English vs Communications major, which is more valuable?

[Anonymous]

English was a difficult major at my school. Communication was cushy. Communications was like English light. They didn’t have the reading or the same caliber of essays we did. I was also dual major economics but that was easy compared to English. Everyone does treat English like a throwaway major though. History and Art History are also hard majors.

A lot depends on your college. At a low ranked college everything is easy.

[Anonymous]

Communications is basically a trade school degree. Great if you’re an attractive female that wants to earn 18k in PR to fetch coffee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my school all the athletes were communications majors. This should tell you everything you need to know.

Haha same here!

Same. Not one was an English major. I was an English major at a top university and you wouldn’t believe how many books I had to read a week. It was an intense courseload. Particular in the junior/senior courses. Unless you were a serious reader you’d flunk out. You couldn’t even read that many cliff notes a semester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Communications is basically a trade school degree.
Great if you’re an attractive female that wants to earn 18k in PR to fetch coffee.

Why would Communications be considered a trade school degree but not English? Communications majors have to take a lot of English classes and do lots of writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communications is basically a trade school degree.
Great if you’re an attractive female that wants to earn 18k in PR to fetch coffee.

Why would Communications be considered a trade school degree but not English? Communications majors have to take a lot of English classes and do lots of writing.

English is a classic liberal arts humanities major. Communications is a pre-professional trade degree.

[Anonymous]

This is funny

https://local.theonion.com/company-immediately-calls-job-applicant-upon-seeing-b-1819574706

I attended a Communications School and never regretted it

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

[Anonymous]

Either is fine. They just have to be motivated to get a job. Lot's or work experience, ie internships and jobs during college.

English is great for law school or some other graduate program as long as GPA is high in college.

One of mine majored in technical writing at Virginia Tech. Currently works for Amazon in Supply Chain/Operations. First job out of college was Enterprise rental cars. We thought she was crazy. Quiet rule following girl. As her career developed she knew exactly where she wanted to end up. She studied online some computer programs and took it upon herself to work hard figuring out how to run a business. She had some awesome jobs in college as well. Her choice she wanted to work while in school.

Her IVY league siblings who studied engineering or CIS are completely in awe of her career. LOL...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley...should I stop now or would you like to admit you are talking out of your a$$?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley...should I stop now or would you like to admit you are talking out of your a$$?

Ok, MANY of the top schools -- the best Ivy League schools -- don't have these majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley...should I stop now or would you like to admit you are talking out of your a$$?

I can’t be bothered to check but I don’t think any of those schools offers a communications major.....that’s more of a state school degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley...should I stop now or would you like to admit you are talking out of your a$$?

I can’t be bothered to check but I don’t think any of those schools offers a communications major.....that’s more of a state school degree.

https://sps.northwestern.edu/part-time-undergraduate/communication-studies/

https://www.asc.upenn.edu/academics/undergraduate-program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley...should I stop now or would you like to admit you are talking out of your a$$?

I can’t be bothered to check but I don’t think any of those schools offers a communications major.....that’s more of a state school degree.

https://comm.stanford.edu/major/

https://mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Communications is basically a trade school degree.
Great if you’re an attractive female that wants to earn 18k in PR to fetch coffee.

Why would Communications be considered a trade school degree but not English? Communications majors have to take a lot of English classes and do lots of writing.

English is a classic liberal arts humanities major. Communications is a pre-professional trade degree.

Technically speaking Accounting and Engineering are pre-professional trade degrees, but they are respected because they are known to be difficult majors and directly lead to well paying jobs upon graduation. I would argue that the only reason Communications would be viewed in a lesser light than English is because it's a newer degree and English is as you put it, a "classic liberal arts major". But even if it is a classic liberal arts major, so,what? I still don't see how English does a better job of teaching one how to express themselves and communicate anymore than a Communications degree. And I don't see that the classes are actually any harder. I think it just happens to have tradition on its side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the best schools — like, say, Harvard— don’t have communications or journalism majors. They have many different flavors of English major — English and American lit and language, comparative literature, history and literature. Enrollment in these majors has plummeted over time, but they remain the gold standard for smart word people who can go on to be whatever they want.

Maybe these smart word people would have been even better prepared had they focused on Communications instead of American Lit.