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  1. Home
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  3. Bachelor's Degrees
Hard Freight Cafe

English

Explore Penn State Altoona's English programs by clicking through the links in the menu. If you don't see the menu, click on the "Open" button on the left-hand side of your screen.

Contact the English Program Coordinator to learn more

English faculty at an open mic event sponsored by the campus literary arts magazine.

English faculty at an open mic event sponsored by the campus literary arts magazine.

Credit: Erin Murphy

Why Major in English?

Employers in all industries love to hire English majors. Why? Because they appreciate the fact that English majors know how to communicate effectively and think critically. Penn State Altoona English majors master these skills through courses in literature, writing, and rhetoric. By studying American, British, non-Anglo-American, and world literatures, you’ll learn how to synthesize and analyze information; formulate reasoned arguments and judgments; and develop perspectives on human nature, culture, and diversity. These skills prepare English majors for careers and postgraduate study in:

  • business
  • marketing
  • education (K-12 and college-level teaching)
  • law
  • medicine
  • creative writing
  • social media management
  • government
  • nonprofit management
  • publishing
  • advertising
  • professional and technical writing
  • journalism
  • various liberal arts disciplines

You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in career internships and in Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and to learn from published faculty who have won University-wide teaching awards.

Minors and Concentrations Within the Major

The English major offers two minors—the minor in English and the minor in Professional Writing—and two concentrations, Creative Writing and Global Narratives. The English minor will allow you to take any combination of literature and writing courses to hone your critical reading and analytical skills. The Professional Writing minor will prepare you to write effectively in the workplace and in academic settings. The Creative Writing concentration will hone your skills in both practical and creative forms by providing you with instruction and intensive practice in writing. The Global Narratives concentration is designed for students who wish to expand their literary studies in English by exploring literatures and other narrative forms from a wide geographic and temporal scope.

Fall 2022 English Senior Seminar Presentations

English Senior Seminar participants presented their projects on Monday, Dec. 5, in the Mountain View Room of Port-Sky Café. Their presentations were based on the work they did in ENGL 487W taught by Professor Laura Rotunno. This year's theme was “Widening the Stories, Widening our Worlds."

English faculty are shown with senior seminar participants.

English faculty are shown with senior seminar participants.

Credit: Penn State
Attendees listen to student Pat Wolford present his project on August Wilson.

Attendees listen to student Pat Wolford present his project on August Wilson.

Credit: Penn State
Pat Wolford presents An Elegy for the Hill District: The Pittsburgh Roots of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars.

Pat Wolford presents “An Elegy for the Hill District: The Pittsburgh Roots of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars.”

Credit: Penn State
Jordan Morral presents 'We might be the only living creatures in the whole world': The Rock and British Imperialism on Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Jordan Morral presents “’We might be the only living creatures in the whole world’: The Rock and British Imperialism on Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock."

Credit: Penn State
Danni West-Habjanetz presents 'Identity in the Substance Abuse Epidemic: Origin and Recovery': A Poetry Collection Conception inspired by Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was an Aztec.

Danni West-Habjanetz presents "'Identity in the Substance Abuse Epidemic: Origin and Recovery': A Poetry Collection Conception inspired by Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was an Aztec."

Credit: Penn State
Jim Miller presents John Kane: Marginalization and Identity in Working Class Society.

Jim Miller presents “John Kane: Marginalization and Identity in Working Class Society.”

Credit: Penn State
Katerina Poulos (right) is inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta English national honor society by Jeannette Lang, assistant teaching professor of English.

Katerina Poulos (right) is inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta English national honor society by Jeannette Lang, assistant teaching professor of English.

Credit: Penn State

Hard Freight Café Fall 2022

More than 100 people attended the fall 2022 Hard Freight Café open mic event on Tuesday, November 29, in the Titelman Study of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Students and faculty performed music and shared poems, stories, and essays. Kicking off the evening was a reading by Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies, who read from his debut novel, The Restless Crucible. The event was sponsored by Hard Freight, Penn State Altoona's student literary arts magazine. 

The audience listens to Professor Patricia Jabbeh Wesley introduce featured reader Yaw Agawu-Kakraba

The audience listens to Professor Patricia Jabbeh Wesley introduce featured readerr Yaw Agawu-Kakraba.

Credit: Penn State
HF Cafe Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, professor of English, introduces featured reader Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies

Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, professor of English, introduces featured reader Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies

Credit: Penn State
Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies, reads from his debut novel, The Restless Crucible

Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies, reads from his debut novel, The Restless Crucible

Credit: Penn State
Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies, signs copies of his debut novel

Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African Studies, signs copies of his debut novel

Credit: Penn State
Jeannette Lang, assistant teaching professor of English, performs a song

Jeannette Lang, assistant teaching professor of English, performs a song

Credit: Penn State
Maya Connell performs an original song

Maya Connell performs an original song

Credit: Penn State
Student Aidan Pellegrino, editor-in-chief of Hard Freight, reads an original poem

Student Aidan Pellegrino, editor-in-chief of Hard Freight, reads an original poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Danielle West-Habjanetz reads an original essay

Student Danielle West-Habjanetz reads an original essay

Credit: Penn State
Student Ember Brown reads an original story

Student Ember Brown reads an original story 

Credit: Penn State
Student Evan Smith reads an original poem

Student Evan Smith reads an original poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Hannah Gabrielle reads a poem

Student Hannah Gabrielle reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Hollie Keller reads from her memoir about her mother

Student Hollie Keller reads from her memoir about her mother

Credit: Penn State
Student Kaylie Smith reads a poem

Student Kaylie Smith reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Maddy Colello performs an original song

Student Maddy Colello performs an original song

Credit: Penn State
Student Makaylah Bangura reads a poem

Student Makaylah Bangura reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Marissa Ebersole reads a poem

Student Marissa Ebersole reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Nia Hubbard raps an original spoken word poem

Student Nia Hubbard raps an original spoken word poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Rivka Wolin reads a poem

Student Rivka Wolin reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Rose Ried reads an original essay

Student Rose Ried reads an original essay

Credit: Penn State
Student Ryan Gladwin reads a poem

Student Ryan Gladwin reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Shannette Wahor reads a poem

Student Shannette Wahor reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Taylor Greco reads a poem

Student Taylor Greco reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
Student Yeyya Wane reads a poem

Student Yeyya Wane reads a poem

Credit: Penn State
The audience listens to a student reading

The audience listens to a student reading

Credit: Penn State
The audience listens to student Emma Moniz read her original short story

The audience listens to student Emma Moniz read her original short story

Credit: Penn State
Tom Liszka, emeritus professor of English, reads a poem by Emily Dickinson

Tom Liszka, emeritus professor of English, reads a poem by Emily Dickinson

Credit: Penn State
Several attendees perform freestyle rap after the event

Several attendees perform freestyle rap after the event

Credit: Penn State

Writing and Publishing Opportunities

Interested in creative writing? Penn State Altoona students can take workshops in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and playwriting, as well as pursue a more focused study through the creative writing concentration. Want hands-on experience and practice of your professional skills? Consider writing for the Collegiate Review, the student newspaper, or Hard Freight, the college literary magazine. Outside of the classroom, engage with visiting writers and with the current Emerging Writer-in-Residence. Creative writing faculty have won national and international awards, have published dozens of books, and are excited to help you reach your potential.

English

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  • Hard Freight Literary Arts Magazine
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  • English Faculty and Staff

English Program

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Why major in English?
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National Undergraduate Literary and Scholarly Journals
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Notes from the Allegheny Front

An audio blog by Professor Todd Davis focussing on his ecological observations and experiences in the forests and on the streams of central Pennsylvania

Listen Now

Out-of-Class Learning

Explore out-of-classroom academic experiences that complement in-class learning, including study abroad/study away programs, internships, undergraduate research, and community-based studies.

Find Out More

See Also

  • African American Read-In
  • Division of Arts and Humanities
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Penn State Altoona

A full-service, four-year, residential campus located less than 45 miles from the research campus at University Park. Offering 21 four-year degrees and the first two years of over 275 Penn State majors.
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