<p>I want to become an editor and hopefully specialize in novels. I've been doing some research, and English seems to be the suggested major for that career path. However, my preferred college does not offer an English major. It has Literature, Creative Writing, Communications, Professional Writing, and Educational Studies - Writing and Designing Children's Literature. Would any of these be a good substitution, or should I find a college with a better English department?</p>
<p>What college is that?</p>
<p>Many schools’ English majors are literature focused, so a literature (in English) major would likely be similar to what is called an English major at many schools. It does look like the school in question has the other subareas split off into their own majors.</p>
<p>What career path? High school English teacher or college/university English faculty?</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus </p>
<p>Why would you assume someone wants to teach just because she majored in English? The OP said she’s interested in becoming a fiction editor.</p>
<p>I too would be curious which school doesn’t offer an English or English Lit major. </p>
<p>Ok, missed that bit of the post.</p>
<p>In any case, the “literature” major is probably an English literature major. For example, MIT offers a literature major. “The program in Literature leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Literature is equivalent to the curricula in English (or literary studies) at other major liberal arts colleges and universities”, according to <a href=“http://lit.mit.edu/major-in-literature/”>http://lit.mit.edu/major-in-literature/</a> .</p>
<p>Some colleges offer both English (which encompasses English language literature) and Comparative or World Literature (which covers literature written in other languages). Some lump them together under just plain Literature.</p>
<p>Either English or Literature would be a good major for a prospective editor, though some colleges may be better than others.</p>
<p>The college is Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL.</p>
<p>If you want to be an editor, professional writing would be the way to go. This is coming from someone who majored in English and concentrated in professional writing. I took publishing/editing courses while in school and loved them. My school also offered a class where students began to write their own novels. I didn’t take it, but from what I heard it seemed to be rewarding for the students who wanted to publish their own novels. You could still major in lit and take editing classes, but if editing doesn’t work out as a job you will have more options with a professional writing degree than a lit degree. </p>
<p>I would say that most schools’ English majors are focused primarily on literature anyway, so the literature major would be the closest thing. I’m checking out Blackburn’s literature major, and based on the 5 core courses it shows, it looks very similar to the standard English major at most colleges. (Of course, this would be easier if the college had more information on its website.)</p>
<p>But you could major in any of those things and go into editing. Literature with a minor in professional writing (or vice versa) might be an especially good combination.</p>
<p>Oakland University is rather easy to get into, has merit scholarships, and has both Literature (English) and Technical Writing - in case you’re interested in diversifying your list.
One of the best colleges for English/writing is Kenyon but it’s VERY hard to get into.</p>