The English Department at the University of Connecticut is committed to informing its majors about literature and literary history and to helping them to develop the writing and critical thinking skills required for literary interpretation. As a component of Connecticut’s only public institution authorized to grant the Ph.D., the English Department prepares graduate students for professional careers in teaching, literary criticism, research, and writing. Gifted poets, novelists, essayists, and playwrights on our faculty contribute to the literary canon and provide undergraduate and graduate students with courses in creative writing. In its Freshman English courses, General Education courses, and in other upper and lower division courses, the Department serves the university community through its commitment to the teaching of critical thinking, cogent analysis, and clear written expression.  Much of the Department’s research is designed to advance knowledge about literature and the cultures from which it has emerged, and to extend the critical approaches and historical perspectives through which literature can be understood and enjoyed.