Welcome to the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo. Our department offers Bachelor of Arts programs in Literature, Literature & Rhetoric and Rhetoric & Professional Writing, and Master of Arts programs in Literary Studies and Rhetoric and Communication Design. Our PhD program, unique in Canada, combines literary study with rhetoric, semiotics, genre theory, as well as other fields of intense language study.
Our diverse faculty teaches a wide range of courses from Chaucer to semiotics, from information design to science fiction. The Literature faculty has expertise across the full range of British, American, Canadian, and postcolonial literatures. The Rhetoric faculty work in areas such as genre studies, digital design, history and theory of rhetoric, linguistics, and professional writing. Co-op, an option that allows students to alternate between academic terms and relevant work placements, is available at both the undergraduate and MA levels.
The study of English will also develop your analytical, judgmental, and critical capacities, your sensitivity to language and its uses, and your writing abilities. An undergraduate degree program in English can prepare you for a future in teaching, in government, business, or industry, for studies in law, or for advanced studies leading to graduate degrees in English. Ninety-five percent of our students are satisfactorily employed within six months of graduation.