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Post-Graduation Outcomes

by | Sep 1, 2023

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“So, what can you do with an English major?” Graduates of our department make this question an easy one to answer. After leaving Drew, they use their critical and analytic skills to become teachers, writers, editors, entrepreneurs, business executives, software engineers, lawyers and social activists. The study of language, literature, and communication opens a wide variety of opportunities in the fields of teaching, publishing, academia, law, business, medicine, journalism, media, communications, marketing, fine arts and the nonprofit world. 25-30% of our English majors pursue postgraduate education in fields as varied as literature, composition and rhetoric, social work, law, the fine arts, medicine and divinity.

Graduate & Professional Schools

• Columbia School of Journalism
• Drew Master of Arts in Teaching
• Drew MFA in Poetry
• Fordham, PhD in English
• George Washington Masters in Public Health
• Harvard Law School
• Northeastern University MA in English
• NYU Masters in Social Work
• Oxford University
• Rutgers University, Masters in Library Science
• Rutgers Law School
• University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, MA in Arabic Literature
• University of Maryland, MA in English
• University of Minnesota, MA in Writing Studies

Meet some recent graduates.

Graduate Profile

Mariel Hooper C’14

Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science

Mariel earned a JD from Harvard Law School in 2017. While pursuing her degree, she represented greater Boston area tenants living in government-subsidized housing through the Tenant Advocacy Project and served on the staff of Y2Y, a student-run youth homeless shelter. Now based in New York City, she continues to use the power of narrative daily in her advocacy work as a Civil Law Fellow at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she represents Harlem residents at risk of losing their homes or jobs as a result of encounters with the criminal justice system.

Graduate Profile

Alex Slotkin C’17

Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy | 2017 Burke Prize in Language & Literature

Alex is pursuing a master’s degree in English and a graduate certificate in digital humanities from Northeastern University with the aim of earning a PhD in rhetoric and composition. His academic interest centers on the intersection of rhetoric and composition, philosophy and new materialism. Outside of the classroom he is designing and building a Text Encoding Initiative project to add his voice to conversations about what translations are and how they should be taught.

“From planning and executing civic engagement projects in my community to meeting with industry leadings in the marketing, publishing and communications sector, Drew University gave me the unique opportunity to explore my interests, instilling in me the confidence needed as a graduate student to take on the projects and fields of study that I am passionate about. But my English degree went the extra mile by affording me the opportunity to teach writing inside and outside of the classroom, thereby allowing me to use language at a graduate level to help others and effect social change.”

Meet some recent graduates.

Graduate Profile

Geoffrey Edelstein C’13

Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Jewish Studies and Writing | 2013 The Chapman Prize in Poetry

After leaving Drew, Geoffrey went on to NYU’s Silver School for Social Work to earn his master’s degree. He is currently working as a licensed social worker psychotherapist at Four Winds Hospital, where he is the Coordinator of Child Services in their Partial Hospitalization Program. Between running psychotherapy groups and seeing individual patients, he still makes time to read Jane Austen and write some poetry.

“Majoring in English prepared me to hear and understand the stories of my client’s lives. Good therapy comes from good empathy which comes from knowing how to read and respond to a story.”

Graduate Profile

Kate-Lynn Brown C’17

Bachelor of Arts in English with a Writing minor

Kate-Lynn is earning a Master of Information from Rutgers University. She is currently working in the teen department of the Piscataway Public Library, is a member of the New Jersey Library Association’s Public Relations committee and also writes a monthly column for Teen Librarian Toolbox, which is a blog run by School Library Journal.

“My time at Drew prepared me for the real world in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. Peggy Samuels once told me, “After four years of writing nonstop papers as an English major, you’ll be able to do anything,” and I really think that’s been true! The basic skills I gained from my liberal arts education—like the abilities to write clearly, network effectively and self-promote—have made my first year as a post-grad great. I have had so many opportunities, and I’ve had the tools to meet and exceed my own expectations. Drew helped me gain the confidence I needed to not be afraid to put myself out there in my professional and educational communities.”

Using Snapchat to Engage Teens at the Library