OPPORTUNITIES

There are numerous opportunities for English majors and minors to become involved with activities and programs within the department. Listed below are just a few programs available for students interested in expanding their UMBC English experience.

The English Honors Program

Is there a book that you’ve been eager to study, a play you’ve been drafting in your head, a digital tool you’ve been building, or a story you’ve been itching to investigate? The English Department Honors Program invites junior or senior English majors to work in close collaboration with a department faculty member to pursue an extended research-based project of your own design. From science writing to podcasting, literary criticism to poetry, the Honors projects you can pursue reflect the diversity of our field and your own distinctive research interests.

The English Council of Majors and Minors is open to all English majors and minors and meets regularly to plan activities for students of English and to discuss any concerns about the English Department and the English major program.

English majors with an outstanding record of academic achievement are invited to join the UMBC chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the National English Honors Society. Our chapter, the Alpha Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, was founded in May 1995. Members of Sigma Tau Delta are eligible for national scholarships, writing awards, and publishing internships; our local UMBC chapter works closely with the English Council of Majors and Minors in organizing activities.

Membership applications for Sigma Tau Delta are due on March 1 and October 15 of each year. Click here for the Sigma Tau Delta Application.

Membership requirements include at least three semesters’ enrollment at UMBC and completion of two 300- or 400-level English courses. Please contact Brian Dunnigan for further information on membership in Sigma Tau Delta.

A group of students from English and other departments annually publish Bartleby, UMBC’s creative arts journal which includes fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and art. All students beyond thirty credits are eligible to receive academic credit for their work on Bartleby in the form of the ENGL 495 internship.

The staff meets approximately six times per semester, with the work of reading submissions done online at staff members’ convenience. In addition to producing the journal, the staff also sponsors a student/faculty reading and release celebration each spring, and does publicity and occasional fundraising activities such as book/bake sales and Scrabble tournaments.

For information go to the Bartleby website or Email bartleby@umbc.edu.

The Retriever Weekly is the award-winning student-run weekly newspaper at UMBC and has been active on campus for more than 40 years. For opportunities with the Retriever, contact the staff.