Welcome to the Department of English and Comparative Literature!

Study with award-winning teachers & professional writers. Prepare for a variety of careers in teaching, career and technical writing, or advanced study in English, law and medicine. Home to the Steinbeck Fellows and the Lurie Visiting Distinguished Author programs, the department also houses the Center for Literary Arts, which brings distinguished poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers to campus to give public readings.

Events

PWC Issue 1 cover featuring a lei-wearing cat looking up

Quarant-Zine: A PWC Literary Magazine (Read Online)

The Poets & Writers Coalition proudly presents the Quarant-Zine: a student literary magazine of flash fiction, poetry, recipes, and illustrations from Spring 2021. Their inaugural issue focuses on themes of escapism, isolation, adapting to the online experience, and sheltering in place. During yet another semester of social distancing, a group of creative writers and artists found a way to come together. This Zine captures the resilience of young voices living through the coronavirus shutdown. Through the darkness, they found a way to create something meaningful.

Purchase a copy of Quarant-Zine

For Future Students

Learn the requirements for admission, whether you are entering as a freshman or as a transfer student.

Major Advising

Have major-specific questions? Schedule an appointment with your major advisor today.

MA English Program

Learn about our MA program, important dates, and the MA comprehensive exam.

MFA Creative Writing Program

Learn about how our MFA program offers a rich opportunity for students to pursue their craft with active, publishing faculty and talented peers who go on to vibrant publishing careers.

English Credential Program

Learn about how our English Educational Program prepares credential candidates with the content and pedagogy to teach English in middle and secondary schools.

For Freshmen

Welcome to your first semester at SJSU! Find resources, course descriptions, and advice on how to choose your first English course.

For Faculty and Staff

Find resources, forms and policies, getting funded, getting up to date, and getting ahead.

Our Mission

The Department of English and Comparative Literature's mission is to develop the reading and writing skills, the interpretive ability, and the cultural awareness of its students by maintaining and enhancing a tradition of strong teaching, good scholarship, and vigorous support of creative literary activity.

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Four Undergraduate Concentrations

Our department offers four B.A. concentrations that include focuses on literature, creative writing, teaching, and technical writing. The department also houses the composition program in which undergraduates complete their general education writing requirements.

Explore the Concentrations

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MA Program

Our MA program offers a great opportunity to expand your literary horizons with a program perfectly suited to working adults.  

Learn About the MA Program

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MFA Program

Our MFA program, the Literary Incubator in the Heart of the Silicon Valley, offers a rich opportunity for students to pursue their craft with active, publishing faculty and talented peers who go on to vibrant publishing careers.

Learn About the MFA Program

Reed Magazine Issue 152

The Place for You!

So, whether you want to work on Reed Magazine, the oldest literary journal west of the Mississippi, read literary classics, attend readings by local and high-profile writers, or learn about a career in technical writing, the Department of English and Comparative Literature is the place for you!

Explore Reed Magazine

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Award Winning Faculty

Our faculty are committed to student success, and many have won recent teaching awards marking their successes in the classroom. Our alums are employed throughout the Bay Area in positions that draw upon their training as English majors, showing how practicality meets passion in our department.  

Meet the Faculty

Mulitple Phelan Scholarship Awardees Posing for photo

Scholarships and Opportunities 

We have very generous scholarships and awards for both undergraduates and graduates, and all of our students benefit from the Center for the Literary Arts' programming and the Lurie Chair, a prestigious award that funds spring semester residencies for highly distinguished writers.   

Apply for Scholarships