Department of English

Welcome!

If you enjoy studying and creating texts, film, and 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 communication, antiracist pedagogy, 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 Professional Writing, a B.S. in English Education, and minors in English and Film Studies. Our graduate program is being redesigned to offer concentrations in Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, and Teaching Literature and Writing.

Our department’s goal is to contribute to students’ success in their professional aspirations. Our graduates frequently teach at the secondary and postsecondary levels, go on to complete graduate degrees, and pursue fruitful careers in creative and technical writing, business, medicine, entertainment, publishing, broadcasting, advertising, journalism, government, and the law.

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.