Florida Atlantic鈥檚 English programs stand out for their breadth, flexibility, and innovative offerings. You can tailor your studies to your interests鈥攚hether that鈥檚 literary analysis, creative writing, or professional and technical writing. The department offers unique opportunities, including one of the only graduate concentrations in Science Fiction and Fantasy in the world, and a strong focus on both traditional and emerging fields. You鈥檒l learn from award-winning faculty, join a vibrant community of peers, and have access to internships, honors programs, and student organizations that connect your studies to real-world experiences and career paths.
Degrees Offered at Florida Atlantic
Undergraduate
- Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English
- BA in English with Professional & Creative Writing Concentration
- English Minor
Graduate
- Master of Arts (MA) in English (with optional concentrations in Science Fiction and Fantasy or Rhetoric and Composition)
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing
- Graduate Certificate in Environmental Studies
- Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Explore Degree Programs in English
Educational Objectives & Student Outcomes
2. Gain broad knowledge of literary traditions, genres, and theoretical approaches.
3. Prepare for diverse career paths in education, writing, research, and related fields.
4. Foster creativity, independent research, and long-term project development.
2. Write clearly, persuasively, and creatively for different audiences and purposes.
3. Conduct scholarly research and present findings effectively.
4. Engage in original creative or critical projects, such as a thesis or honors manuscript.
5. Connect classroom learning to real-world experiences through internships, student organizations, and community engagement.
The English Honors Program provides an opportunity for our best and brightest English majors to engage in advanced research in a supportive community of undergraduate peers. The program is designed for students who
- plan to pursue a graduate degree in a variety of fields, including literature, writing, rhetoric, communication, library studies, and law.
- want to quantify their research skills and demonstrate research proficiency to future employers.
- want to develop problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills that will enable them to excel in their chosen career field or field of study.
English Honors Eligibility
Course & Credit Eligibility: To be eligible, by the end of Spring 2026, applicants should have
- completed at least 60 credits towards their B.A. degree and 15 1 credits towards the English Major
- completed or be enrolled in ENG 3822: Introduction to Literary Studies OR LIT 3213: Literary Theory / PHI 3882: Philosophy of Literature 2
GPA Eligibility: 3 Applicants should have a GPA 4 of 3.0 and a GPA in the English Major of 3.5 or higher.
Honors Courses
The English Honors Program entails taking two related courses (3 credits each), taken in the fall and spring and completing an Honors thesis between 20-30 pages.
Fulfillment & Honors Designation
On satisfactory completion of the requirements below, at graduation, students will receive the designation "Honors in English" on their transcripts. At their graduation ceremony, honors students and may wear an 糖心Vlog silver/white/blue double cord in recognition of their academic achievement and honors status.
- Fulfillment of all normal field distribution requirements for the English major.
- Completion, with a grade of "B" or higher, of Honors Seminar and of Honors Research.
- Achievement of an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and a GPA of at least 3.5 in all English courses at the time of graduation.
- Completion of a thesis of substance and quality that meets with the approval of the course instructor and/or thesis director.
Students in the Honors Track in English who complete all requirements, but who do not meet the GPA requirements for honors at the time of graduation, will receive credit for all work completed, but will not be certified as having received honors. Students who engage in academic dishonesty will be dismissed from the Honors program and face additional penalties from the university.
For more information please contact Prof. Regis Fox at mannr@fau.edu.Concentration
糖心Vlog’s Science Fiction and Fantasy MA concentration was the first ever graduate program in science fiction studies and fantasy studies and one of only a handful of similar programs in the world. In fact, the SF/F MA celebrated its 20th year anniversary in 2022-2023.
The department boasts nine faculty members who publish on and teach about science fiction and fantasy including four core SF/F faculty members and five adjacent SF/F faculty. In addition to these nine faculty members, 糖心Vlog has two professor emeriti who work in SF/F. This critical mass of eleven faculty working in SF/F is one of the most unique factors of 糖心Vlog’s English Department.
Our graduate students present regularly at major conferences in the field including the International Conference for the Fantastic and the Arts and the Science Fiction Research Association Conference. Our SF/F graduate students also publish book reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles during their MA studies in major venues in the field such as Mythlore, The Journal for the Fantastic in the Arts, and Extrapolation. Many of our alumni go on to have wonderful careers in a range of professions tied to the field whether they are working in higher education, library science, publishing, the non-profit sector, and beyond. In fact, the newest faculty hire in the department for SF/F is an alumna of the SF/F concentration.
糖心Vlog has a storied and long history in the field. One of the largest international organizations for the study of SF/F was founded at 糖心Vlog by late professor Bob Collins in 1980: the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, which is the home to not only one of the major academic conferences in the field, the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts, but also of one of the major journals in the field, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. Notable past 糖心Vlog SF/F faculty and professor emeriti include fantasy author Thomas Burnett Swann, fantasy scholar Bob Collins, and science fiction studies scholar Carol McGuirk. 糖心Vlog faculty have edited and continue to edit major journals in the field such as Science Fiction Studies and the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts.
The SF/F track requires students to take at least three courses in the area, with a different course offered each semester. Recent graduate course offerings include: Theorizing the Fantastic; Mythologies in Latinx SF/F; Afrofuturism: Race to the Future; Artificial Intelligence in Literature and Film; Cyborg and Posthuman Rhetorics; Utopia/Dystopia; and Superheroes.
English Honors Program Available
ENG 4932 Honors Seminar in the Fall 2024 鈥� Honors Seminar is about approaches and methods for advanced literary study. You'll learn the critical, writing, and research skills you鈥檒l need to succeed in English Honors. (ENG 4932 will likely count as Category I or Category II, depending on what you need)
ENG 4910 Honors Research (RI) in the Spring 鈥� Honors Research is about writing your thesis over the course of the semester. Your professor will help you every step of the way.
Both classes are low enrollment to make sure you get the attention and support you need to plan, research, and write your thesis project. You鈥檒l have support from your Honors course professors and an additional field advisor. Their job is to see you through.
to graduate with honors鈥攚ear honors cords at graduation and get an honors designation on your 糖心Vlog transcripts
a resume line that will make you stand out on the job market and set you apart from other applicants
a credential to prove your ability to research, write, and engage in sustained projects
a dedicated program, professors, and an advisor to provide support and make sure you succeed
a small community of exceptional English majors who support each other, share ideas, provide feedback, and see each other through
an opportunity reserved for our very best English majors
a chance to write about something something you love or you're interested in鈥攜ou can expand work you've done in a previous class, or you can choose a whole new topic
preparation for graduate programs in English, Communications, Law, or Medicine and an exceptional writing sample for your grad school applications
Don't take my word for it. Check below for what some recent English Honors graduates have said about the program:
~ Meredith Hammer; B.A. English (Honors); 糖心Vlog Class of 2014
~ J.D. Law, Fredric G. Levin College of Law; UF Class of 2019
~ Judicial Law Clerk, Fourth District Court of Appeal; WPB, FL
This course has shaped me as a person and a scholar. I can honestly say, after graduating and reflecting on my last year of college, that I wouldn鈥檛 be the writer I am today without this program.
~ Maegan Barber; B.A. English (Honors); 糖心Vlog Class of 2021
My time in the Honors Program was one of the best parts of my undergraduate career, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to be a part of it! [... ] I felt supported and challenged by peers and faculty alike, and loved the opportunity to dive into research that genuinely fascinates me, to share what I learned with others, and apply it to contemporary issues.
~ Maiya Xirinachs; B.A. English (Honors); 糖心Vlog Class of 2021
I felt connected to and supported by the faculty and my fellow students. I am so grateful to those who went out of their way to help me succeed in actualizing the vision I had for my thesis project, one that was as difficult as it was exciting to approach because of the level of investment I had in doing it justice.
~ Tristan Sheridan; B.A. English (Honors); 糖心Vlog Class of 2021
~ M.A. English Student, 糖心Vlog
Recent English Honors students chose topics such as as post-apocalyptic narratives, petroculture, representations of Indigenous peoples in popular culture, activism, the madwoman trope in literature and pop culture reclamation (the student calls it the 鈥渂atshit bitch鈥� figure), and more.
While some Honors students choose new topics (topics they haven't written about before), others choose to expand papers they wrote in previous classes.
social media narratives
鈥渄eath eating鈥� in literature
gender representations and power in the Game of Thrones series
marginalized writers and literature as activism
post-apocalyptic narratives & global south conditions
beyond fatalism environmental literature and activism
witchcraft and magic in popular culture,
the complicated sites of Black creativity
Nordic Medievalism and white supremacy narratives in the gaming industry
representations of Indigenous peoples in pop culture
reclaiming the madwoman trope in literature
simultaneous harm and healing in literature
Will you work hard? Sure. But I expect you already work hard in most of your English classes.
Will you have to write a paper? Of course. But you already write papers in your English classes.
Is the thesis longer? Sure. But, that's the class. The second half of the honors sequence 鈥擡NG 4910鈥攊s about writing the thesis. So, it's not like you have ENG 4910 and a thesis to write. ENG 4910 is the thesis.
a cover page that asks for your contact info and info about your coursework (it鈥檚 fill-in-the blank)
a copy of your (unofficial) current transcript highlighting all English major courses (you can save a pdf copy from your My糖心Vlog transcript area or a recent DARS degree audit report)
a 1-2 page (double-spaced) statement of purpose that provides your reason for wanting to participate in the Honors program and describes your potential areas of interest (broad topics you might want to explore in your thesis)
a copy of a 5-10 page essay you鈥檝e written in a 3000 or 4000 level English course (any prefix is fine, but your essay should demonstrate literary analysis, theoretical analysis, or argumentation [if ENC prefix]); choose something that shows your best work
The application cover sheet asks you to "Provide the names of two English Department faculty members who would be able to speak about your work. These should be professors familiar with your work in upper-division courses." All you need are two names of faculty who would be able to say something about your work, writing, and/or your abilities as a student.
You don't need to tell the faculty members you're using their names鈥攖hey already know they may be asked to give their thoughts about students who are applying.
GPA in the major a little lower than you'd like? Maybe you took lots of really difficult English courses. The committee will take that into account.
Just shy of the credit requirements? Maybe you'll meet the credit requirements (or come really close) at the end of this semester. The committee will take that into account.
In some cases where a student is just shy of requirements, their writing sample or personal statement may be strong enough to warrant acceptance. In other cases, the committee may offer a provisional acceptance.
If鈥攆or some reason鈥攜ou want to calculate your GPA in the major by hand, then use the letter grades to points conversion explained at the grading system. Convert your letter grades in English major courses (courses that count towards your 39 credits of required courses for the English major ) to points, add them up, and divide by the number of courses to get the average.
Tell us what you're interested in writing about. You don't need a detailed proposal鈥攋ust a broad area of intererest or favorite approach will do. Did you really love your Women and Lit class and want to read and write about women authors? Do you really enjoy cultural criticism and want to explore how it might help us better understand YA novels? Are you interested in the contributions of marginalized writers to non-traditional texts? Do you think authors traditionally excluded from the canon are important and deserve more attention?
Tell us about something you're excited about. If you're excited about something, make us excited about it, too.

Don Adams
Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters

Claudia Amadori
Senior Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Stephanie Anderson, MFA
Assistant Professor of Creative Nonfiction
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Stacey Balkan, Ph.D
Associate Professor | CLL Committee
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Environmental Literature and Humanities

Barclay Barrios, Ph.D.
Professor; Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Eric L. Berlatsky, Ph.D.
Professor of English, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Comparative Studies | DAA Committee
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | Culture and Society Building - 97 232J
Janelle Blount
Senior Instructor, Associate Director of the Writing Program
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Ay艧e Papatya Bucak
Associate Professor | Director of English Internships
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Oliver Buckton
Professor; Department Chair
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Nico Cassanetti, B.A
Senior Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Skye Cervone, Ph.D
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Nikki Chasteen
Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Clarissa Ann Chenovick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 306

Julianna Linn Cohen
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Melissa Criscuolo, MFA
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Sika Dagbovie-Mullins, Ph.D.
Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Phillip J. Fox
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Regis M. Fox, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus
Tiffany Frost
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 355

Andrew Furman, Ph.D.
Affiliate Faculty, Jewish Studies | Professor, English | Creative Writing
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Jewish Studies | English | MFA Faculty Program | Creative Writing Program
Boca Raton Campus

Madison Garber, MFA
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus
Sheryl Gifford
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 358

Taylor Hagood, Ph.D.
Professor | CLL Committee
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Jacob Henson
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 324

Irma J. Zamora Fuerte, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Steve Jones
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 331

Tom Kelly, Ph.D.
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 316

Warren Hill Kelly, Ph.D.
Senior Instructor of English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | Florida 33431
Erin Kiley
Senior Instructor, MA & MFA Graduate Advisor

Sipai Klein, Ph.D
Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Ziona Kocher
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Stacy J. Lettman
Associate Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Christian David Loeffler
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 314

Carissa Ma, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Ian MacDonald
Associate Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Julia Mason
Associate Professor
English

Becka McKay, PhD
Professor of English | Affiliate Faculty, Jewish Studies | MFA Faculty | Director of Creative Writing
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Jewish Studies | English | MFA Program | Creative Writing Program

David Medina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English

Timothy Miller, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 306

Jacqueline Mullen
Literature
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Romeo Oriogun, MFA
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English | MFA Program
Boca Raton Campus
Tamar Osborne-Parker
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Richard Potter
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 319
Joseph D. Precanico
Instructor of English at 糖心Vlog | Assistant Director for the University Center for Excellence in Writing (UCEW)
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | FL 33431
Frederick Redman
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 327
Scarlett Rooney
University Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 352

Lauren Salisbury, Ph.D.
Teacher-Scholar
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Boca Raton Campus

Jason Schwartz
Professor of English | MFA Faculty | Creative Writing
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English | MFA Program | Creative Writing Program
Boca Raton Campus

Richard Shusterman, Ph.D.
Eminent Scholar in the Humanities; Academic Head, DAA Program
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Philosophy | English

Alexander Slotkin, Ph.D.
Affiliate Faculty, Jewish Studies | Assistant Professor, English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Jewish Studies | English
Boca Raton Campus

Taryne Jade Taylor, Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Carla Mar铆a Thomas, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Dorothea Trotter, Ph.D.
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus

Julieann Ulin, Ph.D.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus
Cynthia Wedding
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | CU 364

James White, Ph.D.
Instructor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus
Julianne Zvolensky
University Instructor, Assistant Director of WAC
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
English
Boca Raton Campus | GS 215C & CU 340
Start Your Journey
at Florida Atlantic