Universities with strong English depts.

[MommytoDylan]

One of my former 3rd grade students, now in High School, emailed me today. She has decided she wants to be a writer, (spelled it writter in the email:) and asked for recommendations on good colleges. I have no idea! Anyone out there with any idea?

Thanks in advance!

Meredith

[psophia17]

Vassar University in Poughkeepsie, NY, has a great English Dept. I didn't go there, but I was very interested because of their English program (but I was Lit, not Writing). My alma mater is St. Lawrence University, in Canton, NY, which has a really good program, too - it was the only part of my SLU experience that I really loved. They also have an amazing London Program - I studied in London for four months my jr. year. The London Program was the reason I decided that I wanted to go there.

I'm curious - are you going to warn her to proofread when you respond?

[quikeye]

UC Berkeley... but I'm biased since it was my major there :) It actually was a top rated program then ('99), but I don't know now. I loved it there though :)

[jk3]

If she can stand the cold, I highly recommend Middlebury College in Vermont. They have a fabulous department + also a summer school at the Bread Loaf campus.

Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[Tondi G]

I was going to suggest Vassar as well. I have a close friend that I grew up with that graduated from Vassar, English was her Major and she is writing for a living now!!!!

Good luck to your student!

~Tondi

[C99]

Well, at least she doesn't want to be an editor. ;-) I am sure that there are more, but here are a few universities that I can think of with strong English departments:

- Stanford University. I have a friend who became a terminal M.A. student when she dropped out in grad school. Many of her friends are now professors.

- University of San Francisco. Another friend got her MFA in creative writing there. She's now a playright and her stuff is *seriously* funny.

- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I have several friends who got rhetoric or lit degrees through UIUC. Most of them are even working in the field. ;-)

[bostonsmama]

I can totally understand that she misspelled "writer." I was nervous like that when I petitioned former teachers for advice/recommendations. Anyhow, I highly recommend the english program at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It's a beautiful college on the water with a reknown English Department. I graduated with departmental honors with a BA in English/Educ, so I know the professors quite well. I worked side-by-side with the most brilliant writers and professors. Sherri Reynolds, who wrote an Oprah bookclub book, teaches a fabulous creative writing class. Tim Ciebels, the most amazing African American poet I've ever met, leads the poetry department. If your former student needs a foot in the door, I can drop a couple names of professors I've had and with whom I've kept in contact. I have to say that I came out of the English program having experienced the best teaching and analytics. Favorite professors include Dr. Manuela Mourao, Dr. Jeff Richards, Dr. Judith Doumas, Dr. David Pagano, and Dr. Metzger (they run the gamut from Rhetoric to Victorian Lit to American Drama to Women Writers). She won't be able to "apply" to the dept until her second year, but I think that's pretty common. Also, if she's lacking scholarships/funding, it's a pretty reasonable state school with access to grands and scholarships (I got a full academic scholarship there). Well, i can't recommend it highly enough. I hope she'll consider it.

Info on the English Dept:

http://web.odu.edu/al/engl/

Admissions info:

http://admissions.odu.edu/undergraduate.php

[MommytoDylan]

Thank you, ladies, so much for your help! It is an amazing resource to just pop online, type a question, and have such a wealth of information come back to you.

I just emailed my former student and I'll be very interested to see what school she decides to attend.

Thanks again!

Meredith

[phirey]

Hi!

Who are your professor friends at Stanford? My sister just left their English department (comp lit professor -- not writing) for a tenure position at Transylvania University in KY. I'll ask her for the best writing programs, but off the top of my head I know the University of Iowa's got a great writing program.

[C99]

Hmm...clearly, that sentence was not well-written. What I meant was that many of my friends' acquaintances who graduated with PhDs in English from Stanford are now professors (elsewhere).