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English Department

Whether you want to become a writer, teacher or expert multi-media communicator, majoring in English at NMU will open many doors to your future—ones you may not have even considered yet. In literature classes you will be challenged to consider matters of broad human significance. In creative writing, exposition and journalism classes you will develop your talents for expressing ideas and emotions.

Experience learning

Faculty members work closely with students, encouraging interaction and lively discussion in and outside of the classroom. Immersive learning abounds. You can attend visiting writer readings; work on the nationally-known Passages North literary journal, the student-published North Wind newspaper, or the online student writing journal, The Lightkeeper; travel to and present at scholarly conferences; or intern in journalism, technical writing and editing; train for and get experience in Teaching English to Students of Other Languages.

Career excellence

Many employers prefer job candidates with an English degree because of their ability to analyze complex material and communicate clearly. The department boasts a 100 percent placement rate for English education graduates. Many of our other students go on to careers in publishing, technology, public relations, technical writing, advertising, law and government service, or continue on to graduate school.

Brian Czyzyk is a senior English/Writing major, Psychology minor. He is Treasurer of NMU

Reannon Dykehouse hails from Cheboygan, Michigan, but came to NMU directly after a Peace Corps stint teaching college TEFL in Chongqing, China. She is pursuing her MA through the literature track, with a particular focus on video games and their potential to inform literary theory. NMU has supported her scholastic interest in this medium through an Excellence in Education grant, and also provided her with the opportunity to present at the 2016 CEA conference.

Liz is a senior English graduate bound major at NMU, also minoring in writing and theatre. One of her favorite things about the English program at NMU is the opportunity to network and build camaraderie, both in work and social settings, with the other students and faculty in the department. Through working in the Writing Center and participating in classes, she has met like-minded people with similar interests and aspirations, and many collaborative projects and efforts have risen from these relationships.

Lilith Kontos is a sophomore from Waukesha, WI majoring in English and minoring in Theatre and Entertainment Arts. She is the winner of the 2015 Houston Writing Award, and a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honors fraternity on campus. She especially enjoys the close-knit community of the English department at NMU and the workshop-based classes she has had the opportunity to partake in, and hopes to one day work as an editor.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor Degree

Minor

What you'll do at NMU

Work on academic service learning projects, like creating and teaching a unit on Native American literature in a local grade school or writing book reviews to help troubled teens discover titles they’ll enjoy. Seek or provide assistance in our Writing Center available to all students. Share the exciting news of our student and faculty accomplishments as an editor of EDEN, the department’s electronic newsletter, or contribute to our undergraduate online journal, The Ore Ink Review. Join Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, and help bring famous authors to campus. Who knows, you could win a large monetary prize in one of our five specialized writing contests. Whatever you do, you’ll end up as a better thinker, writer and speaker.

Contact

English Department•english@nmu.edu•906-227-2711

If you have college credit and want to find out what will transfer to NMU, please visit www.nmu.edu/transfercredit

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