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About
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for our final Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
About
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Academics
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for our final Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Academics
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Admission & Financial Aid
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for our final Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Admission & Financial Aid
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Student Life
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for our final Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Student Life
- Athletics
English Majors at Marist read, write, and create in a supportive community with many opportunities to hone their craft, share their artistry, and expand their horizons. A self-driven major enables you to choose the classes which interest you. Combine classroom work with hands-on experience to prepare for careers in publishing, education, public service, law, and many other fields.
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How Does an English Degree Prepare You for a Career?
An English degree equips students with sought-after skills in writing, communication, critical thinking, research, and problem-solving. At Marist, English students can customize their curriculum across literature, theatre, writing, education, and related disciplines while gaining hands-on experience through internships, research, publishing, and community-based learning. English students can choose a concentration that meets their unique interests and career goals.
Literature
All students have the opportunity to add a Literature concentration or minor. Gain a sense of the historical development of the literary tradition with courses such as Literature of the Holocaust and Shakespeare.
Theatre
Those with interests in theatre and drama can either concentrate or minor in Theatre. You’ll be able to take courses that cover all aspects of the theatre discipline, including Acting, Directing, Stagecraft, and many others.
Writing
Students with a passion for writing can explore numerous genres through courses in creative and professional writing, as well as composition and rhetoric. The program offers a concentration in Writing, as well as interdisciplinary minors in Creative Writing and Professional Writing. Take courses like Fiction Workshop, Collaborative Writing, and Writing for the Digital Age
Adolescence Education
Learn from Active Scholars in English
Our English faculty members are active scholars with a diverse range of specialties. They are teachers and mentors for our students, and they engage in one-on-one work with students in many areas, including Creative Writing, Professional Writing, Literature, and Theatre. Meet a few of our faculty members below, or view all English faculty members>
Dr. Fitzgibbons teaches courses such as Chaucer, Graphic Novels, and the History of the English Language. Her interests include disability studies, comics studies, and the parallels between medieval and modern literary texts. Dr. Fitzgibbons incorporates community-based learning in her courses with partners such as Literacy Connections.
Dr. Kotzin is a writing and American literature specialist with a focus on Jewish- American Literature. His Holocaust Literature course is a popular option for students inside and outside of the major. Dr. Kotzin is our Jewish Studies Coordinator and organizes important annual events such as the Holocaust Remembrance Event and the Effron Lecture in Jewish Studies.
Dr. Graham teaches creative writing and literature courses, including contemporary poetry and theory, creative nonfiction, travel writing/place studies, music and cultural studies, and Latin American literature. Her first-year seminars and special topics courses have included Travel Writing in the Time of Pandemic, Blues Poetry/Blues History, and Birth of the Cool: Jazz & 20th Century U.S. Culture.
Design Individualized Research Projects as an Undergraduate
Working on your own, with classmates, and alongside esteemed faculty, you’ll have the opportunity to conduct important research in the field of English and present your work at local, regional, and national conferences. In recent years, English majors have presented work at the Sigma Tau Delta (National English Honor Society) National Convention, the National Collegiate Honors Conference, as well as the Supernatural Studies Conference held right here in the Hudson River Valley.
Sigma Tau Delta
Marist's Sigma Tau Delta chapter continues to highlight the strength of our English program. Eight students previously traveled to St. Louis to present their creative and academic work at the annual Sigma Tau Delta Convention — engaging in panel discussions, author readings, and networking with peers from around the country. The chapter’s achievements offer students valuable opportunities to showcase their talents, grow as writers, and connect with a broader network of English scholars.
Theatre Technology Conference
Marist’s commitment to experiential learning shined at the 2025 Theatre Technology Conference. Students attended the annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) gathering in Columbus, Ohio, where they worked one-on-one with professional stage managers, assisted large-scale events, and honed technical theatre skills. Their hands-on roles allowed them to put leadership, communication, and problem-solving into practice in a fast-paced, professional setting.
Gain Hands-on Experience at Premier Internship Destinations
English majors at Marist gain hands-on experience toward their career goals by completing exciting internships at on and off-campus sites. The Albany Summer Internship Program, Tarver Summer Internship Program, the Writing Center, and the Hudson River Valley Institute are only some of the prominent avenues through which our English majors attain their internships. Check out some examples of previous internship locations:
- Credit.com
- Gallery Media Group
- Good Housekeeping
- Hudson Valley Magazine
- Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator for New York
- Literacy Connections of the Hudson Valley
- Penguin Random House
- Reader's Digest
- Spectrum News 1
- TigerBeat
- United Way
- The Vandervort Group, LLC
Explore Your Passions
As an English student at Marist, you have many opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities related to your major and other interests. The English Department is home to four campus-recognized student organizations: Sigma Tau Delta National English Honor Society, Marist College Club of Theatre Arts (MCCTA), Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society, and the Literary Arts Society. Each provides students from across campus with opportunities to explore our disciplines through performances, publications, workshops, and events. English majors regularly participate in other clubs, play sports, hold internships, and host annual events such as Literary Desserts, The John P. Anderson Playwriting Festival, and the Poetry Slam.
New York Stage and Film
Marist’s ongoing partnership with New York Stage and Film (NYSAF) brings world-class theater to campus — and, as part of its 2024 Summer Season, students had the chance to work directly with leading Broadway, television, and film artists. NYSAF offers internships in production, marketing, and creative roles, connecting academic study with real-world theatrical practice.
The Mosaic
The Mosaic, Marist’s student-run literary and arts magazine, gives students real-world publishing experience and a platform to share creative work. The team curates, edits, designs, and prints roughly 375 copies each semester. Through Mosaic, students from a wide range of majors publish poetry, short stories, photography, and visual art. Many tout the experience as having helped them land internships and careers in publishing, journalism, and beyond.
Pushcart Prize
Marist’s Pushcart Prize sponsorship continues to strengthen our literary community. As part of this initiative, two-time Pushcart Prize winner Joan Murray visited campus, giving students and faculty the chance to engage with an acclaimed poet up close. Her poems, filled with vivid imagery and emotional resonance, sparked conversation about creativity, craft, and the power of language in everyday life.
What Kind of Jobs Can You Get With an English Degree?
An English degree opens doors to careers in publishing, journalism, education, law, public service, communications, marketing, and the arts. Graduates pursue various roles such as writers, editors, reporters, teachers, content strategists, and attorneys. Marist's English students gain practical experience and build professional networks that help them launch successful careers in both creative and professional fields. They are empowered to choose "and," not "or," in their education by combining majors, minors, and concentrations to fit their interests through a distinct blend of liberal arts and pre-professional studies. Here are some examples of how Marist students embraced the power of "and":
English Major
+ Writing Concentration
+ Philosophy Major
+ Spanish Minor
+ Theatre Minor
= Political Reporter
English Major
+ Literature Concentration
+ Psychology Minor
+ Theatre Minor
+ Adolescence Education Certification
= Arts Academy Manager
English Major
+ Writing Concentration
+ Creative Writing Minor
+ Political Science Minor
= Editorial Assistant
English Major
+ Literature Concentration
+ Philosophy Major
+ Spanish Minor
= Associate Attorney
The Value of a Marist Education
Marist cultivates the intellectual growth and well-being of its students through unique and personalized combinations of coursework and experience in and out of the classroom. These experiences provide valuable personal growth and occupational expertise to reflect students' individual passions.
94%
Employed or attending grad school 6 months after graduation
83%
Of Marist Graduates Participated in one or more internships
82%
Graduation rate, higher than the average for public and private colleges
#1
Marist study abroad is the national leader for academic year programs, per Open Doors Report.
