Department of English & Communication


Our department challenges its students to complete a core of courses that explore the varied ways people speak, write and read.


The department is pleased to announce a new major:  a B.F.A. in Creative Writing.

 

For more information, please contact
Richard Henry, Interim Department Chair
Director, B.F.A. in Creative Writing
henryrm@potsdam.edu
 or call (315) 267-2005
Fax number: (315) 267-3256.

Degree Programs

Bachelor of Arts in English with undergraduate majors in:

  • literature
  • literature and writing
  • professional writing
  • creative writing

Literature majors learn to read a variety of texts from multiple perspectives in order to better understand their own literary preferences and the literature of their own and other cultures.

Writing majors have two options: 1. creative writing or 2. professional writing - both of which focus on the personal and cultural significance of language and literature.

The department's combined literature and writing major is designed for those interested in teaching English in secondary schools.


Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing:

The B.F.A. in Creative Writing is a pre-professional degree that offers students intensive training in the writing of fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction, and screenplays.  In addition to courses in creative writing, students are required to write a senior thesis, to take courses in literature, to complete a writing-related internship, and to present their work in a solo reading during their final year.


Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication:

Communication majors concentrate on the purposes, functions and varieties of human communication, including a wide range of theories and practices of communication from interpersonal to mass media.

They study the processes we use to deal with our environment, how we change and accommodate ourselves to it and how we impose our thoughts on the world around us.


Master of Arts in English and Communication:

The master's program provides opportunities for students to continue their studies of writing, rhetoric, literature, and communication.

 

“The English and Communication courses cover all aspects of communication. The Communication major is broad enough to allow you to explore the entire field, yet you can use your elective courses to narrow your studies to your specific interests.”

- Cortney Premo, Communication Major