The Lakas English Scholarship is available for qualified prospective students who wish to pursue a major or minor English at RockhurstStudents pursuing an English major select one of three tracks.

Literature track
If you have fallen in love with English as literature, the Literature track is for you. Whether you're reading 8th century Beowulf, the 16th century poetry and drama of Shakespeare, or the classic novel, from the 18th century to now, you and your fellow students will join the professor in critiquing a wide variety of literary masterpieces, including but not limited to world-renowned classics — The Iliad and The Odyssey, for instance — as well as a wide range of English and American writers, from Chaucer to Eliot, from Hawthorne to Faulkner and beyond.

Education track
The Education track is for students who want to share their love of literature and writing with others. If you feel that you would enjoy teaching on the secondary or middle school level, then the Education track is the one for you. You will be guided through the necessary literature and writing courses, outlined by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and offered by the English Department, that will help you prepare for Secondary Certification and a degree in Education.

Writing track
Even for the most talented of writers, writing is a craft that can be cultivated. In this spirit, the English major's Writing track offers students opportunities to develop their capabilities and skills in creative writing, business writing, and rhetoric. Those interested in Creative Writing can enroll in courses such as Screenwriting or Playwriting, wherein we focus on teaching fundamental principles such as plot, structure, character, voice, dialogue, and description. Business Writing courses focus on the nitty-gritty of communication, on creative letter and memo organization, and on the organizational principles of both informal and formal reports. Our Rhetoric courses focus on the history, structure, and stylistics of writing. As a department, we are dedicated to a critiquing process in all our courses that places emphasis on the concrete suggestions necessary for you to better understand and improve your own writing.