About Us

  • The Department of English boasts one of the largest majors in WMU’s College of Arts and Sciences. But we have a small average class size (under 18) and a 10 to 1 ratio of majors to full-time faculty.
     
  • Each year our faculty, students, and alumni compile a record of publications, presentations, and prizes that testifies to their impressive abilities as writers, scholars and teachers.
     
  • 94% of our 2024 graduates are engaged in post-graduation activity, primarily full-time employment and continuing education. Of those who were employed full-time, over 80% were in positions directly related to their degree.
     
  • Undergraduate English majors can focus on one of three areas: Creative Writing, Literature and Language, and Rhetoric and Writing Studies. Minors can choose one of four areas: Writing, Literature and Language, Rhetoric and Writing Studies, or World Literature.
     
  • Our graduate programs are home to some 60 MA, MFA, and PhD students, most of whom are supported by teaching assistantships or other scholarships. 
     
  • English is home to roughly 20 board-appointed full-time faculty members, who specialize in areas including Creative Writing, Literature, English Education, Rhetoric and Writing Studies, and Linguistics.
     
  • In 2025 we awarded over $50,000 in scholarships to our students. 
     
  • Each semester we offered over 30 distinct courses. Many feature traditional topics and canonical writers, while recent topics include Literary Publishing, AI Writing, Climate Change and Culture, Grant Writing for Social Impact, and Trans Women and Queer Literature.
     
  • We offer an Accelerated Masters (or 4 + 1) Program, in which undergraduate English majors can earn an M.A. with only one additional year of course work.
     
  • Our vibrant chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English Honors Society, currently has around 50 members. In the past three years, student members have attended and presented at national Sigma Tau Delta conferences in Denver, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh, all expenses paid. 
     
  • Our graduate student-led Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism (ABAR) group fosters reflection and intentionality in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion for department faculty, students, and staff.
     
  • Third Coast, one of the nation’s premier literary magazines, is edited by our department’s graduate students.
     
  • We offer undergraduate internships in publishing with Third Coast magazine and Medieval Institute Publications, part of WMU’s Medieval Institute. More internships are in the works.