English and Fine Arts
Degree available in English & Fine Arts:
The English curriculum is designed to give students a foundation in British and American literature, to enhance their ability to analyze texts and articulate their ideas, and to broaden and deepen their cultural knowledge. English majors therefore take a variety of courses in literature, philosophy, history, foreign languages, Classics, the fine arts, and the sciences. With twenty-seven hours of free electives, they are also able to pursue minors in other departments, as well as concentrations in writing or fine arts.
The ability to speak and write clearly and effectively, to use research materials creatively, to analyze and interpret written materials of all sorts, to think about people's motives and understand why they act the way they do--these are skills demanded in just about any occupation. English alumni have been successful in graduate schools of law, business, medicine, theology, psychology, and art, as well as English. The Department has placed its graduates in some of the best graduate schools in the country, and about 55% of our English majors earn advanced degrees, primarily MBAs and law degrees. English graduates are equally successful on the job market.
English majors have access to the Daniels Library in Scott Shipp Hall, and the Department sponsors a trip to England for English majors and minors. Eligible English majors and minors may join Sigma Tau Delta, an international honors society. For scholars and teachers, the Department sponsors The Spilman Symposium on composition and rhetoric.
The English Department serves the entire VMI community with its Speech and Composition courses and through The Writing Center. The department also sponsors two clubs that are open to all cadets, regardless of major, The English Society and The Timmins-Gentry Music Society.