The Department of English offers courses in literature (American, British, and other literature, including literature in translation), in composition and creative writing, and in film. Two majors are offered: English with a Concentration in Literature and English with a Concentration in Writing.

The Department has two principal responsibilities: advancing the student’s skill in writing and critical analysis, and furthering the student’s insight into the meaning and value of human experience through the study of literature and other art forms and through the student’s own creativity. An English major includes a minimum of ten courses with department prefix of ENG. After fulfilling the major requirements, a student may wish to concentrate electives in literature, writing, or film.

An integral part of the fulfillment of these standards will involve the student’s satisfactory and complete response to a department reading list. As an ongoing project for English majors, the list is designed to stimulate students to read beyond assignments of particular classes; to encourage students to discuss literature with each other and with faculty in various settings; to expose students to some of the most important literatures in Western and, to a lesser degree, international cultures; to display the varieties of periods, authors, and genres; and to develop students’ abilities to explore and analyze what they read.

Upon graduation, majors proceed into graduate or other professional schools, into secondary teaching, into theatre work, into communications or into numerous other occupations.