Our department has perennially possessed a unique atmosphere that students and visitors can sense. We value close reading and big ideas, the minute particulars of the text and the deep, complex connection between literature and the worlds of contemplation and action, in history and now. Our dedication to traditional canonical literature, from medieval to contemporary, also involves enthusiastically exploring its relation to the innovative and the experimental. We participate in UW English’s distinctive combination of literary and rhetorical studies, and we contribute to communications studies for students in other disciplines.

In our classes we foster inspiring discussion and individualized learning, and we welcome conversation beyond the classroom. We pride ourselves on being approachable and present to our students. To study English at St. Jerome's University is to exercise scholarly rigour and creativity; to develop practical skills in writing and critical thinking while cultivating intellectual adventurousness; to encounter beauty; and to glimpse truth.