English Language and Literature

Welcome! The Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo offers unique undergraduate and graduate programs covering the study of literature, rhetoric, professional writing, and digital media. Our professors have national and international reputations in these areas, and we boast many awards for teaching. Graduates of our B.A. and M.A. programs find successful careers in industry, law, government, teaching, medicine, communication design, and entrepreneurship, often getting their start with our co-op program; they also go on to advanced studies in English. Graduates of our PhD program hold academic and non-academic positions in Canada and across the world.

Undergraduate Studies

Whether you want to explore literature, digital media, political discourse, or technical communication, our diverse undergraduate degrees and programs allow you to pursue your interests. You have a wide variety of degree options, and with our integrated co-op option, you can combine study and work experience.

Graduate Studies

We offer MAs in Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Communication Design, and Experimental Digital Media. Our PhD offers a unique integration of literary studies with such fields as rhetoric, new media, and discourse analysis. Our degrees will prepare you for work in and beyond the academy.

Research

Our department features internationally known scholars who conduct research in a variety of fields, including literary studies, digital media, and rhetoric and professional communication. The department is also affiliated with a number of research bodies, including the Critical Media Lab, the Games Institute, First Person Scholar, the Waterloo Directory of Victorian Periodicals, and the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching is central to our department, and our faculty and graduate students include many award-winning instructors. Class sizes in the department are small, and your professors are dedicated, dynamic instructors who will give you the academic tools you need to follow your intellectual passions and the individual attention you need to grow as a scholar.

Find out more

To find out more about our department, follow any of the links above or in the main menu. Our faculty and staff are also happy to talk with you via email, over the phone, or in person to answer any questions you might have.

For undergraduate inquiries

Contact our undergraduate adminstrator, Jenny Conroy, or our undergraduate chair, Shelley Hulan.

The English undergraduate office is located in Hagey Hall room 251.

For graduate inquiries

Contact our graduate administrator, Tina Davidson, or our graduate chair, Marcel O'Gorman.

The English graduate office is located in Hagey Hall room 250.

Social Media

You can also follow us on a variety of social media:

	Event notices, general department news, and English-related links from both within and outside the department.
	News and events for graduate students and faculty, English-related job advertisements, and calls for papers and articles.
	Words in Place (our department blog): a wide variety of articles on people and events in the department, including interviews with undergraduate and graduate students.
	Videos of department events and student projects.
	Our Department Newsletter: a periodic summary of what's been happening with faculty and students in English Language and Literature.

Tweets by @uw_english

The Department of English acknowledges that we are living and working on the traditional territory of ‎ the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Read More >>

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News

July 1, 2017Shakespeare 401: What’s Next?
From June 21-24, 2017, Ken Graham and Alysia Kolentsis joined forces with the Stratford Festival to host the second Shakespearean Theatre Conference: “Shakespeare 401: What’s Next?”

The conference included a number of highlights:
June 13, 2017English Convocation Sees Five New PhDs, Sixteen New MAs, and Seventy New BAs
Congratulations to our bumper crop of new English alumni! All the best in your future endeavours. See our list of graduates below.
June 8, 2017Linda Warley and Candida Rifkind Win 2016 Gabrielle Roy Prize
UWaterloo English professor Linda Warley and Candida Rifkind of Wilfrid Laurier University have won the 2016 Gabrielle Roy Prize for their co-edited essay collection Canadian Graphic: Picturing Life Narratives. The collection's contributors draw on literary theory, visual studies, and cultural

Read all news

Events

Nov. 3, 2017Speak Like a Scholar
University of Waterloo's Writing and Communication Centre is now accepting applications to participate in a program for doctoral students: Speak like a Scholar! Speak like a Scholar is designed to help doctoral researchers develop their voices as independent scholars and give academic presentations such as dissertation defenses and conference papers with confidence.
Nov. 3, 2017Book publishing seminar offered by UBC Press and Cornell University Press
Emily Andrew, senior editor at Cornell University Press, and Randy Schmidt, senior editor at University of British Columbia Press, will provide an opportunity to learn about the process of publishing with a university press, in Canada and the US. Topics of discussion include:
- what distinguishes university presses from other publishers
- how to locate the appropriate publisher for your work
- how to prepare an attractive prospectus
- how to turn your thesis into a book
- the peer review process
- sources of funding for scholarly monographs
- what to expect of your publisher and what your publisher will expect of you
Nov. 10, 2017Speak Like a Scholar
University of Waterloo's Writing and Communication Centre is now accepting applications to participate in a program for doctoral students: Speak like a Scholar! Speak like a Scholar is designed to help doctoral researchers develop their voices as independent scholars and give academic presentations such as dissertation defenses and conference papers with confidence.