Read interpretively and write powerfully
An Eckerd College literature degree (English degree) gives students a rigorous, multifaceted understanding of great literary works across time and culture. Studying literature opens the door to a career in writing — both creatively and professionally — as well as teaching. However, our graduates also go on to practice law, work in libraries, museums and publishing firms, and even attain prominent positions in tech and finance.
Only@Eckerd
Attention high school students
Eckerd offers a unique pre-college experience, that introduces high-school juniors and seniors to studying the liberal arts on our beautiful waterfront campus.
Expand your horizons
Students interested in both literature and world cultures can take advantage of Eckerd’s Comparative Literature major. This major encourages literary study across geographical and linguistic boundaries.
Dig into environmental literature
Eckerd’s gorgeous natural setting on the Florida coast provides the backdrop for an array of environmental literature courses. “Children’s Literature and the Environment,” “Regional American Literature” and “Southern Literature and the Environment” all emphasize environmental awareness and activism.
In Their Own Words
“My literature degree at Eckerd has made a profoundly positive impact on my happiness and career(s). Learning how to write with clarity and verve, critique works of art with thought and passion, and edit others’ words with the skill of my own Eckerd mentor led to my stints at national magazines and now as editorial overlord of a consumer insights company serving Fortune 100 companies.”
—Charlotte Butzin Beal ’95
Senior Editor at Gartner
Beyond the Classroom
Whether you envision yourself as a teacher, writer, lawyer, editor or professional scholar, the literature major at Eckerd College fosters many career paths. Our partnerships with local public and private secondary schools, publishing houses in Tampa Bay and New York, theatres and law offices give you the chance to experience possible careers before you graduate.
In addition to a wide range of independent study options that give students close contact with faculty, Literature majors frequently present original research at the annual Eckerd College Humanities Symposium. Through the Ford Independent Scholars program, select majors do in-depth research projects with a faculty sponsor. Exceptional majors may be invited to write a senior thesis.
Many Literature majors spend a semester studying the literature and culture of England with an Eckerd professor at our London Study Centre. We also regularly offer trips to study literature and the environment in Ireland, Holocaust literature in Eastern Europe, and culture and food ways in the American South.
Study Abroad Pics on FlickrThe humanist values cultivated by study of literature inspire our majors to better their homes and communities. Students enrolled in the Literature and Human Rights course do service at local non-profits such as the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking and the Florida Holocaust Museum. Regional American Literature students volunteer at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, where they remove invasive species, do studies of local wildlife and help guide visitors.
Service Pics on FlickrPopular classes
Southern Literature and the Environment
Study Southern environmental literature, activism and history with an eye toward agrarianism, sustainability and conservation.
Literature, Justice and Law
What can great literature teach us about law and justice, vengeance and mercy? To find out, we read authors like Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dickens and Faulkner. Includes field trips.
Outcomes
What can I do with a literature degree?
- Advertising Copywriter
- Corporate Blogger
- Freelance Writer and Editor
- Grant Writer
- Journalist
- Market Researcher
- News Reporter
- Policy Analyst
- Public Relations Director
- Search Engine Marketing Writer
- Social Media Manager
- Teacher
- Technical Writer
- University Administrator
Where our literature majors go to graduate school
- Boston University
- Carnegie Mellon
- Emerson College
- Georgetown Law School
- Georgetown University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Stetson University
- Suny University at Buffalo
- University of Florida
- University of New Hampshire
- University of North Carolina
- University of South Florida
- University of Utah
- Yale University
