Department of English
In the Department of English, we teach students how to think critically and creatively, and we conduct research to advance knowledge about culture, language, and the written word. Our graduate and undergraduate curricula emphasize deep research skills and unbounded creativity, preparing students for successful careers in academia, business, law, and other professions, as well as nonprofit work, teaching, writing, publishing, and the arts. Courses refine students’ oral and written communication skills, teaching them to be precise, clear, and inventive stylists.
The study of literature and language is at the core of each undergraduate major, providing a common, foundational knowledge about the cultural contexts in which texts and linguistic artifacts are produced, interpreted, and circulated. Individual undergraduate majors (English, creative writing, technical and scientfic communication, and professional and technical writing) provide specialized approaches to textual and linguistic critique and invention. Students graduate with enhanced capacities to understand both their cultures and the experiences of others, through varied experiences of collaboration and textual border-crossing that are inherent in our curriculum.
Classes in the English department are small. Students spend quality time with our award-winning faculty and have opportunities for individual and team-based research experiences. The department supports a number of internships. We invite visiting writers and scholars to speak every semester, and each spring students share their work at an undergraduate research conference and a student-run literary festival. Our undergraduate students publish in various Virginia Tech magazines, and graduate creative writing students serve as editors for two national journals.
Graduate programs in the Department of English include a general M.A. in English, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing.
News and Stories Spotlight
-
Article Item
From English major to lawyer, therapist, and entrepreneur , articlePaula Yost ‘02 once struggled to explain to her parents what she could do with a bachelor’s degree in English. Now, her impressive resume reads like three or four lifetimes wrapped into one.
-
Article Item
Class of 2026: Bella Joerg finds purpose as director of student literary festival , articleWhat does it mean to be an English major? Bella Joerg answers this question across her four years settling into English and reigniting her passion for literature as the president of a literary festival.
-
Article Item
Hoda to Hokies: Find a path you love and a community within it , articleKotb '86 made a half-day trip to Blacksburg to talk with students in the School of Communication and others in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences about her new app venture, Joy 101. This semester about 150 students in the college have been testing the app that Kotb launched in 2025.
-
Article Item
One Hokie, many roles , articleEnglish and philosophy double major Cate Langhorn is redefining what it means to be an English major at Virginia Tech through leadership, mentorship, and interdisciplinary research that embodies Ut Prosim.
English Experience (Learn, Discover, Explore)
Create With Us
Auditions
Create With Us
Bookshelf
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
