Department of English - Northwestern University

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An interview with Suzanne Scanlon (MFA+MA 2023) about her 2024 book, Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen, appeared in New York Magazine's The Cut

Read the interview

Charif Shanahan is one of four poets nationally to receive the 2024 Whiting Award. “Designed to recognize excellence,” the prestigious award is given annually to ten early career writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, "based on early accomplishment and the promise of great work to come.”

Shanahan's poetry collection, Trace Evidence, was also a finalist for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, longlisted for 2023 National Book Award for Poetry, and winner of the Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.

Kelly Wisecup has been awarded the 2023 Early American Literature Book Prize for Assembled for Use.

Jeffrey Masten was awarded the 34th Calvin and Rose G. Hoffman Prize for a Distinguished Publication on Christopher Marlowe for his essay entitled “Marlowe’s Queer Futures: Edward and Richard the Second.

Our Programs

Undergraduate

Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Major is one of the first and finest undergraduate programs of its kind in the country. Its reputation is based on accomplishments of its graduates, the generosity of its professors, and a pedagogy that creates a fruitful symbiosis between close reading and inventive writing.

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English Literature

Being an English literature major at Northwestern means reading literature that’s been circulating across more than 1000 years of history and nearly every the continent of the globe, and the skills you learn will help prepare you for virtually any career you can think of.

Why Study English?
The Major and Minor in English literature
English Literature Advisors
Pursuing Honors in English

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Graduate

Litowitz MFA+MA in English and Creative Writing

This program offers intimate classes, the opportunity to pursue both creative and critical writing, and close mentorship by renowned faculty in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Our three-year curriculum gives students time to deepen both their creative writing and their study of literature. Students complete two degrees concurrently --an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English.

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MA in English Literature

Designed to be completed in one year and flexible in its requirements, our Master's in Literature allows students considerable freedom in choosing courses in English and in related disciplines. Most are planning to move on to Doctoral study elsewhere, improve their credentials as teachers in secondary schools and community colleges, or to take their experience into the business and publishing sectors.

About the Master's degree program

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PhD in English Literature

Our PhD program offers advanced study and research in literary history, criticism, and theory, with excellent opportunities for study between both disciplines and departments. Courses within the department cover major genres, periods, authors, and a broad range of methodological and theoretical approaches. Significant support in professional development and on the job market are cornerstones of the program.