Students who have completed a B.A. or B.S. in English should be able to:

1. Demonstrate, via portfolio, development in critical reading, critical thinking, cultural awareness, and multimodal written and verbal communication.
2. Apply competitively for positions in graduate and other professional schools, teaching, or English professions associated with various fields of English Studies.
3. Articulate the nature and cultural value of English Studies, such as expertise in interpreting, critiquing, and appreciating literary and non-literary texts, contributing to civic discourse, and fostering adept communication and critical thinking.
4. Develop habits of mind characteristic of English Studies professionals, including a critical stance toward texts, culture, and communication; rhetorical awareness regarding motivations, contexts, purpose, and audience; cultural and global awareness; and humanistic sensibilities, values, and approaches to problems and issues.
5. Create multimodal documents which meet readers’ needs and expectations and are critical, focused, well developed and supported, logical, and mechanically correct.
6. Demonstrate proficiency with current research technologies and resources and with using researched materials to contribute to conversations in English Studies.
7. Demonstrate familiarity with key literary periods, texts, authors, terminology, trends in literary criticism, and conversations and issues in English Studies. This familiarity should include detailed knowledge of at least one contemporary critical theory, demonstrated by its use to inform writing for literary, critical, cultural, or creative ends.
8. Demonstrate track-specific experience and competencies:
   • Literary Studies students have studied literature and critical thought extensively and demonstrated the ability to analyze and criticize literature in ways meaningful to the field.
   • Secondary Education English students have prepared to create effective lesson plans and instruct middle and high school students in areas of literature and writing.
   • Creative Writing students have studied, written, and workshopped poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction, studied theory that informs their work, and practiced preparing and submitting work for publication.
   • Writing Studies students have explored the broader contexts and concerns of written, pictorial, and digital communication to both understand and produce a range of texts that enhance their potential to make change in their environments.
   • Integrated Studies English students have learned to harmonize and articulate the relationship of their English Studies knowledge and skills to the whole of their program of study.
   • Technical Communication minors have become proficient at analyzing technical and scientific communication needs and audiences, designing and producing documents that satisfy them, and keeping abreast of new communication technologies.

Additionally students who have completed a B.A. or B.S. in English Education should posses the following skills, knowledge, and abilities according to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC):

1. The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
2. The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal growth.
3. The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
4. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
5. The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
6. The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom. The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
7. The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner.
8. The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
9. The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students’ learning and well-being.