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English

Overview

School of Arts and Sciences  /  English

The abilities to think critically, to read analytically, and to write well are always in demand yet are increasingly rare.

The English Department at La Salle broadens your insight into the humanities through practical and interesting courses in literature, women’s studies, language arts and theory, editing and publishing, creative writing, and business, professional, and scientific writing, preparing you for whatever your future holds.

Double Majors | Minors

La Salle’s English Program offers students the option of a stand-alone major, a double major with secondary education, multiple opportunities for double majors with other disciplines, and even more possibilities as a minor.

Program Highlights

La Salle’s English Department serves qualified students by offering an unbeatable liberal arts education defined by:

Guidance and dedication from professors who are recognized scholars in their areas of expertise.

Flexibility that allows students to change the direction of their career preparation through their junior year without any notable effect on their ability to complete the program in four years.

Individualized, one-on-one attention with an average class size of 18 students. 

An invaluable location with Center City Philadelphia at your doorstep.

A close-knit community our well-read cohort of faculty, staff, Christian Brothers and fellow students foster meaningful discussion and collaboration, as well as lifelong friendships.

Unbeatable value based on a proven return-on-investment. That’s why Money magazine cited La Salle fifth on its list of “50 Colleges that Add the Most Value for 2022 to 2023, along with mentions in U.S. News & World Reports and Forbes.

An alumni network that offers invaluable support from over 60,000 La Salle graduates and even more from our global Lasallian network.

“I walked the red carpet at the Oscars last year, and Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for a character I wrote, and I did that with a La Salle English degree. So if people keep telling you that your dream is not possible, don’t believe them.”

— Matthew Quick, ‘96, author of Silver Linings Playbook

Blaze Your Own Path

Careers

In fields both expected (teaching and journalism) and unexpected (politics and management), La Salle’s English majors have successful entered a variety of rewarding careers in various fields. They are writers who have worked for, among other publications, The New Yorker, The (Allentown) Morning Call, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Philadelphia Magazine, Motor Age, The City Paper, Philadelphia Weekly, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

One of our graduates had his first novel turned into an academy-award-winning motion picture. Another won a prestigious national award for his most recent book of poems.  An English alumna, after successful careers in law and higher education, has now been elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.  In the same year, three recent graduates won highly competitive Fulbright Fellowships to carry out post-graduate study in Taiwan, the Slovak Republic, and Austria. Our graduates also teach at the secondary and college levels. They are doctors, lawyers, civil servants, chefs, entertainers, and entrepreneurs.  We are proud that the skills with which we provide our majors have allowed so many of them to follow their dreams and to find success and happiness in so many areas.

Careers

Careers

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Internships

Students majoring, or double-majoring, or minoring in English have the opportunity to complete one or more internships during their junior and senior years. Internships can open the door for students to a permanent career by supplementing their courses with a part-time position.

Internships

Internships

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Awards

The Mary and Robert L. Dean Writing Scholarships are open to any student, regardless of major, who has completed 30 college–level credits (15 of which must have been earned at La Salle). The Dean partial scholarships, which are not based on financial need, are awarded to students with outstanding writing abilities. Applications for these scholarships are available in the English Department office each spring semester.

The Catherine and Paul Doran Scholarships are open to English majors and English double majors who have at least a 3.2 GPA overall and who have completed 30 college–level credits (15 of which must have been earned at La Salle). Applicants must have completed three courses in English beyond ENG 110 and ENG 210. Applications for these scholarships are available in the English Department office each spring semester.

Awards

Awards

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I am an Explorer

Matthew Quick, ‘95

Matthew Quick, ‘95

When the book “Silver Linings Playbook” was turned into a major motion picture starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro, author Matthew Quick, ’95, saw his dream and hard work come full circle.  “If people keep telling you that your dream is not possible,” he said, “don’t believe them.” Quick said he realized his […]

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Matthew Quick, ‘95

When the book “Silver Linings Playbook” was turned into a major motion picture starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro, author Matthew Quick, ’95, saw his dream and hard work come full circle.  “If people keep telling you that your dream is not possible,” he said, “don’t believe them.”

Quick said he realized his desire to become a writer during his time at La Salle, where he double-majored in English and secondary education. Luckily, he never listened to all of the people who warned him that he would be unsuccessful as an English major. Instead, Quick and his wife, Alicia, whom he met at La Salle, left their teaching jobs in New Jersey and went to live with her parents in Massachusetts. For three years, Quick wrote in the basement of his in-laws’ house. The result was his first novel, which was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

In 2012, Quick saw his best-selling book hit the big screen and credits La Salle with getting him there. “Things worked out for me largely because of what I did while I was at La Salle, writing every day,” he said. “I walked the red carpet at the Oscars, and Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for a character I wrote, and I did that with a La Salle English degree… I am so proud to be a part of this La Salle community, and I’ll never stop exploring.”

Quick has also written three young adult novels, “Forgive Me Leonard Peacock,” “Boy 21,” and “Sorta Like a Rock Star.” “The Good Luck of Right Now,” was published in 2014, followed by “Love May Fail” in 2015.

Beyond the Classroom

Clubs
Clubs

Get involved in a student organization

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Clubs

The English Society is a club at La Salle which promotes literature and writing, creating a network of both English majors and non-majors for the purpose of fostering literary impulses. The Society involves the greater La Salle community as well as its outside community by sharing writing and reading skills, networking with English majors and alumni, and organizing events intended to build an interest in literature.

The Grimoire publishes one sixty-four page anthology of the best poetry, prose, and art submitted by persons from the La Salle University community each semester. The Grimoire exists to provide an outlet for creative individuals and an opportunity to gain recognition in the larger La Salle University community.

Some of the other clubs and organizations that our students enjoy include:

  • The Collegian (La Salle’s newspaper)
  • The Explorer (La Salle’s yearbook)
  • Association of Women in Communications
  • The Histories (La Salle’s historical magazine)
  • Public Relations Society of America
  • American Marketing Association

View a full list of clubs and organizations here.

Travel Study and Service Trips
Travel Study and Service Trips

Gain a heightened understanding of other cultures

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Travel Study and Service Trips

Travel study courses are semester-long classes with a 10- to 15-day travel component built into the syllabus. Through these courses, people, places, and concepts that student have learned about in the classroom are brought to life and given context. Students broaden their worldview, gain a heightened understanding of other cultures, and learn about the responsibilities of global leadership.

Recent trips have taken students and faculty to Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Argentina, Turkey, Israel, China, India, Vietnam, Cuba, Japan, the British Virgin Islands, and Denmark.

For more information, visit La Salle’s Travel Study online.

Philadelphia as a Classroom
Philadelphia as a Classroom

The education you find outside of a classroom is just as important as the one you find inside

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Philadelphia as a Classroom

The education you find outside of a classroom is just as important as the one you find inside. As the fifth-largest city in the United States, Philadelphia is rich in unique historical and cultural opportunities. Whether you’re searching for the best cheesesteak, catching an Eagles game, or running up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the City of Brotherly Love has it all. Philadelphia is the proud home of global corporations, nonprofit organizations, leading media outlets, and professional sports teams. From co-ops to internships to future employers big and small, each is readily accessible to provide you with real-life learning beyond a class on campus. How much of a role Philadelphia play is in your life is entirely up to you, but the options are limitless.

83% of faculty hold a Ph.D. or the highest degree in their field.

Ranked in Forbes list of Best Value Colleges in 2019.

Listed Top 4% nationally in 10-year earnings by Georgetown's Center for Education and the Workforce.

Ranked in the top 50 in the North Region on U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 list of Best Colleges.

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