About Us

About the Department

About the English Department at UCCS

Academic Focus
Faculty & Research
Mission & Vision

A Message from the Department Chair

Kirsten Ortega
English Department Chair

Welcome to the English Department. In our classes, you will read to gain insight into the world and your roles in it. You will write to contribute your insights to public discussion. You will engage in lively and thoughtful discussions of texts you have read and written to develop informed insights. You will complete research in contexts, histories, and theories to support your analysis of and response to what you have read and discussed. These comprehension and communication activities are why English majors have long contributed successfully to cultural, political, educational, business, and community leadership. We hope you will join us in one of our robust major or minor options.

We are also proud that many UCCS students will take classes with our faculty in First-Year Rhetoric & Writing. In these classes, you will develop crucial skills for successful writing, research, analysis, and communication in whatever academic studies you pursue.

We look forward to working with you in our classes and as English majors and minors!

Academic Focus

The UCCS Department of English provides students with the literary analysis, research and writing skills that they need to succeed in different careers. We offer a Bachelor of Arts in English with degree tracks in Literature, Rhetoric & Writing, Secondary English Education, Elementary Education, Special Education and English Studies Online.

Department Faculty

At UCCS, our faculty believe in research to not only advance their knowledge, but also assist their students who may participate in the studies. Current research ranges from social media writing, Old English, medieval manuscripts and intersections of language, gender and place. 

Mission Statement

The English Department is committed to exemplary teaching, research, creative work, and service. Through engaged study of diverse texts and contexts, we foster a love of language, critical research, respect for evidence, thinking at multiple levels and across multiple genres, and strong close reading. In learning to read and write critically and imaginatively, UCCS English majors will express themselves with clarity, agility, and confidence in diverse settings. The English Department educates students campus-wide in their development as writers and cultivates a responsible and empathetic approach to peers, texts, and communities. We contribute to scholarly, creative, and civic life in the Colorado Springs community and to the discipline of English Studies nationally and internationally.