About the Department

Acclaimed Faculty

Our internationally acclaimed faculty engage in critical research and are uniquely committed to teaching. Interdisciplinary in their approach to English Studies, these cutting edge creative writers and scholars have garnered Guggenheim Fellowships, O. Henry Awards, and Fulbright Travel Grants, with research projects receiving funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.

Vibrant Undergraduate Curriculum

An undergraduate degree in English or Creative Writing is an outstanding foundation for many professional careers. We teach enduring works of literature from multiple cultures and time periods, inviting you to explore and innovate, even as you hone essential skills in writing, research, and critical analysis.

Our students enjoy international exchange programs and many exciting internships. Coursework can be tailored to your individual interests, with opportunities to study African American literature, American Indian literature, digital culture, film and documentary, the border, environmental writing, fairy tales, science fiction, and more. A Professional and Technical Writing certificate is offered as well.

We pride ourself on offering individualized attention to students and to fulfilling the potential of UA’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution. 

Competitive Graduate Programs

We offer graduate degrees in Literature, Creative Writing, English as a Second Language, and Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English. We are also affiliated with SLAT, the UA’s interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, as well as the Program in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory, an interdisciplinary Ph.D. minor.

All of our graduate programs are distinguished, innovative, and nationally competitive. Uniting the many programs in our department is a shared inquiry into the power of language, on a spectrum from literacy to the literary. We tell stories.

A Strong Foundation

The award-winning  Writing Program is one of the largest and most respected programs in the nation. We teach foundational writing to almost every student who attends the UA, about 6,000 each semester. By teaching clear and effective writing, we help students excel in college and beyond, regardless of their major.