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English Department

The English Department is Pleased to Announce a new 4+1 Program in English

The 4+1 Program in English allows SUNY Cortland students in English or Professional Writing to complete both their BA and MA in just five years. With just one additional year of coursework, students in the program graduate with a Master’s in English.


The English Department

As one of the largest departments on campus, English provides students many options for literary and cultural study while preserving small class sizes. Our award-winning faculty offer a variety of courses in literature, professional writing, and adolescence education, covering topics such as Shakespeare, world literature, rhetoric, new media, and 21st century literacies.

Students actively participate in the process of reading and writing and study how words work: how they can be shaped into literary art, organized into a lesson plan, or developed into distinct genres, from poetry to a resume; how we use them to fashion our understanding of ourselves and our place in local, national, and global communities.

Upon graduation, a SUNY Cortland English major is not only in demand by creative and professional institutions, but also well prepared for graduate school, law school, and careers in teaching, journalism, new media, communications and business.

Check out these additional resources on why majoring in English brings a lifetime of opportunity, career choice, and excitement:

  • Why Study English? This guide will give you the answer, plus list skills you will hone in your English major.
  • What can I do with my English Major? A guide to career paths available to English majors, with job search resources.
  • Graduate Studies 101. All your questions about graduate studies in English answered here, with tips and strategies for applying.
  • Our Alumni. Check out the accomplishments of our recent graduates, including their employment, graduate degrees, and publications.
  • Why Minor in English? This flyer will give you the answer, with information on our four minors.

Follow SUNY Cortland's English Department on Facebook.


SUNY Cortland English Department Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

As scholars and teachers of English, we believe that language matters. Therefore, we write to denounce—in the strongest possible terms—the police brutality and murder that have stolen so many Black lives. We believe that Black Lives Matter. We acknowledge, too, that systemic racism not only grounds institutions of policing, mass incarceration, capitalism, and the state, but also education. All too often, English classrooms are spaces where white supremacy is enforced, not contested and rejected, where literature only reflects a blindingly white minority, where only one mode of speaking or writing is valued. As English faculty, we commit to interrogating and resisting the histories of structural racism that make whiteness seem natural or default; we commit to intersectional pedagogy, which understands racism as shaped by other forces of oppression, including sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism; and we commit to listening, so that our classrooms may be spaces for the continual unlearning of prejudice and oppression. We invite our students to join us in speaking loudly against racism in all forms. 



Publications

Hoxie Gorge Review

News

CICC chooses “Air” as 2024-25 academic theme

May 14, 2024
Organizers seek ideas from the campus community for the coming year’s lectures and activities.

New garden celebrates Indigenous crops and culture

May 8, 2024
The Three Sisters farming method is introduced to SUNY Cortland’s Model Garden.

SUNY Cortland recognized for election encouragement

April 16, 2024
For a second time, the university is honored for its voter education, registration and turnout efforts.

Braiding Sweetgrass author to speak

April 2, 2024
Robin Wall Kimmerer will bring both scientific knowledge and Indigenous wisdom to her April 12 talk on living as ecological citizens.

‘Harvest Week!’ culminates ‘Food’ series

March 19, 2024
Topping the week of April 8-12's activities is a talk by the ‘Braiding Sweetgrass' author.

Book Club to unwind 'Braiding Sweetgrass'

Oct. 23, 2023
The Oct. 25 discussion continues the university’s year-long focus on “Food.”

SUNY Cortland plans week to celebrate non-trads and transfers

Oct. 18, 2023
The university will celebrate both groups Monday, Oct. 23, to Friday, Oct. 27.

Clubs/Societies

English Club

The English Club welcomes students from across SUNY Cortland to connect through their shared appreciation of language and literature. For more information, visit the English Club's page at Cortland Connect.

Sigma Tau Delta

SUNY Cortland hosts a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international honors society for students of English. For more information, contact the chapter's faculty advisor, Prof. Abigail Droge

The Cortland Writers Association

The Cortland Writers Association is a community of young collegiate writers passionate about inspiring others to see reality through a beautiful lens, one student’s pen at a time. Visit the Cortland Writers Association page.