The Department of English offers programs in English Literature and Language (including American, British, and world literatures in English) leading to the MA and PhD degrees. It also offers concentrations in Writing History and Theory (WHIT) that examine the practice of “writing” as historically, culturally, and technologically situated. The department covers many areas of literary study, particularly the literatures of the English Renaissance period; of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Centuries in Britain and the Commonwealth; of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries in the US; and of the contemporary period. Our concentrations in Writing History and Theory capitalize on faculty expertise in medical rhetoric, visual rhetoric, authorship and intellectual property, and other fields related to the study of rhetoric and writing. 
These programs are supported by faculty research interests in Medicine, Language and Literature and Cultures of Authorship and Exhibition. Graduate students also can choose to pursue coursework and research in film studies and creative writing.
The Department prepares students for academic careers at colleges and universities and for work in closely related fields. Our programs offer

• A 1:1 PhD student-to-faculty ratio
• A 1:3 MA student-to-faculty ratio
• Full funding packages for full-time MA and PhD students
• Support for conference and research travel
• Comprehensive mentoring and advising programs
• Extensive teaching training and instructional experiences, including opportunities for PhD students to teach literature and professional communication courses
• An extensive program of professional development workshops, colloquia, and seminars
• Opportunities and amenities of a large research university, with the feel and intimacy of a small liberal arts college
• 100% placement rate in the first year for doctoral graduates seeking full-time academic teaching jobs over the ten-year period 2002-2011 (75% placement rate 2007-11 in tenure-track or equivalent permanent positions)
• strong record of preparing MA students for doctoral programs and non-academic employment

The Department is situated in the heart of University Circle, Cleveland’s richest concentration of cultural institutions. Faculty and graduate student research interests intersect at many points with Cleveland institutions, including the Dittrick Museum of Medical History, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Association, the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo, and the Cleveland Playhouse, as well as with CWRU’s Theater Arts and Art History departments, Special Collections in the Kelvin Smith Library, and the Law School.