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Welcome!

Here, you'll find information about English majors and minors, Master of Arts in Literature and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Most answers to your questions can be found (and downloaded) here, including advisor contacts, faculty information, course offerings and degree requirements.

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Why Choose Us?

If you're unsure about career possibilities for an English major, minor, M.A. or M.F.A., check our Careers page for undergraduates and Resources page for graduates. We offer a variety of opportunities, which you can read about in our Why Choose Us section. The ability of an English major to communicate effectively through the written word is a tremendously valuable asset in numerous fields, including:

• Teaching
• Publishing & Editing
• Technical & Professional Writing
• Advertising, Marketing & Media
• Law & Medicine

We are striving to offer the best English graduate programs in the CSU system.  Our key strengths include:

• Three distinct tracks: MA, MFA, and credential programs
• Small seminars taught by tenured or tenure-line faculty
• Flexible curricula--only one required course for the MA
• Exceptional visiting authors programs that bring some of the world's leading authors to our campus & our classrooms
• A vibrant community of writers and student literary organizations
• Financial support for students selected as Graduate Assistants or Teaching Associates

Top ten reasons to apply to the Undergraduate Programs:

• Small classes taught by actively publishing, available faculty
• Innovative World and Comparative Literature courses 
• Strong offerings in American and British literature
• Creative Writing Concentration including famous visiting writers
• Career Writing Concentration preparing students as writers and editors in Silicon Valley 
• One of the few English Teacher Credential programs approved under new State Guidelines
• Opportunities to work on Reedmagazine, the oldest literary journal west of the Mississippi
• Numerous cash awards for student writing, creative and critical
• Plus, businesses, non-profits, law schools and MBA programs rank English among their preferred majors

If you cannot major in English, we offer four minors

• Literature
• Comparative Literature
• Creative Writing
• Professional and Technical Writing Career

Declare or change your major or minor today with this form

• Declare, Change or Add Major or Minor

Freshman Composition

The Department is also responsible for teaching all of the Freshman Composition courses (English 1A & 1B).  Since we teach more than 1500 students each semester, we are dedicated to training incoming students for the rigors of college-level writing.  Read about our committment to composition here.

Department Contact Information

Contact us about fulfilling your goals as an undergraduate major or minor, M.A. in Literature or M.F.A. in Creative Writing.

John Engell, Chair
Phone: (408) 924-4499
john.engell@sjsu.edu
Faculty Offices 102

English Department Office
Phone: (408) 924-4425
Fax: (408) 924-4580
english@sjsu.edu
Faculty Offices 102
One Washington Square
San José, California, USA, 95192-0090

Susan Shillinglaw, Major Advisor
Faculty Offices 118
408-924-4487
Susan.Shillinglaw@sjsu.edu

Persis Karim, MajorAdvisor
Faculty Offices 216
408-924-4476
pkarim@email.sjsu.edu

Mary Warner, Director of the English Credential Program
Faculty Offices 127
(408) 924-4417
mwarner@email.sjsu.edu

Jonathan Lovell, Associate Director of the English Credential Program
Faculty Offices 127
(408) 924-4437
jlovell@email.sjsu.edu

Andrew Fleck, Honors Coordinator
Faculty Offices 111
408-924-4457
afleck@email.sjsu.edu

A. Noelle Brada-Williams, MA Graduate Coordinator
(408) 924-4439
Faculty Offices 110
awilli@email.sjsu.edu

Alan Soldofsky, Director of Creative Writing & MFA
(408) 924-4432
Faculty Offices 106
soldofsk@email.sjsu.edu

For information on the Department of English & Comparative Literature, please email english@sjsu.edu. For the Department Webmaster, send email to webmaster.english@sjsu.edu.