English Teaching Major (B.A.)

Shaping skilled English educators through creativity and real-world experience

Inspire others to share your love of reading and writing with our English Teaching program. Considered one of the region’s best, our program gives you the tools, guidance and real-world experience for a rewarding career in English education.

Our faculty are not only master teachers but also thoughtful mentors to those seeking to become educators. They offer a diverse spectrum of expertise—from Shakespeare to 21^st-century literature and media, from philosophies of teaching to deep knowledge of standards-based literacy instruction.

The Accelerated Master’s program in Durham allows you to work on requirements for your Master of Arts in Teaching degree while still in the bachelor’s program. Upon acceptance into the master's program, you can apply 12 undergraduate credits to the advanced degree. Once you’ve finished your B.A., you’ll complete graduate-level coursework in the master’s program and undertake a year-long teaching internship where you’ll collaborate with a teacher to apply your knowledge in a classroom.

Students who complete the master’s program are uniquely well prepared to become leaders in the profession over the long term. State certification is transferable to most other states, and, after five years, 88.7% of UNH master’s program graduates report that they are teaching or employed in an education-related job. Join the English Teaching major and turn your passion for English into a fulfilling career serving your community!

For more information, contact Susanne Paterson, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator or the UNH Manchester Office of Admissions at (603) 641-4150.

This degree plan is a sample and does not reflect the impact of transfer credit or current course offerings. UNH Manchester undergraduate students will develop individual academic plans with their professional advisor during the first year at UNH.

Sample Course Sequence

Degree Requirements

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

All English Teaching majors must complete 10 courses (40 credits). Six of 10 courses must be at the 600-level or above. The English Teaching major prepares prospective teachers of middle- and high-school English (grades 5-12). This degree does not provide state certification. Students who wish to be certified must apply for admission to graduate study within the Education Department. Certification requires an additional year of course work and internship at the graduate level. The graduate coursework and internship can typically be completed in the 12 months following completion of the B.A. in English Teaching.

• Prospective English Teaching majors should enroll in EDUC 500 Exploring Teaching in their sophomore year, or, if a transfer student, as soon as possible thereafter. 
• ENGL 419 How to Read Anything must be completed with a minimum grade of C. All other major courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.
• English Teaching majors must have a 2.5 GPA in the following program requirements:

Diversity Requirement

Students must take one course that focuses on diversity in race, ethnicity, religion, gender or class, and theories concerning them. This course counts toward the ten courses described above. Consult with your advisor about courses that will fulfill this requirement.

Capstone Requirement

Students must take one capstone course during their senior year from any approved ENGL 700-level course in the major. Students must have earned 90 credits before taking the course. Consult with the program coordinator about courses that will fulfill this requirement.

¹

Cannot be repeated under different course title.

Students will have the opportunity to compare philosophies of English teaching and learning, and to develop their own approaches to writing and literacy instruction in unit plans and lesson plans. In class, we will discuss theoretical and pedagogical ideas centered on student writing, engage in reading and writing exercises, produce and practice instructional activities and assessments, evaluate approaches to teaching writing, and review state-level standards and tests. Overall, the aim of the course is recognition of literacy skills (including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing) and consideration of how they can be used for learning goals including comprehension, analysis, description, and evaluation.

Students will:

• Design activities, lessons, and units to meet established standards and objectives in writing and language use.
• Adapt materials for a variety of students’ needs, including exceptional learners.
• Identify teaching resources among mentors, professional literature, conferences, organizations (e.g., National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE]), technology, and websites.
• Reflect and write on the theoretical bases for instructional decisions, evaluating professional literature and using appropriate academic conventions.
• Deliver engaging, on-point writing and language instruction appropriate to audience and content; practice a variety of presentation and discussion strategies.