Reading and writing are basic acts of human imagination and intellect. Words matter: those who control meaning control culture. The excitement of original work in literature, film, and public debate affects what people believe and how they act. Through the study of language and literature, students understand cultural values and conflicts, persuasive argumentation, literary forms, personal expression, and human imagination.
The English Department's comprehensive curriculum is designed to enhance students' lifelong pleasure in literature, as well as their appreciation of human creativity, past and present. The M.A. program, is designed to prepare students for professional careers in the academic world and for other professional careers which focus on writing and interpretation.
An education in English fosters a student's critical thinking skills for further study in English graduate programs and occupations as diverse as medicine or business management. Both premedical and prelaw majors often use English as a preparatory degree for professional studies. The emphasis placed on analytical thinking and effective writing skills proves to be a valuable asset in graduate professional studies, where English majors rank among the most successful applicants.
In every part of the University's English program, writing is central, both as the medium through which students hone their ability to reflect upon what they read and as a subject unto itself. Thus, along with courses in literature, in which writing plays a principal role, students may take courses in various genres of creative and/or business and professional writing.
The Madrid Campus offers a rich variety of courses not available anywhere else in the world—from the literature of the Spanish Civil war to a Shakespeare course in which the class travels to London to attend workshops at the Globe Theater and to see the very plays being studied in class. Trained at the most distinguished research institutions in the world, the Madrid Campus faculty are active scholars who are passionate not only about what they teach—but about teaching itself.
