

Department of English
Committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and creative performance, our undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Composition and Rhetoric, Creative Writing, Linguistics, and Literature place this community at the center of liberal arts education at Miami.
Mission and Goals
The Department of English endeavors to prepare students to read and write critically, imaginatively, and effectively. We study the production and reception of texts within contemporary and historical perspectives, reflecting on those texts to cultivate aesthetic sensibility, to nurture intellectual curiosity, and to foster appreciation of diverse views.
In an age of new media and global community, and in concert with related but differently articulated goals of other departments and programs in the university community, the English Department enables faculty and students alike to envision and contribute to potential futures emerging out of an ever-transforming world.
Department Strengths
- Four undergraduate majors, an MA, MFA, and a PhD program ranked 77th nation-wide, as well as a prominent role in affiliate programs;
- Distinguished and award-winning faculty committed to excellence in teaching and research;
- Internships and other experiential-learning opportunities for the future, be it for graduate or law or entry into the work force;
- Study-abroad opportunities including its Literary London summer program, Luxembourg, and writing center internships at Sun Yat-sen University in China;
- Advising and mentoring involving all faculty to support student research development and to improve their creative problem-solving abilities; and
- Active participation by outside scholars, writers, poets, and other lecturers.
Guiding Principles
We, the members of the English Department, strive for deep engagement with the scholarly and creative work of our colleagues and students.
We aspire to create the best possible educational environment for all our students.
We aim to recognize one another’s expertise across programs and disciplines. We seek to cultivate an environment in which we can trust one another.
We value and seek fairness and equity. We strive to share labor in ethical ways.
We value transformative diversity and strive to practice inclusivity in hiring, curriculum, programming, student recruitment and retention, resource distribution, and ongoing support.
We strive to identify and achieve common goals and to reconcile differences internally. We believe that collaborative decision-making requires diligent effort to understand histories, perspectives, and contexts and to discuss and address them with one another.
We aspire to practice critical self-reflection in order to be challenged, engaged, creative, collaborative, and open to different ways of teaching, learning, and communicating.
Our Undergraduate Programs
Majors, minors, and graduate programs offered through the Department of English emphasize rigorous academic engagement, independent scholarship, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. As participants in this community, students work closely with faculty and peers, and benefit from lectures and performances by visiting scholars and writers, as well as off-campus and experiential learning opportunities.


Professional Writing

Linguistics

Literature
Minors
Minors permit students to use elective hours to satisfy a personal interest, to strengthen a degree in another discipline, or to enhance career opportunities by providing additional practice in writing and textual analysis.The Department of English offers minors in Creative Writing, Linguistics, Literature, Medical Humanities, and Rhetoric/Writing. Each minor consists of eighteen hours of study (six courses) from the introductory to the senior level, including historical surveys, major author courses, and courses in special topics. Courses taken for credit/no credit will not count toward the hours required for the minor.
Creative Writing
English Literature
Linguistics
Medical Humanities
Rhetoric/Writing
Affiliated Programs
Research and teaching in the humanities is increasingly inter- or cross-disciplinary, and students are encouraged to make themselves aware of the courses and opportunities offered by these programs in the College. One sign of the centrality of the Department of English to the liberal arts mission of Miami University is the extent to which its faculty and students are engaged with the affiliated programs in the College of Arts and Science.
Give to the English Department
Help us prepare the next generation of leaders. We have numerous scholarships, grants, and programs accepting contributions from donors like you.
Department of English
Committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and creative performance, our undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Composition and Rhetoric, Creative Writing, Linguistics, and Literature place this community at the center of liberal arts education at Miami.
