Welcome!

If you enjoy studying and creating literature, film, and other texts, including multimedia compositions, you’ve come to the right department. In our courses, minors, and majors, you will analyze and critically engage many kinds of texts for their craft and meaning in their cultural contexts. Many of our courses involve written, visual, and auditory texts, challenging students to develop 21st century digital literacy skills and exploring new ways to create and seek meaning.

Whether you seek to take courses in our program as a major, minor, or elective, our award-winning faculty members are committed to supporting you. We are active writers and scholars who publish and teach about literature, cinema, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, teacher education, multimodal composition, digital rhetorics and literature, environmental literature and rhetoric, Appalachian studies, and many other timely topics.

We offer a B.A. program with specializations in Creative Writing, Film Studies, Literary Studies and Rhetoric and Technical Writing, a B.S. in English Education, and minors in English, Film Studies, and Rhetoric and Technical Writing. Our graduate program offers concentrations in Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, and Teaching Literature and Writing. We offer accelerated admissions to our graduate program that enables students to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree in as little as 5 years.

Our department’s goal is to contribute to students’ success in their professional aspirations. Our graduates pursue numerous career and education pathways, including teaching at the secondary and postsecondary levels, earning advanced graduate degrees, and pursuing careers in creative and technical writing, business, medicine, entertainment, publishing, broadcasting, advertising, journalism, government, the law, and beyond.

If you are interested in taking courses, becoming an English major, or doing a minor within our department, you might:

  • Explore our website for information about our diverse, engaging programs.

  • Reach out to a program’s director about your interest as a potential major, minor, or student taking elective courses.

  • Check out our course promos, so you can see how some of the courses are taught.

  • Discuss your interest in our courses with your academic advisor.

Latest News

Image of course flyer, which has the same information as the post.

ENG 3651: Creative Writing: Poetry

Compost and Junk Poetics“All writing is garbage.”Antonin ArtaudCompost is the act of breaking living works into pieces that can be used to create ...

Photo of Alison Gulley

From the British Museum to Boone: A Medievalist Finds Her Place

Alison Gulley always knew she wanted to be a medievalist, so when App State’s position opened, it felt less like an opportunity and more like a hard...

screenshot of DeAndra Miller

Coffee Talk Podcast with Alex Gluth and DeAndra Miller

Join your host, Alex Gluth, for a candid conversation with DeAndra Miller about comics, her recently published YA book "All the Noise at Once", and wh...

Photo of Ben Morris in the woods

The Weird Little Hop: Ben Morris on Masculinity, Flash Fiction, and the Art of Surprising Yourself

The youngest son of two academics, Dr. Ben Morris was all but destined to become one himself. Considered a solid student by his teachers, his favorite...

Logo for Scholars N Collars

Scholars 'n Collars with Mark Powell

Scholars and Collars: No, it’s not Ryan Gosling, but it is your favorite Literary Journalism teacher, Mark Powell. Watch to see who and what he’s ...

Image of Carolyn Ann Phillips holding a sword in a faerie background.

Introducing the Carolyn Ann Phillips Creative Writing Competition

We are thrilled to announce the launching of the Carolyn Ann Phillips Creative Writing Competition.This competition is supported by an endowed scholar...

Photo of Charlotte Isenberg holding a copy of magazine titled The Peel

A Poet's Path: A Conversation with Charlotte Isenberg

You can usually find Charlotte Isenberg hunched over a desk, writing under the soft glow of a lamp. Whether she’s breaking down a Shakespearian sonn...

DeAndra and Alex

Scholars 'n Collars with DeAndra Davis

See the following video interview in Alex Gluth's Scholars 'n Collars featuring DeAndra Davis.[video:https://youtube.com/shorts/pIK31qv94GY?featu...

Photo of students and faculty in NYC posing with Kayla Rae Whitaker

Writers on Writing: Students spend 3 days with Vernon, Johnson and Powell exploring New York’s literary underground

Twelve lucky graduating Creative Writing seniors spent a whirlwind 2-day weekend with professors Caleb Johnson, Mark Powell, and Zackary Vernon, explo...

Image of Caleb Johnson at his office with Coffee Talk logo

Coffee Talk Podcast with Alex Gluth and Caleb Johnson

Lift the lid and peer inside the cool and creative brain of Caleb Johnson in this week's Coffee Talk podcast with Alex Gluth.[video:https://youtu.be/E...