Graduate Certificate in English Online
Enhance Your Ability To Teach the English Language
The Graduate Certificate of Completion in English at Grand Canyon University is designed to provide a framework for current teachers to consider various career opportunities. Prepare to share your passion for the English language and inspire students by diving into pedagogical approaches and professional writing best practices. The curriculum provides in-depth instruction of the English language that focuses on four domain areas: pedagogy, teaching writing and literature, practice of professional writing and theories of writing and rhetoric.
This graduate certificate in English offers advanced education in the English discipline and field of education. This may be ideal for teachers seeking to enhance their career qualifications in preparation for a possible career teaching at the postsecondary level. This certificate program may serve to complement a master’s degree, which is the minimum requirement needed to apply for postsecondary teaching positions at many community colleges.1
Join a Community of Educators
Offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, this graduate certificate program is ideally suited to current teachers who are passionate about literature and language and who feel called to teach the English language. This certificate offers a survey of various aspects of the English language and approaches to teaching. At our private Christian university, we offer faith-integrated courses taught from the Christian perspective.
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Explore Advanced Writing Theories and Teaching Practices for English Literature
Coursework in this certificate program teaches a number of core competencies that can lay a foundation for effectiveness in the postsecondary classroom, including:
- Writing theory
- Writing within social and technological contexts
- Writing for grant applications
- Best practices for teaching literature
- Multimedia writing, including social media
Mirroring GCU’s Master of Arts in English with an Emphasis in Education, this graduate certificate teaches the following:
- Writing theory: This area is designed to provide you with an understanding of key modern ways to think about writing. Examine historical, theoretical and practical knowledge of rhetoric and writing, as well as classical and modern theories of rhetoric in relation to contemporary theories of writing. Other areas of focus include praxis and rhetorical analysis.
- Social and technological aspects of writing practice: Explore pertinent writing and technology theories that have shaped the discipline as a social and technological entity. This area addresses the relationship between theory and practice, analysis of socio-technological contexts, as well as artifacts produced like internet memes and viral videos.
- Proficiency in grant writing: Survey all aspects of grant writing, from the process and its purpose to practicalities. Areas of focus include the basics of funders and concerns, proposals and research techniques. You will complete the course by writing a grant proposal.
- Teaching literature practices: This area connects you to theoretical approaches. You will be expected to master the techniques for effectively teaching literary texts.
- Social media: The multimedia writing course centers around creating a social media campaign informed by rhetoric theories and technology. You will develop written elements graphics.
Career Opportunities for Certificate Holders
Along with earning a more advanced degree, this certificate in English can help you gain skills and offer career options in many different industries.
Potential workplace opportunities include:2,3
- Trade/technical schools
- Publication houses
- Newspapers and magazines
- Libraries
Pursue Your Graduate Certificate From an Accredited University
GCU is proud to be an institutionally accredited university — a designation of our commitment to quality instruction. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has continually accredited GCU since 1968. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences shares the university’s commitment to upholding the principles and standards established by our accrediting bodies.
Enhance your teaching skills with our graduate certificate in English, focused on language proficiency and pedagogy.
1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, Aug. 29). How to Become a Postsecondary Teacher. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved Oct. 4, 2024.
2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, Aug. 29). Postsecondary Teachers: Work Environment. Retrieved Oct. 4, 2024.
3 GraduateCertificate.org. (2024, Aug. 27). English Literature Graduate Certificate Programs. Retrieved Oct. 4, 2024.
Core Courses
Course Description
This course provides historical, theoretical, and practical knowledge in rhetoric and writing. By studying classical and modern theories of rhetoric, contemporary theories of writing, and relationships between the two, students develop an understanding of key ways to think about writing today. To that end, this course emphasizes praxis: the relationship between practical and theoretical ways of knowing in the discipline. This course also offers an opportunity to practice rhetorical analysis, which is an important skill that will help students become effective, dynamic writers in their professions of choice.
Course Description
This course covers theoretical and practical scholarship about the social and technological dimensions of writing practices. At its core, this course explores writing as a situated social and technological act. To that end, students explore important theories of writing and technology that have impacted the discipline. This course demonstrates the relationship between theory and practice by considering how disparate peoples may think about the strategies and agendas embodied in various technologies and the artifacts that they produce. Electronic media are considered, as well as the artifacts individuals and organizations produce with them, such as Internet memes and viral videos. Students apply theories discussed in this course to analyze the sociotechnological contexts that give rise to artifacts from their professions.
Course Description
This course examines the process, purpose, and practicalities of grant writing with emphasis on the electronic nature of current communication between funding foundations and grant seekers. Students will learn about funders and their concerns, the parts of grant proposals, and techniques for successful grant research and writing. The course will culminate in the student's completion of a grant proposal.
Course Description
This course focuses on techniques and theoretical approaches foundational to teaching literary texts. Techniques include close reading, passage analysis, and mastering critical nomenclature. Critical theories pertinent to contemporary scholarship are explored.
Course Description
This course introduces learners to writing in various electronic modalities, with the aim of creating a campaign for social media. Informed by current theories of rhetoric and technology, learners create an original social media campaign and design appropriate supporting artifacts, including tweets, status updates, or other language for sharing via social media; supporting video and audio content; infographics; Web pages; and pictures, logos, or other supporting graphics.
- GCU cannot and will not promise job placement, a job, graduate school placement, transfer of GCU program credits to another institution, promotion, salary, or salary increase. Please see the Career Services Policy in the University Policy Handbook.
- Please note that this list may contain programs and courses not presently offered, as availability may vary depending on class size, enrollment and other contributing factors. If you are interested in a program or course listed herein please first contact your University Counselor for the most current information regarding availability.
- Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Programs or courses subject to change
Pursue a next-generation education with an online degree from Grand Canyon University. Earn your degree with convenience and flexibility with online courses that let you study anytime, anywhere.