English at Emory

So I just got into Emory RD and I’m pretty excited and will most likely attend. I applied as an English major, but I don’t know much about the program, so could someone fill me in? I know the creative writing program is pretty highly regarded, but what about the English major? Same quality of instruction and prestige?

Also, I’m considering double majoring in English and business, or law with an English minor, so is that possible? I know there’s no guaranteed admission into Goizueta, but know nothing about the law program.

You need to do your homework on the Emory website. A minor in English involves six semester courses. Between your first four semesters at ‘the college’ and your junior year at Goizueta (where most kids take one course/semester at ‘the college’) you’d have ample opportunity to get that done.
Go on the course atlas to see if the courses interest you:
http://atlas.college.emory.edu/schedules/index.php?select=ENG

FWIW, if you go onto ratemyprofessor dot com, a lot of the Emory professors with the highest ratings are in the English dept. I don’t know if that says anything about the strength of the dept. If you’re going to go to one of the Admitted Students Days I’m sure that they’d be happy to connect you with both faculty and students in the English dept who can tell you about the program.

Thanks for the help! I will be attending one of the admitted students days. Right now I’m between Emory and Cornell which are two very different schools in terms of atmosphere, so I think it’ll come down to where I feel like I “fit” in.

@Kasami You might consider some additional factors in deciding on the strength of Cornell’s v. Emory’s English Departments.

  1. Are you more interested in British literature or American literature? What about niche areas such as African American literature, Indian, Native American, southern literature, etc.?
  2. Are you more interested in contemporary literature or literature written centuries ago?
  3. Do you have an interest in interdisciplinary studies of literature, such as for example, post-colonialism, or literature and biology/psychology? I know Emory's English Department offers such courses.
  4. How easy does each school make it to minor or double major in English and something else?

My impression is that Emory’s English Department is strong and offers a wide and diverse array of courses covering many niches and specialties.

Good luck in your research and your decisionmaking.

Emory also appears to have a more modern approach to teaching students writing overall (like many super elite UG English programs would). Also, English and Creative writing do not function as two completely separate entities. They share faculty and resources at the undergraduate level. I can honestly assure you that each is extremely serious.

Cornell vs. Emory…often people would just go to Cornell regardless of “fit”. Don’t really know why (okay, we know why. Being an Ivy gives an unjustified bump in perception in I would say 3 cases).

Ooh I’m also considering going to Emory for English/ Creative Writing; would going to Emory as a pure English major be a good idea?

Yes…if you are interested in literature, poetry, or writing, going to Emory is an excellent idea, but so is Yale, WashU, and Virginia, and Stanford (can likely name several others, but those are the big names that come off the top of my head).

Emory English is great, so is the creative writing program. You can double major with business. There is a pre-law track too, which you can definitely do if you want to.