Undergraduate Students

Here is what some recent UM graduates have to say about earning a degree in English:

I see so much AI writing all over the internet. I truly feel that in an age where too many people outsource their thinking to AI, the ability to think for yourself and think critically has never been more valuable. The humanities in general place an emphasis on connecting with people rather than machines, and for me, that was something I valued and desired out of my college experience and my life more broadly. What I found unique about my English classes was how much I learned from my classmates as well as my professors. ~ Garrett Kracht

I think the biggest misconception is that your college major determines your career, or even your first job out of college. It can help point you in the right direction, of course, and make it easier to go one way vs. another, but your English major can take you anywhere. And since it can take you anywhere, the most valuable thing about it is that your English degree truly does prepare you for all of these different directions you can go. It lays a rock-solid foundation for you to do whatever you want, because you’re a great communicator, you have excellent reading comprehension, you’re well read and well researched. These skills are valuable whatever you do. ~ Abraham Lofy

As a physician, I feel that my ability to communicate well in writing certainly helps me to promote narrative medicine and bring humanization back into my documentation and patient interactions. My creative writing background has always made me remember that giving voice to others' stories, in all contexts and aspects of life, has intrinsic value and beauty. ~ Dr. Kaylie Bullock, MD

I'd always loved literature, and my poetry course made it clear that English -- not the pre-medical path I was pursuing -- was what really lit my brain on fire. I was excited by the idea of engaging with the fruits of other humans' creative labors -- the results of lifetimes lived and reflected upon, loves found and lost, children born, tragedies played out, beauties recognized -- and perhaps finding a way to add to that tradition in my lifetime. I had major concerns about majoring in English -- I came to Michigan to major in chemistry and eventually become a physician, and I knew that the likelihood of an English degree offering me the sense of job security and financial success that a career in medicine would offer was low. Additionally, several members of my family voiced, loudly, concerns about my choice to pursue a career in English, which intensified my doubts. However, I decided that I would be a much happier woman studying in and working in a field I loved, even if that meant a lower standard of financial success. I have never regretted my decision. ~Annaka Saari

Here is why employers are eager to hire applicants with an English degree:

English majors have versatility, resilience, and hireability in today’s job market. (Forbes, 2026)

What AI can’t do that humanities majors can. (“Could we English majors have a future after all?”) (New York Times, 2026)


Student stories and the data to back it up. (NHA Toolkit, 2019)

How the humanities build wide-ranging careers. (University of California News, 2026)

How English majors earn salaries that endure. (New York Times, 2019)

Why health care professions need humanities students. (Inside Higher Ed, 2020)
 

Why economists think we need English majors. (Washington Post, 2019)
 

Thinking about your major for pre-law. (US News and World Report, 2023)

As members of UM's English department, we're excited for you to study English because it will enable you to:

• experience the joys of reading, writing, and discussing ideas that matter to you
• formulate probing questions about unfamiliar ideas and experiences
• learn to dwell with uncertainty, complexity, and contradiction
• understand how narratives help us to explore our own and others’ processes of meaning-making, make sense of complex histories and current events, and approach pressing problems with a sense of curiosity and possibility
• develop the patience to parse complex texts, formulate nuanced arguments, and craft poems, stories, and essays that expand our imaginations
• analyze the violence, damage, and occlusion wrought by language as well as humans’ endlessly varied uses of language to create beauty, cultivate life-sustaining connections, and imagine other ways of being and engaging with the world around us.
• listen carefully and thoughtfully, offer rigorous feedback that helps others to clarify their thinking, and find compelling ways to share your own ideas and passions with a broad range of listeners and readers.