Program Description
Vermont State University’s Bachelor of Arts in Literature & Writing program offers dynamic pathways to a Bachelor of Arts degree. Combining the best of traditional literature programs, hands-on classes that produce multiple publications, and a variety of introductory and advanced creative writing workshops, this program allows students to follow their interests, develop their expertise, and prepare for a lifetime of rewarding work in professions ranging from the arts to industry.
Regardless of the pathway chosen, students will acquire a broad knowledge of literature and literary traditions through the lenses of cultural, historical, and aesthetic critical approaches; develop sophisticated and active reading, speaking, and writing skills to understand, appreciate, and work with a wide variety of everyday and complex texts – both in and after university; identify and appreciate the diversity of cultural and/or ethnic perspectives in literature and through writing; conduct inquiry by researching, synthesizing, and documenting the voices and ideas of others to produce engaging, insightful, and persuasive works of their own; and develop communicative skills that are indispensable for careers in the private sector or in government, as well as for graduate study.
Within this major, students will also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in publishing, including design, layout, editing and publication management. Students can work on one of the university’s three student-run newspapers and news sites for credit. The department also publishes two literary magazines on the VTSU-Johnson campus, each potentially offering for-credit practica or internships: the student-produced Pamplemousse and the internationally known Green Mountains Review.
Students have access to internships anywhere that analytical thinking and strong writing skills are required – including publishing, education, journalism, public relations, business, nonprofit management and even politics. Past internships have placed students in major Vermont news media outlets, state agencies, nonprofits, the Vermont Legislature, and numerous private businesses.
The design of this program is innovative. Rather than being confined to a specific concentration, students are free to choose among multiple degree pathways mixing and matching as they develop their interests and expertise. Regardless of the path chosen, all majors share a core of required courses carefully calibrated to inculcate the mental agility and critical thinking skills essential in today’s ever-shifting job market – especially relevant when according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person will change jobs at least twelve times over a working lifetime.
Program Outcomes
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Develop a broad knowledge of literature and literary traditions through the lenses of cultural, historical, and aesthetic critical approaches.
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Develop sophisticated and active reading, speaking, and writing skills to understand, appreciate, and work with a wide variety of everyday and complex texts (both in and after college.)
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Identify and appreciate the diversity of cultural and/or ethnic perspectives, in literature and through writing.
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Conduct inquiry by researching, synthesizing, and documenting the voice(s) and ideas of others to produce engaging, insightful, and persuasive texts.
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Develop the analytical, interpretive, and communicative skills that are valuable for careers in the private sector or in government, as well as graduate study or teaching English.
