English & Creative Writing

Major/Minor

A degree in English and Creative Writing provides Thomas More University graduates with job market versatility, knowledge of verbal and written expression, and an edge in a culture defined by fast-paced exchanges of information. The skills cultivated by English majors remain in top demand by employers across the U.S.

In addition to offering the major, the English and Creative Writing Department offers a minor that pairs well with majors from any discipline and provides an edge in the competitive career market. To provide students with the utmost flexibility, our minor is earned when a student completes 6 English courses after the completion of English 150.

woman in blazer smiling

Kelli Kleisinger Williams ’08
“(ThomasMore University’s) English program helped me develop invaluable reading, writing and analytical skills–skills that help me with my work as an attorney in the transactional field.”

Woman smiling in front of tree

Caitie Tieman ’06/’16
“While I basically stumbled into marketing by accident, I quickly found it to be a natural fit for my skill set. Thanks to my English degree, I entered a career as a content marketing specialist well-equipped for the enormous amount of writing involved, as well as the deeper analysis it takes to know and relate to a customer audience.”

Woman in red sweater smiling outside

Rita Dibello ’10
“The English major taught me how to build relationships and to communicate needs and impact to diverse audiences—skills that serve me well in my career as a fundraiser and grant writer.”

What Our Graduates are Doing Now

English and Creative Writing Major Checklist
English and Creative Writing Major Q&A
New Course Descriptions

The Department at a Glance.

Faculty in the English and Creative Writing Department have specialties across literary studies, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric. In addition to six full-time faculty and several part-time faculty, the department features a Writer in Residence – appointed annually. Among those who have served the college are Pauletta Hansel, a regionally known poet, memoirist, teacher and editor who was recently named the first Poet Laureate of Cincinnati, and Richard Hague, an awarding-winning poet and author of a dozen collections of poetry who draws largely on his Appalachian roots as a native of Steubenville, Ohio. Additionally, many of the Thomas More faculty have experience teaching abroad, and faculty members of the James Graham Brown Honors Program also supervise the Honors Fellowship projects at the behest of the students.

Like every other department at the University, the English and Creative Writing faculty value one-on-one advising and personal relationships with students. Not only do English and Creative Writing faculty encourage individual growth by fostering mentor relationships and by assisting students as they arrange job shadowing opportunities or networking experiences, but they also offer real-world professional development by providing students with any/all of the following: publication and/or editing experience through the WORDS literary magazine, a publication that is locally and internationally renowned, tutoring experience for those wanting to develop career-relevant skills, and experiential learning at a range of local nonprofits that offer students an opportunity to interface with professionals in the local communities.

Through the range of departmental course offerings, students will hone a sensitivity to language, an appreciation of fine literature, and the mastery of creative and analytical writing. The Thomas More English programs offer a range of opportunities for creative inquiry beyond the traditional classroom. Students may present at the annual, national Sigma Tau Delta conference or participate in opportunities provided by the Creative Writing Vision Program (CWVP). The CWVP has enabled students to find leadership roles in publication, editing, and community programming.

While many students choose to work in traditional careers related to editing, publishing, journalism, advertising, marketing, or education, others pursue careers in grant writing, social service, corporate development, or business administration. Thomas More University English graduates are also well prepared for graduate school or law school.

Career opportunities for English graduates include publishing, editing, teaching, copywriting, marketing, speechwriting, fundraising, and advertising, to name a few. Numerous graduates find meaningful careers in the realm of business while others pursue fields related to the non-profit realm or careers in health/medicine or entertainment.

Experiential learning opportunities encompass a variety of activities including college tutoring, literary reading series management, copy editing, literary magazine publication, collegiate sports writing, parish newsletter editing, news reporting and feature writing, grant writing, media relations, and organizational publicity.

The Sandra L. Cuni Scholarship is an award given yearly to an English major whose work best exemplifies the ideals that Dr. Cuni held for Creative Writing.  This award commemorates the high academic and creative standards of its namesake and may be credited toward tuition, fees and/or books.

Hear from Thomas More University alumna Courtney Smalley ’14 as she talks about the value of an English major

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Who will I be learning from?

Professor Sarah BlackwellInstructor/LecturerB.A. Thomas More University, KY | M.A. University of Cincinnati, OH
Professor Julie DaoudProfessorB.A. Miami University, OH | M.A. University of Cincinnati, OH | Ph.D. University of Cincinnati, OH
Professor Sarah GerkensmeyerAssistant Professor B.A. DePauw University | M.F.A. Cornell
Professor Jim Schuttemeyer Associate ProfessorB.S. Thomas More University, KY | M.A. University of Kentucky, KY
Professor Molly Easo Smith ProfessorPh.D. Auburn University
Professor Sherry Cook StanforthEmerta ProfessorB.A. Miami University, OH | M.A. University of Cincinnati, OH | Ph.D. University of Cincinnati, OH
Professor Adam Stier Associate ProfessorB.A. Miami University | Ph.D. The Ohio State University