Liberal Arts and English Education
One of the best features of a liberal arts degree is that you can study a wide variety of subjects. With an interdisciplinary approach, this type of degree also prepares you for many different career opportunities after graduation.
An English degree might seem like the opposite – a more focused degree in a single discipline that readies you for a narrower set of job possibilities. And while this is generally true, it’s also an oversimplification. English offers a range of specializations that prepare you for a lot of different careers.
Let’s examine each of these degrees in detail to help you decide the best academic path forward!
Liberal Arts Degree Vs. English Degree
The biggest difference between a liberal arts degree and an English degree is the subject matter. A liberal arts degree offers broad knowledge across various subjects, enhancing critical thinking and communication skills. An English degree focuses on language, literature, and writing, preparing students for careers in writing, editing, and teaching.
A liberal arts degree typically includes studies in at least two fields, if not three or more. Not only that, but many liberal arts programs include studies in different fields. For example, you might enroll in a program that emphasizes the natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts. Or, your liberal arts program might concentrate on psychology and communications or focus on the humanities and ecology.
English has a singular focus. An English degree often does not include studies in related (or unrelated) areas like a liberal arts degree usually does. So, when you major in English, you’ll study English, likely in one of its specific applications.
Here’s an example: as an English communications major, you might take classes in journalism, mass communications, or interpersonal communications. While these courses are in different subjects, they are all bound by the common feature of utilizing English as a means of expression – be that in a newspaper column, a social media post, or a discussion with a colleague.
But, as noted above, English is not as narrow of a discipline as you might think. It’s hard to top the vast academic possibilities of a liberal arts degree, but English is certainly no slouch. English majors can specialize in any number of fields, just like their liberal arts counterparts.
For example, as a liberal arts major, you might concentrate your studies in any of the following areas:
- Business
- Sociology
- Philosophy
- World Languages
- Anthropology
The liberal arts also include natural sciences like biology and astronomy, social sciences like economics and history, and even English! Remember, though, that in a liberal arts program, you usually don’t have a major – instead, you choose two, three, or more disciplines to explore.
As an English major, your focus is on English, but you will have plenty of opportunities to specialize your degree. Popular English specializations include the following:
- English Education
- Creative Writing
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Writing and Rhetoric
So, you can see how the difference in breadth plays out between these degrees. In a liberal arts program, you can graduate with a fair amount of credits in several different fields that may or may not be closely related. But as an English major, you’re likely to choose one of many concentrations and have a singular major.
Differences in Coursework
The nature of these degree programs means the coursework you complete can be quite different. Using the earlier example of a liberal arts degree focusing on psychology and communications, you might take courses such as:
- Introduction to Psychology
- Sociological Psychology
- Biological Psychology
- Interpersonal Communications
- Public Speaking
Of course, this is just one example. The specific courses you take in a liberal arts program depends on your academic focus. If you choose a combination of natural science and social sciences, your coursework will be different from that listed above. Similarly, a liberal arts degree focusing on the arts and humanities will be different, still.
In fact, every liberal arts degree is different in a couple of ways. First, colleges and universities have varying requirements for their liberal arts degrees. A liberal arts degree from the University of Kansas is likely to be quite different from one offered by the University of Connecticut.
Secondly, the ways in which you customize a liberal arts program to fit your specific needs also makes the degree unique from any other. There are likely thousands of different combinations of concentrations, minors, and specializations that make liberal arts degrees so different from one to the next.
Conversely, most English majors are roughly the same from one institution to the next. For example, most English education programs have core coursework that includes:
- Writing and Rhetoric
- Literature
- English-Language Arts Pedagogy
- Classroom Management
- Student Teaching
Likewise, most linguistics programs across the nation have a core curriculum that requires you to take courses in Phonetics and Phonemics, Morphology, and Syntactic Theory, to name a few. As an English major, you certainly have opportunities to take electives and explore how English principles and theories play out in related fields. But, by and large, your coursework will mostly focus on your major area of study.
Ultimately, though, a liberal arts degree and English degree do have some similarities in their coursework. Both programs typically require around 120 semester credits to graduate. Both programs also take around four years of full-time studies to complete.
Differences in Learning Outcomes
Another difference between a liberal arts degree and an English degree is the type of learning outcomes you are expected to fulfill over the course of the program. These expectations reflect the differences in coursework.
For example, many liberal arts programs focus on developing critical soft skills important to various academic disciplines and careers. This might include critical thinking, time management, and leadership. It might also include enhanced creativity, the ability to work as part of a team, and improved written and verbal communication skills.
This isn’t to say that you won’t gain hard skills in a liberal arts program. If your degree emphasizes business, you might gain hard skills related to data analysis, project management, and budgeting. If your concentration is in biology, you are likely to develop hard skills like technical writing, data collection and analysis, and laboratory skills.
Meanwhile, an English degree usually focuses more on developing hard skills related to your specific discipline. Using the English education example from earlier, you might gain hard skills such as classroom management, assessment development, and curriculum development. As a creative writing major, you might acquire skills related to proofreading, grammar, and research.
English degree programs also emphasize soft skills development, though perhaps to a lesser degree than liberal arts programs. Studying English requires you to have excellent communication skills, the capacity to work independently or as part of a team, and be creative, all of which are valued soft skills in the workforce.
Differences in Career Opportunities
The career options available to you as a liberal arts graduate can be far different from those you can pursue with an English degree. As noted earlier, there are a lot of career paths you can take with a liberal arts degree – it just depends on your specialization area.
For example, you can use a liberal arts education to get an entry-level job in sales, marketing, or business. Likewise, you can focus your studies on preparing for a career in law enforcement, education, or the hospitality industry. Furthermore, liberal arts degrees are good preparation for graduate school because of the wide range of subjects you study in a liberal arts program.
You might think of the career opportunities for liberal arts graduates as a mile wide and an inch deep. Usually, liberal arts undergraduate degrees are preparatory for many different careers but mostly entry-level positions.
As an English major, though, it’s usually the opposite situation. Rather than having a huge breadth of career options, you’re more likely to use your degree to focus on a single, primary career field. As an English education major, for example, you’re readying yourself to be an English teacher. As a literature major, you’re likely preparing for a career writing literature, critiquing literature, or a combination thereof.
Here’s another example that illustrates a fundamental difference between career opportunities.
Assume you major in liberal arts with a focus on education. Let’s also assume you have a friend who’s an English education major. While your degree might qualify you for a position as a teacher’s assistant – a non-certified support position – your friend’s English education major qualifies them to be a credentialed teacher. In other words, this example shows two education-focused degrees but with very different outcomes.
This is not the case in every liberal arts vs English situation, but it’s more common than not. The wide variety of coursework and skills development of a liberal arts degree is simply suited better for lower-tier careers while the focused nature of English degrees might be used to prepare for more specific, professional careers.
Can You Teach English With a Liberal Arts Degree?
Usually, English teachers at the secondary level (e.g., 7th through 12th grades) must have a degree in English education. The safe bet is to get an English education degree if you want to teach. However, in some cases, a liberal arts degree might qualify you for certain types of teaching certificates.
For example, teacher shortages have compelled many states to change the requirements for initial teaching licenses, emergency licenses, and other types of teacher credentials. In these cases, you might be granted licensure to teach English with a liberal arts degree. Usually, teachers who obtain licensure this way are required to take relevant college courses, so you might have to go back to school to specifically study English. States usually give you several years to complete these kinds of requirements, though.
Another situation in which you might teach English with a liberal arts degree is if you teach at the elementary school level (e.g., pre-K through 6th grade). Though elementary teachers usually major in elementary education, the multidisciplinary structure of a liberal arts degree mirrors the multidisciplinary nature of elementary education degrees. Again, you might qualify for an initial or emergency license to teach, but you would likely have to complete English courses, teacher education courses, or both to maintain your licensure.
Is an English Degree an Arts Degree?
English is part of the liberal arts, along with many other disciplines, as discussed earlier. There’s another element to the “arts” component, though – often, English undergraduate degrees are Bachelor of Arts degrees.
A BA in English usually explores literary theory, writing techniques, history, humanities, and other broad topics and applications. BA programs usually allow you more freedom to take additional elective courses, which can be beneficial for specializing your studies a little more.
However, some English undergraduate degrees are Bachelors of Science. A BS in English focuses less on the broad components of English and more on its technical aspects and applications, including research. Linguistics is a great example of a more technical English degree that’s often offered as a BS.
Which One is Better? Liberal Arts Degree or English Degree?
The degree that’s best for you is the one that helps you meet your academic and career goals. If you have interests in various academic disciplines and wish to create your own curriculum, a liberal arts degree is the better choice. Likewise, if you want a degree that can be helpful in gaining employment in a wide variety of fields, a liberal arts degree will often be the best option.
However, if you are passionate about English, a degree specifically in this field is certainly the better option. The focused coursework and ability to major in highly specific applications of English will serve you well, both academically and occupationally.
What’s certain is that getting a college degree is beneficial in many different ways. You’ll gain important skills relevant to the workplace, acquire a better understanding of the subject you are studying, and you will make more money over the course of your lifetime if you have a college degree. So, while the best degree for you might not be the best degree for someone else, you are certain to reap many benefits now and in the future with a liberal arts or an English degree!