Welcome Prospective Students

Why study English? Many students decide to become English majors because they love reading great books and stories. They love being exposed to the power and beauty of language and the thrilling ideas and insights contained in literary language. Many of them also have a desire to write – to write about literature or to create literature themselves. These reasons are true and time tested, but love of literature and writing is only one reason to be an English major.

Many of our students choose English as their major because of the professional opportunities it affords them. Yes, some of our students become educators or go on to graduate programs to earn a Ph.D. degree and become college professors, but many others enroll in law school or pursue careers in media, technology, software development, professional writing, and publishing – and some of them even go to medical school. English majors are trained to think, read, analyze, and write in ways that allow them to adapt to the particular requirements of most professions. They are prepared to absorb, understand, prioritize, and analyze many different kinds of knowledge and content.

And what better place to pursue a bachelor degree in English than on the gorgeous campus of the University of Mississippi, adjacent to the idyllic town of Oxford with its famous independent bookstore, Square Books. With over 350 majors and an outstanding faculty, the English department is one of the largest units in the College of Liberal Arts, but still small enough to limit enrollment in upper-division classes to between 20 and 30 students, allowing for meaningful contact between students and professors. Our curriculum is extensive, ranging from courses in English and American Literature to courses in Anglophone literature of other parts of the globe, such as the Caribbean, Africa, and postcolonial and Third World, to courses in women writers, literary theory, Native American literature, as well as expository and creative writing. The Creative Writing program boasts a strong and well-published faculty that teaches poetry, fiction, and screenwriting workshops.

To learn more about the Department of English, contact Dr. Caroline Wigginton, Chair, at engl@olemiss.edu or (662) 915-7439.

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