Department of English, College of Arts and Science

Writing. Reading. Publishing. Thinking.

The Department of English is committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and creative performance. We offer undergraduate programs in Creative Writing, Linguistics, Literature, and Professional Writing and graduate programs in Creative Writing, Composition and Rhetoric, and Literature.

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Major in English - Go Anywhere

English majors go on to careers in the arts, communications, marketing, editing, publishing, law, creative freelance, journalism, teaching in higher ed., library science, government, politics, translation, business, filmmaking, and social media and web content. Our grads have been poet-laureates, Hollywood filmmakers, CEOs, directors of not-for-profits, and editors.

Creative Writing

The Creative Writing major at �� is a thriving program, one of the largest in the United States, with an increasingly global curriculum and outlook. With eight full-time creative writing faculty, over 180 undergraduate majors and minors (as well as 20-25 graduate students), there’s a creative writing buzz at ��.

Professional Writing

Professional Writing is an ideal major for students who love to write and want to communicate effectively in a wide range of professional and academic settings. Students have the flexibility to tailor the major to their interests.

Linguistics

The interdepartmental major of Linguistics studies language from its origins to how people use it today in various contexts. The major emphasizes interdisciplinary study and analytic skills, and provides students with work in the formal structure of language.

Literature

Literature students work closely with faculty in small, discussion-based classes and have extraordinary freedom to pursue the subjects they love. Courses include an unusual variety of classic and special topics, such as detective fiction, experimental film, and performance, revenge tragedy, war films, and visions of the future.

Minors

Explore intersections between creative and critical practice through your own fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, graphic narratives, and digital literature. Students transform their ideas into polished final products with the support of peers and faculty.

The English Literature minor allows you to study the forms of cultural expression that matter to you most. In dynamic discussion-based classes, you will analyze and discuss: poems, novels, comics, plays, and films.

Linguists look at how people use language and the rules that govern that use. The interdisciplinary minor in linguistics is valuable for students majoring in a number of academic fields including foreign languages, sociology, anthropology, psychology, mathematics, communication, philosophy, and computer science.

The Medical Humanities minor is an interdisciplinary program that enhances students’ understanding of the humanistic dimensions of medicine. Investigating the historical, philosophical, literary and ethical issues of medicine, the minor focuses on changing concepts and perceptions of disease, health, medical authority and patient experiences. Students will be prepared to respond to a dynamic range of professional and personal issues related to health and illness, life and death.

The Rhetoric/Writing minor helps students in any major understand how writing shapes actions and attitudes and forms persuasive discourse. Students study rhetorical theory, research methods in writing, and gain practice in a wide range of writing.

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Mission and Goals

�� University’s Department of English prepares students to read and write critically, imaginatively, and effectively. We study the production and reception of texts within contemporary and historical perspectives to cultivate aesthetic sensibility, nurture intellectual curiosity, and foster appreciation of diverse views.

Our Guiding Principles

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