About

Our undergraduate degree programs include the English major (BA) and an array of combined majors. We also offer minors in English, Writing, and Rhetoric, and contribute to the interdisciplinary minors in Health, Humanities and Society and Digital Methods in the Humanities. The undergraduate major includes literary history, writing and rhetoric, and creative writing, and emphasizes a global model of literary history in which the past and present are in dynamic conversation. We explore the ways literacy has changed over time, from the culture of written manuscripts into the eras of modern print and digital media. Our major includes opportunities to write critical essays, pursue independent research, learn qualitative research methods, and to engage with both creative and multimodal writing (including digital and visual projects). Students interested primarily in writing often choose our Writing minor, which includes both creative writing classes and classes in writing and rhetoric. Our combined majors offer opportunities to blend the liberal arts skills of English with fields including Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Biology, Journalism, Design, and Architecture.

The English Department also houses the Writing Program, which offers the university’s two required writing courses (First-Year Writing and Advanced Writing in the Disciplines), and the Writing Center. Its emphasis on community, collaboration, and process encourages students to navigate dynamic rhetorical situations via genre, purpose, audience, and exigence. In both our classes and in the Writing Center’s tutoring sessions, we value small group discussions and one-on-one mentoring that fosters student agency to write within and beyond the university.  

We offer two graduate degrees, the MA and the PhD in English, and a graduate certificate in Digital Humanities. Our graduate programs train students in the advanced methodologies of literary studies, writing and rhetoric, and digital humanities. We prepare students for careers both in and outside academia, with a range of opportunities to learn professional skills that translate across different contexts. Many of our faculty are jointly appointed in other units with expertise in Africana Studies, Latinx Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Jewish studies. We welcome interdisciplinary scholarship and work that blends the study of literature and writing with visual and digital culture.