English and Another Field of Study

By majoring in English at Lehigh University, students acquire cultural and critical perspectives as well as skills of interpretation, analysis and written communication. This training is fundamental, providing versatile skills that are in high demand.

Nevertheless, pursuing an additional field of study can increase the value of the major by broadening a student's framework of understanding or adding skills related to a career path.

At Lehigh University, it's easy to augment a major in English with training in one or more additional disciplines. This might entail completing a second major, pursuing a minor field, a certificate program, or engaging in projects and interships.

We call this augmented major English And. The point is that English connects with a wide range of interests and goals.

When they move from college to career, students who have pursued English And another field can highlight both a foundational major in the liberal arts and training in a complementary discipline.

Below are some examples of students who have pursued an augmented major in recent years.

Karen Konkoly, Class of '17

English, Psychology, and Business

As an English major, I practice daily the art of extracting meaning from a text. Though the communication skills I am learning will serve me well throughout life, cultivating this habit of looking for the meaning in everyone and everything is even more vital. My psychology major gives me a fascinating and comprehensive understanding of human nature, and my business minor emphasizes some practical applications, but the skills I’m developing as an English major turn my everyday experiences into a text to be learned from.

Celeen Hefele, Class of '16

English and Economics

Whenever I mention to someone that I major in Economics and English they always make a remark on how my two majors are polar opposites, but the truth is that the two play off of each other beautifully. This upcoming summer I will be interning at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Management Consultant under their Advisory Practice. My Economics major helped me to get in the door, but my English degree is what put me ahead of the other candidates and helped me land the job.

Sarah Anderle, Class of

M. A. English

Sarah received her BA in English literature and Religion from High Point University. Her academic interests include 19th century British literature, gothic fiction, and an interdisciplinary study of religion and literature, focusing particularly how Christian theologies are represented in literature.

Ava Bertone, Class of

M. A. English

Ava graduated from Lehigh in May 2018 with a B.A. in English, and is excited to be back for the M.A. program. Her academic interests include modernism, feminist theory, and the psychological motivations of both writers and literary characters. She has also developed an interest in public humanities through her work as an editor/writer for Southsider, an online publication seeking to highlight the artistic vibrancy of South Bethlehem. Outside of academia, Ava is passionate about animals, coffee, and Halloween.

Izzy Breit, Class of '13

English & Political Science and Women's Studies

I also completed a Political Science major and a Women’s Studies minor at Lehigh. While I gained things from all of these courses and departments, I have found that a strong foundation in comprehending texts, critical thinking skills, and writing is crucial to my success both in graduate school and in my professional life and those are all skills that I developed through English courses at Lehigh. Read more>

Mariel Caputo, Class of

M. A. English

Mariel received her B.A. from Drew University, and is currently a student in the M.A. program at Lehigh. Her research interests include nineteenth-century British literature, feminist critical theory, and the lives and works of the Brontës.

Laura Casale, Class of '15

English & Journalism

My two majors work well together. The editing skills required in Journalism have helped me immensely when writing my English papers. The critical thinking skills required for those English papers have helped me greatly when coming up with article ideas and figuring out how to tackle them. The skills I’ve learned from both of my majors have become invaluable to me when figuring out my future plans. No matter what field you end up going into, being able to write efficiently and clearly, and being able to think critically and form an argument, are necessities.

Victoria Davis, Class of

M. A. English

Victoria earned her B.A. in English from Slippery Rock University, where she also majored in gender and diversity studies. Currently a first year M.A. student, her academic interests include 19th century British and gothic literature as well as appropriations of and by women writers.

Talia Dunyak, Class of '16

English & German and Sustainable Development and Creative Writing

For years, I have found my heartstring being pulled towards languages. Upon arriving at Lehigh, I began to focus on the two things I loved most: English and German. The thing about languages, both native and foreign, is that they allow you to create new and beautiful images, and also allow for various forms of communication. All of my areas of focus concentrate on creating dialogue and communication between groups of people, bringing both ideas and cultures together.

Thomas Golden, Class of

M. A. English

Thomas Golden is an M.A. student who studies anything he has time to study. He's written on gender violence in the works of Shakespeare and David Lynch and plans to write his Master's thesis on any random thing that pops into his head. Right now his head is preoccupied with the Jackass movies, body horror, and homosociality.

Robin Lee, Class of

M. A. English

Robin Lee is from Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated with a BA in English and a Certificate in Writing Certificate from Sewanee: The University of the South. She is an MA student interested in the ways myth is inherited and re-imagined between literary periods, with a particular focus on gender fluidity and the poetry of social revolution.

Katherine McCaffery, Class of

M. A. English

Katherine McCaffery joins Lehigh as a M.A. candidate. She graduated from the University of Dayton in 2018 with a B.A. in English and Spanish, and a minor in Women's and Gender Studies. Her broad academic interests include medieval literature, feminist and queer theory, women writers, and feminist post-Franco Spanish literature. Outside of academia, she enjoys walking, brunching, and re-reading Jane Austen novels.

Laura Melone, Class of '15

English & History

History studies the movement of people and the building, or destruction, of nations, but English studies the perception of global events or time periods through a creative format. I feel like I’m obtaining the content knowledge from the History department and analyzing the real voice of how people lived from the English department. When I become a teacher, I plan on obtaining certifications in both the English and History subjects. Not only will it make me a competitive candidate for a job, but it will also give me a way to connect two subjects for my future students.

Rachael Miller, Class of '16

English & Anthropology

My English and Anthropology majors, though a seemingly strange combination, actually complement each other well. Anthropology, the study of humans, takes an in-depth look at people interacting in different cultures: in their daily activities, their thought processes, and their arts—including their literature. Anthropology has given me insights into the historical periods represented by the literary texts we study in my English classes; I can examine the ways that characters interact with one another in a cultural framework, to better understand the significance of their actions; and I can think more critically about the how an author’s time period and culture shape a literary work (and vice versa). Though it is a lot of work, being a double major is completely worth it.

Naashia Naufal, Class of

M. A. English

Naashia Naufal is a recent graduate of the MFA Creative program at The College of New Rochelle. Her interests include Southern Gothicism, camp literature and the intersection of literature and medicine.

Kelsey Stratman, Class of

M. A. English

Kelsey is an MA student in the English department. She did her undergrad at Earlham College and is interested in all sorts of literature but may end up focusing on 20th century American fiction and/or Appalachian regional literature. This year she will be working in the writing center and on projects relating to community engagement.

Kimberly Villacis, Class of '15

English & Biology and Latin American Studies

I have definitely noticed how my English major has complemented my work in both Biology and Latin American Studies in that it has shaped and refined my ability to analyze and comprehend texts more closely and easily. Whether I am writing lab reports or researching historical primary sources, the skills I have developed as an English major have proven useful. I will be a member of the Teach for America Corps this upcoming Fall 2015 and know I will make use of my developed skill set with my future students.