English | Avila University

The English major at Avila

English students at Avila combine creative writing and textual analysis to produce graduates who will understand how to communicate with a wide array of audiences. Diverse readings highlight social justice and inform students on contemporary social and media issues

Small classes and immersive courses mean students have many opportunities to develop skills and build their portfolios thanks to hands-on teaching from professors who knows what it takes to begin your career.

Visit School of Humanities

Student speaking at lectern for Avila University public reading — HANDS-ON. English majors have the opportunity to tutor in the campus Writing Center, to work on Avila’s literary magazine Sound and Fury, as well as participate in the annual public reading event.

A group of five students pose on the bleachers inside Mabee Fieldhouse

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Be Prepared for Your Career

Incoming first-year students are guaranteed access to an internship or research experience before graduation. Avila English students have completed hands-on learning experiences at:

Blue Valley Northwest High School
Literacy KC
McCownGordon Construction

Avila English graduates are pursuing careers as:

Professional writers and editors
Teachers
Human Resource Officers

Avila English graduates choose to work at:

The Barstow School
Kansas City Voices & KC Voices Youth
Reynolds & Reynolds

Choose your Concentration

Literature

Avila offers a dynamic English major that encourages students to look deeply into texts while examining them in their relation to their context. In the Literature concentration you’ll be presented with a diverse selection of fictive and literary texts. The focus will be on your ability to interpret these texts within a specific context.

Writing and Rhetoric

Avila’s English major provides you with a foundation in academic writing, research, theory, and criticism. In the Writing and Rhetoric concentration you’ll build composition and interpretive skills in both creative and persuasive writing.

Transferring to Avila?

We work with you to make the most of your transfer credits so you’re on track to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

Transfer Course Credits

Articulation Agreements

Missouri Reverse Transfer

An Environment to Enhance your Education

Hooley-Bunschu Learning Commons

This is not your mother’s library. State-of-the-art study rooms, public computers, tutoring services, and access to 50,000 on-campus volumes, plus millions of database articles await you.

Guaranteed Internship Opportunities

All first-year undergraduate students are guaranteed an internship or research experience opportunity.

Two students working closely at a computer

Close to Everything Kansas City

At Avila, you’re only 15 minutes away from world-class museums, historical landmarks, professional sports venues, and centers of culture, commerce, and industry.

Kansas City skyline with Union Station in the foreground

Find Your Mentor

Avila’s faculty will challenge you, inspire you, and become more than just another teacher.

Graphic design professor working over the shoulder of her students

“My English professors refined me as a person, made me question what I thought I knew and helped me build a passion”
Maxwell Williams, ’15, Assistant Director of Summer Programs & Extended Care, The Barstow School

Contact

Avila University Department of English , Borserine Hall
11901 Wornall Road / Kansas City, MO 64145 / 816-501-3689

Dr. Amy Milakovic, English Department Chair
P: 816-501-3652 / E: amy.milakovic@avila.edu