majors and minors. Designed to showcase the work of undergraduates at all levels, it provides students with a public forum in which they can listen and respond to the work of their peers and reflect on their own work in the ETS major through informal conversation and formal academic presentations.
Scholarships and Awards
Each spring the English Department names an outstanding junior ETS major as the winner of the Joan Garfinkel Memorial Scholarship. It also nominates one or more students for the Newell W. Rossman, Jr. Scholarships in the Humanities, which are awarded through an annual competition sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences. The Margaret Y. Cragg Prize is awarded to the major with the highest grade point average in ETS courses at the end of the junior year. There are three prizes for graduating senior majors: the Jean Marie Richards Memorial Award for excellence in English, the Anthony J. Pietrafesa Prize for the highest average in ETS courses, and the Lauretta H. McCaffrey Prize for a female student with a high grade point average in ETS. The department also holds annual contests in the writing of fiction, poetry, and critical essays.
Graduate Study in English
If you are interested in continuing your studies in English beyond the undergraduate level—especially if you are considering a career in college or university teaching—you should begin investigating M.A. and Ph.D. programs as early as the fall of your junior year. The Director of Undergraduate Studies can refer you to a faculty advisor who is informed about graduate programs and who can offer guidance on selecting courses, preparing for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), writing letters of application, and seeking financial aid. During your senior year, you are strongly encouraged to enroll in the Senior Seminar, which will help to prepare you for the kind of work encountered in a typical graduate course.
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