English: Home

The Department offers a major in English, with courses in British, American, and world literature, and in academic and creative writing. It also houses the Integrated Writing Program, which trains student Writing Assistants and Writing Intensive Tutors and runs the Writing Resource Center (in Franz Hall 119) used by students in all fields of study for help with their writing. The Department also offers an English minor, a complementary addition to many other fields of study.

In our courses, English majors and other interested students develop their knowledge of the English language literary tradition, as well as carefully craft their writing skills. Prospective English majors consult closely with the department chair and other English faculty about designing their programs of study. See the English B.A. section for the major’s course requirements.

The English Faculty

Faculty members in English are dedicated literary scholars passionate about teaching, developing personal relationships with students, and assisting students academically and personally throughout their college career and after. We hail from all parts of the country and bring a variety of scholarly interests and personal backgrounds to our work with our students. We share a love for literature and for teaching.  Active writers, scholars, and critics, we model and provide a challenging and exciting academic experience for our students. And we arrange for English majors at the University of Portland a notably rich extracurricular program of new literary and cultural experiences. 

English Department Activities

Department programming each year enables our students to see, hear, and meet noted poets, writers, and scholars through our Readings and Lectures series and the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers series. The Department's own Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature (NUCL) allows our students, along with those from many other universities in the region, to present their scholarly and creative work, serve as panel chairs or respondents, and as interns. Our students can also join the thriving English Society to discuss their own writing, attend plays together, and swap books. Members of the English Society also edit the Writers journal, a creative writing magazine featuring work by University of Portland students. The English Department is a dynamo, always aglow with something bright and interesting.

What a Major in English Prepares You to Do After UP

Our English majors develop finely honed skills in analytical reading, varied forms of writing, and web and library-based research. Their study of past and present literary texts equips them with a broad-based awareness of history, human character, and social and religious traditions. This combination of skills and understanding enables them to recognize and handle the new century’s opportunities and problems. Thus an English major prepares students for careers in many areas of business and not-for-profit enterprise, as well as the pursuit of graduate study in English and the humanities, creative writing, education and the law.Other majors become teachers, or, in the years just after graduation, participate in such challenging and rewarding volunteer programs as Holy Cross Associates, Jesuit Volunteers, Teach for America, and the Peace Corps.