Online Bachelor of Arts in English Degree

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Write your own exciting story. Earn your bachelor’s degree in English online.

Making connections that click is what great writing and successful careers have in common. That’s why a Bachelor of Arts in English degree can help you stand out in any occupation. Earn your English degree online and choose from diverse minors to connect your intensive literary studies to jobs in media, publishing, education, marketing, psychology, law, technology, and more.

At Maryville University, you’ll gain valuable skills to evolve as a writer, researcher, and critical thinker playing a role in digital and traditional settings. And if you decide to grow further, we’ll connect you with unique degree pathways so your online BA in English can lead to even more options to advance your career.

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Why Earn Your Online B.A. in English?

Earning your online BA in English can help broaden your worldview, strengthen your research skills, and prepare you to provide in-depth critical analysis in a wide range of fields. You can increase your understanding of cultural context, historical knowledge, and textual analysis — and then transfer those skills to any work environment.

Our online English degree is highly adaptable, with options to expand the scope of your learning through elective courses, a writing internship, and your minor. During your capstone experience, you’ll have the opportunity to engage your critical-thinking abilities to analyze how writing changes in response to culture and circumstance — great preparation to help you research and present compelling ideas in any setting, from classrooms to conferences.

You’ll gain new knowledge that extends beyond the major literary works that still inspire culture today, enabling you to frame your insights within the context of critical analysis and narrative understanding. Earning your online English degree is a great way to develop in-demand career skills that will help you excel in any area that interests you.

Flexible, affordable — and 100% online


Complete your coursework 100% online.
No campus visits required.


Enroll in research- and project-based courses.
Gain real-world experience by completing a relevant internship.


Benefit from a supportive faculty.
Engage with expert faculty members to help you connect the curriculum to your career vision.


Study at a respected school.
Join Maryville University, which ranks among Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” and the best values in private colleges by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.


Get the support you need.
Apply to be considered for financial aid and get transfer credits for eligible courses.

What Can You Do with an Online English Degree?

The skills you develop as an English major can help you prepare for careers in many fields where critical thinking and writing skills are in demand. From traditional settings, such as classrooms and newsrooms, to emerging roles in startups and technology companies, online English degree graduates can choose from an increasingly diverse range of career opportunities.

And the possibilities don’t end there. Should you wish to take your education further and pursue a graduate degree, our online English degree paves the way for you to enroll in a variety of Maryville graduate programs, including our Master of Business Administration, Master of Health Administration, Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership, and more.

Career Opportunities with an English Degree

Potential career paths for online English degree graduates include:

  • Author
  • Copy editor
  • Copywriter
  • Editor
  • Educator
  • Managing editor
  • News editor
  • Reporter
  • Researcher
  • Senior writer

Our online English degree graduates work in a variety of settings, including:

  • Advertising
  • Education
  • Journalism
  • Media/communications companies
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Private corporations
  • Publishing
  • Technology companies

What Is the Typical Online English Degree Salary?

With your online bachelor’s in English, you can build a foundation to pursue careers with median salaries such as:

Writer/Author

$67,120*

News Journalist

$49,300*

Fundraiser

$59,610*

Editor

$63,400*

Marketing Copywriter

$50,000**

English Teacher

$62,870*

*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2020; **PayScale.com, December 2021

What Is the Market Outlook for Graduates with an Online English Degree?

Diverse job opportunities.

Whether it’s to influence public opinion or improve a brand presence online, good storytelling is in demand in many fields. An English degree can build valuable skills, including communication and critical analysis.

Higher earning potential.

Writers and authors earn a median annual salary of $67,120, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with higher earnings reported by arts and sports writers ($82,350) and religious, grantmaking, and civic writers ($70,400). Editors earn a median salary of $63,400 annually, with higher salaries in the religious, grantmaking, and civic ($71,520) and professional, scientific, and technical ($69,150) categories. The highest-paid writers and editors earn more than $125,000 annually.

More teachers needed.

You can supplement your online English degree with the requisite training and credentials to become a high school teacher. These educators earn a median annual salary of $62,870, according to the BLS. Job opportunities for teachers vary by region, but as the popularity of virtual schools continues to grow, the demand for tech-savvy educators capable of providing quality online education services will increase, too.

Benefits of Choosing an Online Bachelor’s Degree in English

What makes an English degree relevant and worthwhile in today’s high-tech job market? Many things. For starters, a great variety of modern companies need writers — UX writers to create interfaces, technical writers to produce product documentation, public relations writers to create press materials, and copywriters to write advertising and marketing materials. In addition, many of today’s top firms employ community managers to connect product developers with users, and lots of brands rely on social media managers to engage and expand their audiences.

English majors cultivate skills that are transferable to careers far beyond the classroom. In addition to writing, editing, proofreading, and a broad knowledge of classical and contemporary literature, English majors build valuable skills in critical and creative thinking, time management, organization, and technology applications of all kinds, from Microsoft Office to web development and social media authoring tools.

Now more than ever, clear communication is everyone’s business — and that’s great news for online bachelor’s degree graduates.

Why Choose Maryville University’s Online English Degree Program?

At Maryville University, our online BA in English program prepares you to harness all manner of digital resources to build your ideas, bolster your messages, and improve your writing. You’ll learn to become a flexible writer and savvy storyteller with the advanced narrative skills to craft powerful, persuasive, and memorable communications.

Led by an expert faculty comprising esteemed professional writers and literary scholars, our online English degree program invites you to think critically about world literature’s most widely discussed ideas; plus, it connects you with relevant internship opportunities that provide valuable writing and editing experiences before you graduate.

What’s more, you can customize your program to fit your interests and goals — whether you’d like to work as a teacher, journalist, marketing professional, digital content producer, or any other role in which clear, concise, and compelling communications are valued.

Here at Maryville University, we’ve been connecting motivated professionals with industry expertise since 1872. Student surveys demonstrate that 96% of our online undergraduate program graduates find a new career in their chosen field or enroll in advanced education programs within six months of graduation. We’re proud of our reputation for quality academics, accelerated growth, and affordability, and we’re devoted to helping students like you achieve your goals.

We’re distinguished by our dedication to your success:

Maryville University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
Forbes America's Top Colleges
Kiplinger Best College Values
Money's Best Colleges

Celebrated writers help you push your skills further.

Dr. Jessica Bowers Assistant Professor of English

Meet Dr. Jessica Bowers.

Dr. Jessica Bowers is an assistant professor of English and a writer of short fiction. She won the 2014 Midwest Short Fiction Prize and the 2016 Winter Anthology Prize. She is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and she has received consideration for several other awards and honors. Her work on literary tourism was published in Poe Studies, and her short fiction has appeared in publications and literary journals like The Portland Review, cream city review, Redivider, StoryQuarterly, The Indiana Review, Zone 3, Oyez Review, and more. Through her creative writing expertise, she can help you expand your craft to give you a stronger understanding of how to create engaging, powerful stories.

Assistant Professor of English

  • Ph.D., University of Missouri
  • M.A., Hollins University
  • B.A., Goucher College

As you analyze American, English, and world literature, you can use your online B.A. in English to invigorate your own writing. Creative writing is a key aspect of understanding how language is used in the context of culture, and Maryville instructors such as Dr. Bowers teach from their extensive experience.

During more than 10 years of teaching, Dr. Bowers has taught a diversity of courses and content, but the bulk of her work is focused on the art of writing — the research process, composition, storytelling, fiction writing, and critical analysis. In addition to her years as a professor, Dr. Bowers has a history in fiction, nonfiction, and criticism publication that spans nearly two decades.

As your instructor, Dr. Bowers brings her extensive knowledge and experience to the online classroom to help you reflect on literature, workshop your ideas, and push your writing further. She is emblematic of the standard to which we hold our online B.A. in English faculty. Our academic community comprises authors and writers who publish regularly, appearing in both academic and literary journals. Join Maryville, and our online English degree faculty can help you advance as a writer in your chosen field.

Insights from Our Faculty

We’ve asked Anthony Santirojprapai, assistant dean for humanities and assistant professor of English, for his thoughts on the Bachelor of Arts in English program. Here are his responses:

Recent trends suggest that students graduating with a humanities-based degree such as English are increasingly appealing to a diverse job market. Studies show that the job market for candidates skilled in writing and critical thinking is stable not only in fields commonly connected to humanities — such as editing, communications, and professional writing — but also in high-earning fields such as marketing, public relations, and digital media production, especially in tech-based industries.

Online B.A. in English Curriculum

The online Bachelor of Arts in English curriculum is designed to help you develop a mastery of writing, critical thinking, and academic reasoning — the humanities-based skills many employers seek in job candidates today. Our program spans 128 credit hours and includes coursework from the following areas:

English major: Dive deep into writing technique, creative writing, literature, analysis, communications, and other topics and issues to build a complete understanding of English language and literature.

Minor: Customize your degree to fit your career goals by choosing a minor to enhance your skills and knowledge. Possible minors include communications, education, and business, to name a few.

General education and electives: Round out your education with college-level skills and knowledge in language, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. You’ll also have the opportunity to take non-major electives, if you’d like.

Internship: Discover firsthand the many ways you can adapt your BA in English to your career interests and apply its benefits in the job market. Choose from a variety of internship experiences to gain real-world knowledge and a competitive edge as you pursue your career.

Find out more about our online English degree curriculum.

More Paths to Choose with Your English Major

Earning your BA in English online can prepare you for a wide range of professions and even help you get a head start on your master’s degree.

With Early Access, you can take graduate-level courses that count toward your undergraduate degree and a Maryville graduate degree at the same time. This unique pathway can help you prepare for everything from a teaching certification to the LSAT.

When you’re ready to go further, consider building on your Bachelor of Arts in English with one of these online graduate program options:

A Master of Business Administration, featuring 12 concentrations in communications-heavy areas such as marketing, management, and project management.

A Master of Health Administration, where you can use your language and communications skills to lead in the healthcare business.

Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Leadership with the opportunity to study theory, gain practical experience, and earn relevant professional certifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Maryville’s online bachelor’s in English can lead to exciting and rewarding career opportunities. Popular careers available to online English degree graduates include grant writer, journalist, public relations specialist, news editor, researcher, teacher, and technical writer.

Find out more about career opportunities for online bachelor’s degree in English graduates.


Learn more about the online B.A. in English at Maryville University.