Department of English
The English Department’s mission is to prepare students to succeed in an increasingly diverse world. The department is devoted to an innovative curriculum that encourages lifelong learning, critical thinking and effective writing. We teach students to see textual work as an engagement with history, convention, culture and place so that they can participate responsibly in changing regional and challenging global environments. In particular, the department is concerned with Alaskan cultures, the North Pacific Rim environment and the intersection of networked technologies and forms of textuality.
What can you do with an English degree?THE BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH
The programs offered by the Department of English provide an opportunity for a truly liberal education, one that encourages both self-discovery and an exploration of enduring ideas. The curriculum includes courses in composition, rhetoric, literature, and linguistics. The department also coordinates the First-Year Composition Program, which fulfills the university’s General Education Requirement in written communication.
To address our mission, the department offers three emphases in the undergraduate major: literature, rhetoric and language, and secondary education.
- The literature option focuses on significant examples of literature from different places, periods, and genres as well as the social and geocultural forces that shape them.
- The rhetoric and language option focuses on rhetorical strategies and techniques of composition, emphasizing historical, theoretical, and linguistic perspectives.
- The secondary education option prepares students for teaching literature and writing at the middle and high school levels as well as for admission to UAA’s Master of Arts in Teaching program.
The department also offers a Minor in English (with emphases in Literature, Linguistics,
or Professional Writing) as well as a minor in Creative Writing and Literary Arts.
English Students and Faculty in the News!
Upcoming Events & Deadlines
Important Changes to GER
Composition in Fall 2017
Beginning with Fall 2017 registration, you'll see a change in how GER composition courses are identified in the catalog and in Degree Works. Don’t worry though - your ENGL credits will still count.
Here are the changes:
*ENGL A111 will now become WRTG A111: Writing Across Contexts
*ENGL A211 will now become WRTG A211: Writing and the Humanities
*ENGL A212 will now become WRTG A212: Writing and the Professions
*ENGL A213 will now become WRTG A213: Writing and the Sciences
*ENGL A214 will now become WRTG A214: Arguing Across Contexts
As before, WRTG A111 is the introductory GER composition course, and you will then
take a second composition course to fulfill your 6-credit GER requirement.
*WRTG A211 is recommended for humanities majors.
*WRTG A212 is recommended for business, engineering, and the professions.
*WRTG A213 is recommended for the natural and social sciences and health sciences.
*WRTG A214 is recommended for education majors.
Be sure to check with your major advisor to see which composition course is required for your degree or program.
