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Online Bachelor’s Degree in EnglishOnline Bachelor’s Degree in EnglishOnline Bachelor’s Degree in English
Write your own exciting story. Earn your bachelor’s degree in English online.
Making connections that click is what great writing and successful careers have in common. That’s why an online Bachelor of Arts in English can help you stand out in any occupation. Earn your English degree online and choose from diverse minors to connect your intensive literary studies to jobs in media, publishing, education, marketing, psychology, law, technology and more.
At Maryville University, you’ll gain valuable skills to evolve as a writer, researcher and critical thinker playing a role in digital and traditional settings. And if you decide to grow further, we’ll connect you with unique degree pathways so your English bachelor’s degree online can lead to even more options to advance your career.
Apply for financial aid
Transfer eligible credits to finish more quickly
Start in fall, spring or summer
Study 100% online to earn yourEnglish degree
Choose a minor in your desired field
Why earn your English bachelor’s degree online?
Earning your online bachelor’s degree in English can help broaden your worldview, strengthen your research skills and prepare you to provide in-depth critical analysis in a wide range of fields. You can increase your understanding of cultural context, historical knowledge and textual analysis — and then transfer those skills to any work environment.
Our online English degree is highly adaptable, with options to expand the scope of your learning through elective courses, a writing internship and your minor. During your capstone experience, you’ll have the opportunity to engage your critical-thinking abilities to analyze how writing changes in response to culture and circumstance — great preparation to help you research and present compelling ideas in any setting, from classrooms to conferences.
You’ll gain new knowledge that extends beyond the major literary works that still inspire culture today, enabling you to frame your insights within the context of critical analysis and narrative understanding. Earning your online English degree is a great way to develop in-demand career skills that will help you excel in any area that interests you.
Flexible, affordable, and 100% online English degree program
Complete your coursework 100% online.
No campus visits required.
Enroll in research- and project-based online courses.
Gain real-world experience by completing a relevant internship.
Benefit from a supportive faculty.
Engage with expert faculty members online to help you connect the curriculum to your career vision.
Get the support you need.
Apply to be considered for financial aid and get transfer credits for eligible courses.
What can you do with an online English degree?
The skills you develop as an English major can help you prepare for careers in many fields where critical thinking and writing skills are in demand. From traditional settings, such as classrooms and newsrooms, to emerging roles in startups and technology companies, online English degree graduates can choose from an increasingly diverse range of career opportunities.
And the possibilities don’t end there. Should you wish to take your education further and pursue a graduate degree, our online English degree paves the way for you to enroll in a variety of Maryville graduate programs, including our Master of Business Administration, Master of Health Administration, Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership and more.
English degree career opportunities
Potential English degree career paths for graduates include:
- Author
- Copy editor
- Copywriter
- Editor
- Educator
- Fundraiser
- Grant writer
- Investigative journalist
- Legal editor
- Librarian
- Managing editor
- News editor
- Reporter
- Researcher
- Senior writer
- Social media copywriter
- Travel writer
- Web content writer
- Web editor
- Writer
Our online English degree graduates work in a variety of settings, including:
- Advertising
- Education
- Journalism
- Media/communications companies
- Nonprofit organizations
- Private corporations
- Publishing
- Technology companies
What is the typical online English degree salary?
With your online bachelor’s in English, you can build a foundation to pursue careers with median salaries such as:
What is the market outlook for graduates with an online English degree?
Diverse job opportunities.
A Bachelor of Arts in English offers diverse job opportunities, leveraging communication, critical thinking and creativity. Your online English degree can help you excel in fields such as publishing, journalism, marketing, education or content creation.
Writing and editing skills.
A Bachelor of Arts in English will sharpen your writing and editing skills. Skills that are crucial for your everyday professional and personal life. These skills will help you to express your thoughts effectively, boosting your communication in work, studies and personal interactions.
More teachers needed.
You can supplement your online English degree with the requisite training and credentials to become a high school teacher. These educators earn a median annual salary of US$65,220.6
Benefits of choosing an online bachelor’s degree in English
What makes an online English degree relevant and worthwhile in today’s high-tech job market? Many things. For starters, a great variety of modern companies need writers — UX writers to create interfaces, technical writers to produce product documentation, public relations writers to create press materials, and copywriters to write advertising and marketing materials. In addition, many of today’s top firms employ community managers to connect product developers with users, and lots of brands rely on social media managers to engage and expand their audiences.
English majors cultivate skills that are transferable to careers far beyond the classroom. In addition to writing, editing, proofreading and a broad knowledge of classical and contemporary literature, English majors build valuable skills in critical and creative thinking, time management, organization and technology applications of all kinds, from Microsoft Office to web development and social media authoring tools.
Now more than ever, clear communication is everyone’s business — and that’s great news for bachelor’s degree graduates.
Why choose Maryville University’s online English degree program?
At Maryville University, our online BA in English program prepares you to harness all manner of digital resources to build your ideas, bolster your messages, and improve your professional writing. You’ll learn to become a flexible writer and savvy storyteller with the advanced narrative skills to craft powerful, persuasive, and memorable communications.
Led by an expert faculty comprising esteemed professional writers and literary scholars, our online English degree program invites you to think critically about world literature’s most widely discussed ideas; plus, it connects you with relevant internship opportunities that provide valuable writing and editing experiences before you graduate.
What’s more, you can customize your online program to fit your interests and goals — whether you’d like to work as a teacher, journalist, marketing professional, digital content producer, or any other role in which clear, concise, and compelling communications are valued.
Here at Maryville University, we’ve been connecting motivated professionals with industry expertise since 1872. We’re proud of our reputation for quality academics, accelerated growth, and affordability, and we’re devoted to helping students like you achieve your goals.
Celebrated writers help you push your skills further.
Meet Dr Jessica Bowers.
Dr Jessica Bowers is an assistant professor of English and a writer of short fiction. She won the 2014 Midwest Short Fiction Prize and the 2016 Winter Anthology Prize. She is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and she has received consideration for several other awards and honors. Her work on literary tourism was published in Poe Studies, and her short fiction has appeared in publications and literary journals like The Portland Review, cream city review, Redivider, StoryQuarterly, The Indiana Review, Zone 3, Oyez Review and more. Through her creative writing expertise, she can help you expand your craft to give you a stronger understanding of how to create engaging, powerful stories.
Assistant Professor of English
- Ph.D., University of Missouri
- M.A., Hollins University
- BA, Goucher College
As you analyze American, English, and world literature, you can use your online BA in English to invigorate your own writing. Creative writing is a key aspect of understanding how language is used in the context of culture, and Maryville instructors such as Dr. Bowers teach from their extensive experience.
During more than 10 years of teaching, Dr Bowers has taught a diversity of courses and content, but the bulk of her work is focused on the art of writing — the research process, composition, storytelling, fiction writing and critical analysis. In addition to her years as a professor, Dr Bowers has a history in fiction, nonfiction and criticism publication that spans nearly two decades.
As your instructor, Dr Bowers brings her extensive knowledge and experience to the online classroom to help you reflect on literature, workshop your ideas and push your writing further. She is emblematic of the standard to which we hold our online BA in English faculty. Our academic community comprises authors and writers who publish regularly, appearing in both academic and literary journals. Join Maryville, and our online English degree faculty can help you advance as a writer in your chosen field.
Insights from our faculty
We’ve asked Anthony Santirojprapai, assistant dean for humanities and assistant professor of English, for his thoughts on the Bachelor of Arts in English program. Here are his responses:
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The faculty members in our English program are not only experts in their fields but also passionate about their commitment to student success. At Maryville, our goal of keeping class sizes small allows for more one-on-one interaction with instructors. The advice and mentorship that our faculty can provide through such connections means that our students will not get lost in the shuffle and will receive our fullest attention as they work toward their career goals.
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The English program is probably Maryville’s most diverse program in terms of curriculum and student outcomes. We offer a variety of courses that go beyond English literature and history and into other areas, such as world mythology, film studies, women’s literature, the history of theater, creative writing and much, much more. Our English majors are also a part of a program where they can choose many career paths, including teaching, social media design, journal editing, and museum and gallery archiving.
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I had careers in public relations and alt-weekly arts journalism before joining academia full time. Every career opportunity I earned came to me because my training in creative writing taught me how to adapt my writing style on the fly based on audience and register. If a person can write poetry or prose well, then they can write a profile, a press release, website copy, business correspondence — really, anything that needs to be written. Strong writing and communication skills are always in demand. I try to help my creative writing students see how easily aptitude in fiction and poetry can translate into a career that supports their creative pursuits.
Online BA in English degree curriculum
The online Bachelor of Arts in English curriculum is designed to help you develop a mastery of writing, critical thinking and academic reasoning — the humanities-based skills many employers seek in job candidates today. Our online program spans 128 credit hours and includes coursework from the following areas:
English major: Dive deep into writing technique, creative writing, literature, analysis, communications and other topics and issues to build a complete understanding of English language and literature.
Minor: Customize your degree to fit your career goals by choosing a minor to enhance your skills and knowledge. Possible minors include communications, education and business, to name a few.
General education and electives: Round out your education with college-level skills and knowledge in language, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. You’ll also have the opportunity to take non-major electives, if you’d like.
Internship: Discover firsthand the many ways you can adapt your BA in English to your career interests and apply its benefits in the job market. Choose from a variety of internship experiences to gain real-world knowledge and a competitive edge as you pursue your career.
Find out more about our online English degree curriculum.
More paths to choose with your English Major
Earning your BA in English online can prepare you for a wide range of professions and even help you get a head start on your master’s degree.
With Early Access, you can take graduate-level courses that count toward your undergraduate degree and a Maryville graduate degree at the same time.
When you’re ready to go further, consider building on your Bachelor of Arts in English with one of these online graduate program options:
An online Master of Business Administration, featuring 12 concentrations in communications-heavy areas such as marketing, management and project management.
An online Master of Health Administration, where you can use your language and communications skills to lead in the healthcare business.
An online Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Leadership with the opportunity to study theory, gain practical experience, and earn relevant professional certifications.
Frequently asked questions
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Maryville’s online bachelor’s in English can lead to exciting and rewarding career opportunities. Popular careers available to online English degree graduates include grant writer, journalist, public relations specialist, news editor, researcher, teacher and technical writer.
Find out more about career opportunities for online bachelor’s degree in English graduates.
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Yes, Maryville University proudly holds regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Maryville has maintained accreditation from the HLC since 1941.
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Most students complete our online bachelor’s in English program in four years. Qualified students may be able to satisfy the general education requirements through eligible transfer credits to complete their degrees in less time.
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With Early Access, students in our online English degree program can get a head start on earning a graduate degree by taking graduate-level courses that count toward their undergraduate and graduate degrees at the same time. Furthermore, graduate-level Early Access courses are billed at the undergraduate tuition rate, so students save time and money.
Our Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration are among the many Maryville graduate programs that offer Early Access options for students enrolled in our online English degree program.
If you’re interested in participating in Early Access, you should apply one semester before you plan to start taking your courses. To apply, you must have completed at least 75 credit hours and have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher. Through the program, you can earn up to 12 credit hours toward your master’s degree. Our advisors can help you select your Early Access courses, which must be taken one at a time.
Learn more about our Early Access program.
Apply to the online English bachelor’s degree at Maryville University.
Be Brave
Bring us your ambition and we’ll guide you along a personalized path to a quality education that’s designed to change your life.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Writers and Authors. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Fundraisers. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Editors. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: High School Teacher. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: High School Teacher. (2024). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved April 10, 2024. ↩︎