UMass Boston

What makes UMass Boston the place to study English?

• A Strong Engagement with Boston
  As Boston’s only public university, UMass Boston engages with the city, its people, and its resources in ways that enrich our students’ learning experiences and our community:
   
  • Learning opportunities with field trips to historical literary sites, visits to museums, and hands-on activities at local libraries and archives such as the Boston Athenaeum and our neighbors, the Massachusetts State Archives and the Kennedy Presidential Library.
  • A unique “Experiencing Boston” course sequence that connects literary study to Boston history and culture, focusing on generating creative approaches to studying and experiencing urban space.
  • A course sequence focused on Boston Harbor, the Harbor Islands, and the diverse coastal communities that surround them with a focus on environmental justice.
     
• A Socially-Engaged, World-Class Faculty
  The English faculty is committed to the social relevance of literary study and the study of composition and rhetoric, and how they can be used to advance ideas—for better or for worse.
   
  • Read the English Department’s statement about social justice.
  • Faculty Research and Publications
     
• A Connection to the Community
  Partnerships with local organizations get our English students out into the community, where they work as interns, tutors, and volunteers, expanding upon their classroom learning.
   
• A Diverse Student Body
  This variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences enable students to discuss course material in broader contexts.
   
• A Commitment to Multi-Lingual Students
  The English Department directs the university’s ESL Center, which serves students whose native language is not English. The ESL Center offers coursework in speaking, listening, and reading and writing for academic purposes.