Studying in the United States: What are the master programs that English majors can apply for?

Many English majors who apply for American graduate students are very confused. They don't know what they can learn by going abroad. They want to study in America. What master's degrees can English majors apply for? In fact, English majors have a wide choice of majors. This paper introduces the master programs that English majors can apply for when studying in the United States.

Generally speaking, English majors can apply for all the majors and research of American graduate students.

English majors can apply for many master's degrees, such as Master of Arts, Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Arts (MFA). Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Education (EdS), Master of Tourism and Hotel Management and even computer information. It is important for students to make correct plans in advance according to their own personality and future employment direction.

At present, many American college students have two majors, while English majors in China have to prepare a double major or get a second major in order to apply for postgraduate study, or enter the job market to accumulate experience before applying for postgraduate study (for example, many MBA students have more than two years of work experience). American universities award nearly 500 thousand master's degrees every year, and the master's degree lasts about 1 to 3 years; 50,000 doctorates are awarded every year.

The following are some specific majors suitable for English majors to apply for graduate students in the United States:

Postgraduate admission in the United States usually requires students to have relevant professional background. It should be noted that it is not limited to a certain major, which provides convenient conditions for students who seem to have no major in English. As long as you are good at using the characteristics and advantages of your major, there is basically no obstacle to application and admission. In addition, we need to remind everyone that although American universities have a high degree of professional openness and a wide range of professional settings, the greater the span between disciplines, the greater the difficulty of applying and enrolling, and the greater the difficulty of graduation. Based on various factors, majors suitable for English majors can be roughly divided into the following categories:

(1) literature

Although English is not a major, the carrier literature of language is a professional field that many universities spend time and energy on. If you are a young artist and interested in American literature, you can choose this major. The specific research directions are subdivided into: English literature, American literature, non-American literature, gender and literature, literary criticism and theory, Renaissance literature and so on. If you are determined to make achievements in the field of literature, you need to supplement a lot of extracurricular reading, preferably the original English. In addition, it is very necessary to read the Bible, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, British and American history, etc. After all, to understand the author's ideological connotation through words is to have a deep understanding of the western way of thinking and values.

(2) linguistics

English linguistics must be a compulsory course for every English major. Many students find this course boring. If you don't think these theories are obscure, but want to explore the English language itself, its structure, application, social function and historical development, linguistics is undoubtedly a good choice.

Through the study of linguistics, you will have a new understanding of English, and the related research results of linguistics will also have a far-reaching impact on the field of education, especially English education. The research fields of American linguistics include: language history, phonetics, semantics, syntax, grammar, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, second language acquisition theory, computer linguistics and artificial intelligence.

If you want to take a master's/doctor's degree in linguistics, it is not enough to take only the basic course of linguistics. Therefore, we must take other core courses of linguistics, read some research papers and periodicals, and form our own views and opinions on specific fields and research issues during our college study. It would be great if a few papers could be published.

(3) Translation

Translation is a hot major in recent years, which is related to the shortage of professional translators and good employment opportunities in China.

Translation majors in the United States are mainly divided into translation and interpretation.

Translation: Students are required to have a good knowledge of literature and master a large number of English vocabulary. The course also focuses on the study of translation theory, such as advanced translation, translation history, translation theory and practice, and cultural transformation.

Interpretation: The key point is to train senior simultaneous interpreters. According to statistics, there are only 200 interpreters/simultaneous interpreters for large-scale conferences in China, and the salary calculation method is mostly in minutes. However, the interpretation major has very high requirements for students' oral and listening skills, which is suitable for students with excellent English ability to apply for the exam.

To sum up, both translation and interpretation majors have very high requirements for applicants' English proficiency. After four years of professional study, English majors have obvious advantages over other majors, so more and more students choose to go abroad for professional training in translation. Compared with Britain and Australia, there are not many translation schools in the United States, and most of them are specialized research institutes. Among comprehensive universities, the translation courses of University of California, San Diego, Binghamton University, Iowa University and Georgia State University are also very good.

(4) Education

In China, English seems to be inextricably linked with education, and many English majors dream of or have struggled in the front line of education and teaching. However, with the increasing saturation of teachers' posts, it is more and more difficult for English majors to become teachers directly. The most glorious occupation in that world? Many English majors choose to go to America to learn more advanced teaching methods.

American education is a very big concept, which can usually be subdivided into the following directions:

1. Macropedagogy

1) Educational anthropology, which mainly studies the origin of educational inequality (such as race, gender, social class, etc. ).

2) Comparison with international education, which mainly studies the educational policies of countries all over the world, and comparatively studies the influence of politics, economy, religion, language and geographical environment on educational policies.

3) Educational economics, which mainly studies the economic problems in pedagogy.

4) Education history.

5) Education policy research, which mainly studies the interactive relationship between education policy and society, politics and economy.

2. School management direction

1) education administration and leadership, mainly studying the management of schools, educational institutions and non-profit organizations.

2) Curriculum research on curriculum design mainly focuses on the problems in curriculum theory and curriculum design.

3. Teaching direction

1) learning and teaching, which mainly studies the problems and phenomena in the teaching process, such as curriculum development, educational ideas, teachers' roles, human development, educational technology, and problems encountered by students of different races, religious beliefs and social classes in learning.

2) Subject education, such as mathematics, history, geography, art, music, etc.

3) Teaching objects, such as preschool education, primary education, secondary education and adult education.

4) Special education refers to the education methods for groups with special educational needs, such as deaf-mute education, mentally retarded education, gifted children education, language barrier education, disability education, etc.

4. Psychological direction

Human development and psychology

2) Childhood research.

3) Educational psychology

5. Direction of educational technology

Educational technology mainly studies the educational technology of new technology-assisted teaching.

Judging from the classification of pedagogy, American pedagogy has many interdisciplinary subjects, which are very well integrated with other majors. In other words, students need to have professional backgrounds such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics and computer. In addition to studying pedagogy related courses. Therefore, most of the courses that are really suitable for English majors focus on school management, education and teaching. In addition, TESOL (English for people who teach other languages) has to be mentioned, which is very popular with international students. After returning to China, most graduates work in universities or English training institutions, becoming the backbone of the booming foreign language training industry in China in recent years and making great contributions to the popularization of foreign languages in China. It is precisely because of TESOL's own characteristics that the visa pass rate in the United States is surprisingly high, and visa officers simply do not consider the applicant's immigration tendency.

(5) Media category

The scientific definition of media should be accurate, timely and comprehensive information discovery and dissemination. The media mentioned here should be clearly defined as mass media, that is, information media used by the general public, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, books, audio-visual products and the Internet.

Media majors in the United States can be roughly divided into:

1. Traditional journalism, such as Journalism, Me and Writer, does not require strict undergraduate background for applicants, but they must have good writing skills.

2. Marketing advertisements, such as brand planning and advertising. Most of these majors cross business and are courses in the direction of media operation.

3. Publishing houses, TV stations, online new media and other mass media.

4. Public relations, such as public relations personnel, enterprises and institutions, government department staff, is an interdisciplinary subject of media, sociology and political science, which is suitable for China students who want to engage in administrative work or be civil servants in the future. Applicants should have a relevant background in sociology or political science.

Media majors, whether in the early interview or in the later writing, require candidates to have good English expression skills, especially oral and writing skills. Moreover, media majors usually have no restrictions and regulations on the professional background of applicants, allowing students to apply for other majors. Therefore, the media field is very suitable for English majors. However, this kind of major requires students' English ability to be extremely high. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen your English study at ordinary times, especially for domestic students.

(6) commerce

Business should be the most popular major for China students. About half of China students choose to study business in the United States. There are many business courses in the United States, including accounting, finance, marketing, international trade, entrepreneurship, enterprise management, human resource management, management information system, logistics, MBA, non-profit organization management, hotel management and so on.

In business courses, except for accounting and finance, which have relatively strict requirements for undergraduate background, other majors can basically accept applications for changing majors, but applicants need to look at the specific admission requirements of the school, including work experience and compulsory courses in universities. Generally speaking, if they have time and opportunity, they must take courses such as calculus and statistics during their undergraduate study. Don't wait until you apply to find out that you haven't studied these courses at all, but regret that you went to your ideal university.

(7) Law

Speaking of law, I think many people will be surprised. Then why do English majors choose to study law in the United States?

First of all, we learned something about American law majors. There is no law major in American undergraduate course. Therefore, American students who aspire to be lawyers usually study pure English or history at the undergraduate level. Because to be a lawyer, you have to have a glib mouth that can talk like a dead man. Good eloquence is a prerequisite for becoming a lawyer.

Furthermore, American law degrees can be divided into LLM, commonly known as master of law, and JD, master of law. JD is suitable for English majors. This major itself does not require students to have a professional background, but it is entirely possible? Zero basis? To apply, it's just that lawyers are a job that Americans are fascinated by, and the competitive pressure of international students can be imagined. In mastering English, especially oral English, you need to reach or approach the level of native speakers, otherwise there is basically no hope of admission. Don't expect the school to provide you with language courses for a period of time. It's absolutely impossible. In addition, if you want to apply for JD, you must prepare for LSAT (Law School Entrance Examination) and find some legal professionals to help you as references. It can be said that English majors will have a long and arduous way to go to apply for JD, but once they succeed, the future will undoubtedly be much brighter.

The above are the introductions and answers to which master programs American English majors can apply for. I hope that students who intend to apply for graduate students majoring in English in American universities can make effective use of the information in this article and make good preparations and application plans for studying in the United States.