Department of English & Theater Arts

Our bachelor’s degree in English includes courses in literature, composition, creative writing and cultural studies, touching on themes, genre and literary periods that have influenced civilizations and the greater world of art that they create.

You can choose from a wide range of minors, detailed below, that can help you supplement any major with well-honed reading and writing skills that you can draw on in any career.

We offer two graduate programs—an M.A. and a Ph.D.—through which you will develop advanced research and writing skills that will prepare you for further graduate education or professional life in academia or a multitude of other career paths.

• English
• Creative Writing
• Film Studies
• Theater Arts

The four-year B.A. program encourages students to examine and experience the relationship between drama as literary artifact and drama as performance.

Students learn the skills necessary to translate the written word into a living, breathing, dynamic art while developing invaluable problem-solving skills, building leadership qualities and learning to work successfully in a team environment.

Online or in-person, craft your degree around your interests.

The program has two tracks: English, through which you’ll do a deep-dive into literary studies, and an M.A. with a focus on literature and writing, through which you’ll explore a variety of forms of writing across different media and disciplines.

A career-focused approach to English.

Our Ph.D. program will provide you with comprehensive training in advanced literary research and postsecondary teaching of writing and literature.

Dedicated to the idea that one of the best ways to understand drama is through performance, the Duquesne University Medieval and Renaissance Players stage medieval and Renaissance drama, particularly at conferences and other scholarly gatherings.

The purpose of the Duquesne Medieval and Renaissance Players is to stage productions of Medieval and Renaissance drama as a means of research to better understand how Medieval and Renaissance drama function within a larger social context. In this effort, we join an international interest in the reconstruction and understanding of early dramas. 

Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, was established in 1924 to confer distinction upon students of the English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate and professional studies.

To be a candidate for undergraduate membership, you must have completed at least three semesters of college work and a minimum of two college courses in English language or literature. You must also have a minimum of a B average in English and rank at least in the highest 35 percent of your class in general scholarship.

In keeping with Duquesne’s Spiritan commitment to ecumenism and solidarity, as well as respectful, critical conversations that embrace human diversity and dignity, the Department of English is dedicated to radical inclusion through service to all.

Through the study of language and literature in its various forms, you will be equipped with an understanding of and appreciation for the rich complexity and diversity of the human experience in its sacred and social manifestations. You will be instilled with an understanding of the importance of solidarity between peoples of all classes, gender identities, races, ethnicities, (dis)abilities/embodiments, sexual identities, ages/generations, religions, nationalities/citizenship status and other forms of vulnerable collectives.