English Programs at California Colleges

State Forums
1

Hey everybody!
I am very new to this site and just wanted to ask a few questions about the state of the English programs at some of the (slightly) more underrated colleges in California (which really just means not Cal, UCLA, or Stanford :wink: )

I am not in college yet, and won’t be at a 4-year for a little while anyway as I will be going to a community college for 2 years before transferring. I am very strong in English, it has always been my best subject and I intend to major in it and take it all the way to a PhD, eventually teaching it at either the HIgh School or Collegiate level. My plan is to start at a CC, transfer to a 4-year for the last two years, graduate, and then go to Berkeley for grad school since it’s got the top-ranked English program–however, I guess that could change haha.

The colleges I’m considering for post-CC (I know it’s a little ambitious to be planning this already, but these are just the early stages–it’s an academic jungle out there!) are:

UC Santa Cruz
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
CSU Chico
UC San Diego

Anyway, I haven’t been able to find much in the way of firsthand experience/knowledge about the state of the English programs at these school–How are the professors? what are the other students in the classes like? what’s the general atmosphere among the fellow English majors? What do the classes prepare you for and how do they do it? Stuff like that
–so I’m calling out to English majors who are at/have gone to any of the above or anyone who knows a bit about the programs at any of the above–or even if someone could just link me to something with some information, that’d be great!
Thanks guys!

2

I would not be surprised if good English departments were more common than most people think. Not too long ago, there was the news of the unfortunate death of a rising star at Yale’s English department. Amid the news, it was noted that he had earned his PhD from UCLA after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from CSU Bakersfield.

But check each school’s English department to be sure that it offers the usually-expected academics in the major, rather than being just there to teach frosh or remedial writing courses to students of other majors.

3

Oh that’s too bad :confused: very sorry to hear that. But that does support what you’re saying–I hadn’t even heard of CSU Bakersfield (not that I am in any way representative of the general population) and he was teaching at Yale. Thank you for your input! You’re absolutely correct that I need to check the individual departments and make sure they’re offering what I’ll need. Thank you! :slight_smile:

4

Sounds like a good plan. Given your goals, I don’t think getting the BA at a UC (vs a CSU) will do much for you. I’d add Sonoma, SDSU and CSULB as attractive transfer destinations but, just about any CSU will do the trick.

5

The good news is that English is one of the most common strong departments. ALL top schools and ALMOST all “less-selective” schools will have terrific English departments.

6

However, one thing to note is that, at many less selective schools (probably including most CSUs in most subjects), there may not be much of a “pre-PhD culture” (note that students at the CSUs generally have a more pre-professional orientation than those at the UCs, based on the enrollment in various kinds of majors). I.e. you may not find that much of a peer group of other pre-PhD students. However, faculty might really take interest in you since you would be a student with a deep interest in the subject, rather than someone taking the courses for general education.

You may want to ask English departments at various schools of interest to see if there are many English majors going on to PhD study.

7

NCalRent: Thanl you, I’ll look into those!

Marvin100: You’re probably right haha I feel like no matter where I end up there’s bound to be some great programs and teachers, so that’s a load off :slight_smile:

Usbalumnus: That’s a good idea. When the time comes, I’ll definitely be looking into the departments more in-depth. That’s interesting though, I hadn’t really taken into consideration that CSU’s are more about gen ed and career preparation than further education afterwards. Thanks for the tip!

8

@ucbalumnus makes a great point, for sure–the cultures will vary widely, but if you’re really driven and show your academic aspirations to your profs, you may find yourself with a valuable mentor or two. Best of luck!

(I was an English major at an east coast LAC back in the day)