Keeping with the university's mission to connect civic and community partners, 圖朸厙 uses its local standing to place students in positions that enrich their community. These opportunities offer practical work experience to let students work in a field of their choice, streamlining the job search by honing crucial skills that only come from on-site experience. Whether our English students are editing, following the latest scoop for the Mace and Crown, or designing election materials for Norfolk, professional connections are sure to form.
Careers
Graduates will be immediately marketable in fields such as administration, analytics, bookselling, editing, education, journalism, and information design. Education in the English Department is writing intensive, ensuring that all coursework builds proficiency, not just knowledge. Students can demonstrate their skills to employers even before getting hired.
An English graduate's portfolio will span hundreds of pages and represent immediate evidence of thoughtfulness and competence. Students will be able to answer what they'll do in terms of what they have already accomplished. Even the best ideas need good writers to promote them, and the prepared job candidate will have proof of a commitment to best practices.
Through a focus on the fundamentals of communicating through writing and visuals, students in the Technical Writing Concentration are exposed to writing a wide range of document types for various audiences in a variety of contexts. Included in many courses are client- and case-based writing projects that provide real-world or real-world equivalent experience.
Employment:
- Technical writers
- Web developers
- User experience (UX) professionals
- Project managers
- Editors
- Copy writers
Students will study the art and craft of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and take workshops devoted to one or more of those three genres. Students in this emphasis will develop the skills of critical thinking, creative problem solving, close reading, editing, and logical analysis.
Employment:
- Authors
- Producers
- Editors
- Reporters and correspondents
Students will study the professional work of journalists and acquire the requisite technical and linguistic skills to succeed in the field:
Employment:
- Journalist
- Radio and television announcers
- Broadcast news analysts
- Reporters and correspondents
The Applied Linguistics concentration focuses on the scientific study of language, with an emphasis on using linguistics to address real-world problems.
Employment:
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
- Computer and Information Research Scientists
- Social Scientists and Related Workers
- Interpreters and Translators
- Military/Department of Defense
- Movie and media production
Students gain expertise in interpreting literary and other creative cultural texts to the grounding in all aspects of English Studies provided by the core requirements for the B.A. in English.
Employment:
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary/Secondary/Primary
- Editors
- Librarians
- Copywriter
- Social media manager
- Archivist
This program leads to eligibility for teacher licensure in Virginia. Licensure in English prepares students for a full range of secondary school teaching assignments.
Employment:
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
- Instructional Coordinators
- Editors
- Recreation Workers
Internships
An internship is an opportunity to gain work experience while receiving college credit for your major. It's typically a student's first big networking opportunity and often a turning point in their lives. Unlike a traditional classroom experience, an internship takes you off campus and places you into a workplace that prepares you for a career after graduation. It is really the best of both worlds: get college credit while preparing yourself for a career after your English degree!
Typically, students work 10 hours a week (paid or unpaid) at a place of employment (could be a business, a non-profit, a government agency, a community organization) over the course of 15 weeks. This 150 hours of work gets translated into 3 credit hours to go towards your degree.
Students will register for a course (ENGL 368, 369, or 468) but are not required to meet regularly with a professor or group of students. Instead, student interns keep track of their own working hours and write brief reflections throughout the semester, linking theories learned in English classes to applied experiences. At the end of the semester, students submit their timesheet and reflections to the internship coordinator and receive either a P or an F (passing or failing grade).
The department has a good number of connections with companies and other organizations based on the past internships or relationships with faculty members. These, along with other current opportunities, are listed under "Internship Opportunities. That said, it is the sole responsibility of the student to secure the internship position. The department can provide leads, but the student must submit their resume and receive an internship offer formally by the organization before moving forward. Career Development Services has amazing resources to help you find and secure an internship that is right for you. Career Development Services泭
Sara Lacy
Internship Director
757-683-3991
slacy@odu.edu
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Bridget Dolan
Internship Coordinator
bdolan@odu.edu
The department has a number of connections with companies and other organizations based on the past internships or relationships with faculty members. These, along with other current opportunities, are listed under "Internship Opportunities below. That said, it is the sole responsibility of the student to secure the internship position. The department can provide leads, but the student must submit their resume and receive an internship offer formally by the organization before moving forward. Career Development Services has amazing resources to help you find and secure an internship that is right for you. It is also recommended that you meet with our Internship Coordinator before starting.
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Past Internships:
- Aerotek Staffing
- Audubon's Pine Island Reserve
- Barry Art Museum Internship Program
- Boulder Weekly
- City of Norfolk Office of Elections
- Clever Communities in Action
- Climate Central
- CMRubinWorld
- Constant Associates
- DeGood Foundation
- Dept. of English, 圖朸厙
- Downtown Norfolk Community Garden
- Huntington Ingalls
- iSportsman
- Laurel Ridge Community College
- Macmillan Learning
- Max Media of Hampton Roads
- mxdwn Games
- NATOs Innovation Hub
- New Vision Youth Services
- NSF Data and Analysis
- 圖朸厙 Auxiliary Business Services
- 圖朸厙 English Language Center (ELC)
- 圖朸厙 Police
- 圖朸厙 Athletics
- Orleans Bistro and Grill
- Q10 Government Contracting
- RxSense
- TC Camp
- The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- The Muse Writers Center
- The Muse Writers Center
- The Nash News
- Tidewater Queer History Project
- Tsessebe Technologies
- Virginia Sea Grant
- Virginian-Pilot
- Warner Media
- WAVY TV-10
- WHRO
- WTKR