Undergraduate Program

Ameeth Vijay
Director of Undergraduate Studies

I’m excited to  welcome you to the Literature department and introduce you to the  wide range of opportunities, experiences, and skills that our courses and majors provide. Our students  work closely with faculty to engage critically and creatively across diverse languages, genres, and  media, from poetry and prose to science fiction,  graphic novels, and international cinema. 

Literature students not only write academic essays and papers, but express themselves in podcasts, short films, zines, curating public exhibits, and in community projects.  Our high faculty to student ratio and small, discussion-focused classes means that you have a chance to get to know your professors and fellow students in a dynamic and interactive learning environment.  We have a thriving and supportive community.

Literature will challenge you to think differently—to innovate and think on your feet in the spaces where there are no clear-cut answers to the questions that life will ask of you. Our students have gone on to successful careers not only in academia but in law, media, publishing, tech, medicine, and activism. In any career path that Literature graduates choose, the creativity, intellectual flexibility, and ability to engage with diverse perspectives that we teach remain foundational for a lifetime of curiosity and openness to new ideas and connections.  

Our department provides four majors and eleven minors. Majors can opt to focus their studies on 1) Writing, 2) Literature in English, 3) Literature in Spanish, or 4) World Literature and Culture. Minors may focus their course of study around writing, literature in a number of different languages, or a single topic of the student’s choosing. You are always welcome to contact me or our Undergraduate Advisors (Virtual Advising Center) to learn how to craft a major or minor program reflective of your specific goals and interests. 

I look forward to meeting you and learning more about your plans.