Department of English - Northwestern University

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Featured Stories

The Chicago Review of Books has announced the shortlist for the 2023 Chicago Review of Books Awards, one which includes Juan Martinez's Extended Stay and Charif Shanahan's Trace Evidence.

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"In his new novel, creative writing professor Juan Martinez gets at 'frightening corners of our lived experience and our messy interior lives'”

Article in Northwestern Now

Charif Shanahan's poetry collection, Trace Evidence, is one of ten books on the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry Longlist.

Susannah Gottlieb's 2023 Auden and the Muse of History was named as a finalist for the Poetry Foundation's 2023 Pegasus Award in Poetry Criticism. The prize honors an outstanding book length work of poetry criticism published in the U.S. in the previous year.

Chris Abani has won the 2023 UNT Rilke Prize for Smoking The Bible, his 2022 poetry collection. He is also a finalist for the 2024 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the winner of which will be announced in October.

Paulina Jones-Torregrosa, doctoral candidate in the English Department, has been selected as a 2023 Presidential Fellow and new member of the Northwestern University Society of Fellows. Jones-Torregrosa works at the intersections of literary, ethnic, and feminist studies, and her dissertation, “We’re All on the Line’: Women of Color Print Solidarities, 1970-1991,” analyzes U.S. women of color feminists’ rigorous critique of transnational inequalities.

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.