In our BA program, you'll engage historical and contemporary texts in depth, while also developing critical and creative writing experience.
You'll hone interpretive skills by connecting words on the page to broader social, economic, cultural and political conditions. You'll not only read texts, but craft your own, with opportunities to write poetry, long-form essays, short stories and research-driven projects. Our program offers concentrations in literary studies, creative writing or English education.
Outside the classroom, gain hands-on experience managing, editing and publishing with Foothills, the undergraduate literary journal. Or intern with our partner, Tethered by Letters, to hone publishing and editing techniques. You can also take these skills beyond campus by studying abroad.
Our BA in English develops critical thinking, reading and writing abilities essential to graduate studies and a wide range of careers. Writing-based roles in publishing, marketing, law, nonprofits and technology are ever-expanding. We offer specific programs in publishing, education and professional writing to help you develop these career skill sets.
Concentrations
Literary Studies
This concentration is for students who wish to pursue the traditional approach to the discipline of English literary criticism, scholarship and theory. Students interested in a broad knowledge of the discipline and/or continued study in graduate or professional programs should choose this concentration.
Creative Writing
This concentration is for students who wish to create original works in poetry, fiction, nonfiction or translation, and who seek training from practicing writers in these areas. The program emphasizes, more than many such programs, the study of literature and theory. It is appropriate for students who plan to seek the MFA or PhD in English.
English Education
This concentration is for students who wish to teach English language and literature at the secondary school level. Students explore a range of writings from medieval British to postcolonial literatures of the Americas, and in addition take courses in language and writing.
The English Program at DU Offers:
A faculty of writers, critics and scholars who regularly publish in the best journals and presses
Small class sizes, allowing you to work one-on-one with some of the best writers and literary scholars in the country
Opportunities to apply what you learn beyond the classroom, including study abroad, internship opportunities, working on or publishing in the Foothills literary journal, and more
The chance to earn pre-admission to our MA program
Degree Requirements
- To major in English, students complete 44–60 credits in one of three areas of concentration: literary studies, creative writing or English education.
- No more than 12 credits of coursework at the 1000 level may be taken, and at least 12 credits must be taken at the 3000 level.
- For distinction in the major you need to maintain a GPA of 3.5 and complete either a critical or creative thesis.
- The secondary major is 44 credit hours.
- The minor is 24 credit hours.
Featured Courses
ENGL 2004
Magical Realism in Literature and Cinema
About this Course
This course examines the relationships between human groups and their social and aesthetic environments through the conjunction of history and myth or magical realism. We study magical realism both as auctorial flights of the imagination based on alternative ways of seeing and telling as well as a community-inspirited idiom shaped by a reperception of history and the environment. Our study is region-specific in sociocultural details as well as global in scope and involves the exploration of magical realism in literature and cinema. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.
ENGL 2850
Literature of Utopia/Dystopia: Dystopian Fiction
About this Course
This course addresses the concurrent and interrelated themes of utopian and dystopian thought and their primary expression through 20th and 21st century literary texts. As such, it critically engages and interrogates relationships between knowledge and power, and freedom and oppression that have long been expressed in world literature. At its core, utopian/dystopian literatures are always in conversation with historical, social, and cultural thought, expressing anxiety towards the relationship between social structures and institutions with the individuals and the imposition of coercive power. Texts addressed in these course include those by writers such as Thomas More, Charlotte Gilman Perkins, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, etc. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement.
ENGL 3982
Writers in the Schools
About this Course
This course operates mostly 'in the field.' Following the models of California Poets in the Schools and Teachers & Writers Collaborative, students are in training with a poet-in-residence, observing him as he conducts a residency in a public school. In addition, we have our own meetings to discuss pedagogy, classroom practices and management, teacher-writer relations, and all other necessary logistical planning. Placement in public schools is facilitated by Denver SCORES, an education program dedicated to increasing literacy in Denver's at-risk school population. For those wishing to work with middle or high school students, or in other community settings (e.g., homeless or women's shelters), special arrangements can be made. This course is a collaborative effort between CO Humanities, Denver SCORES, and the University of Denver.
Study the diverse cultures of literary texts and find new ways to tell your own story.
Are you ready to study English and literary arts at DU?
