Department of English

Welcome to the English Department

English majors learn to synthesize information and to present their ideas and opinions skillfully. They find employment in fields where the sophisticated use of language is necessary for advancement. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study, not only in writing, film studies and literature, but in medicine, law, education, journalism and business. In today’s job market, as job titles and responsibilities shift constantly, English majors have an advantage because they are used to analyzing situations critically and communicating the results effectively.

Job choices for English majors go beyond the obvious options of teaching, attending graduate school, or becoming a writer, because graduates also excel in many other areas. English majors have learned how to write, analyze material, and communicate effectively, so they work in many different fields, including broadcasting, sales and marketing, management, government and entertainment.


English Department News

Inaugural Lit Fest


CultureKlatsch's Newest Episode is Out! Ep 11 & 11.5: Targaryens, Television, and Trauma: Watching George R. R. Martin’s House of the Dragon 1.17.23

This episode of CultureKlatsch discusses House of the Dragon (the Golden Globe winning prequel to Game of Thrones) in terms of spectatorship and genre. Host Jake Johnson, along with guests Kendall Adamson, Madison Cook, David Debonis, and Landon Sickler (all CU Denver students), create a roundtable discussion on a wide range of topics, including television consumption patterns and rituals, violence against women as a plot device, trauma and spectatorship, the cultural appeal of high fantasy television,  the ways HOD mirrors current social relations, the politics of gender and colonialism, artistic intent and HOD as historical account, and the ongoing celebration of “masculine strength” in both GOT and HOD. They speak with several CU Denver professors—Dr. Sarah Hagelin (Ethnic Studies and English), Katy Mohrman (Ethnic Studies), and William Wagner (History)—as well as CU Denver film student Darcen McCampbel and spectators outside the university, Beth Hall and Allie Borgsmiller.

Listen to a longer interview with Drs. Sarah Hagelin and Katy Mohrman in this bonus episode of CultureKlatsch (hosted and edited by Jake Johnson).

Listen now on ​​Spotify, ​SoundCloudand Apple Podcasts.

HOD ep

CultureKlatsch in the Auraria Media Center Sound Studio. From left: Madison Cook (guest + editor), Jake Sorensen (media specialist + sound engineer), Kendall Adamson (guest), Michelle Comstock (instructor), Jake Johnson (host). Not pictured: Landon Sickler (guest) and David Debonis (guest + editor).


Copper Nickel Rises in National Rankings!

There are approximately 700 regularly publishing literary journals in America—and each year a writer and blogger named Clifford Garstang ranks them based on how often work from their pages is reprinted in the prestigious annual Pushcart Prize Anthology. 

As of 2023, Copper Nickel is now ranked number 10 for poetry, tied with The Georgia Review and ahead of The Yale ReviewThe Gettysburg ReviewThe SunPloughsharesMichigan Quarterly ReviewVirginia Quarterly ReviewBoston ReviewThe Iowa ReviewPrairie Schooner, and Agni.

For fiction in 2023 Copper Nickel is ranked number 34, ahead of A Public SpaceEpochOxford AmericanStoryn+1BoulevardHarvard ReviewMichigan Quarterly ReviewPrairie SchoonerNotre Dame Review, and Southwest Review.

The Pushcart Prize is, of course, only one metric for evaluating a literary magazine's "standing," but we're proud of Copper Nickel's growth in visibility and prestige since its relaunch in 2015.

Copper Nickel is edited by CU Denver creative writing faculty. And, unique for a journal at this level, Copper Nickel also receives substantial editorial input from undergraduate students. As many as 30 each semester engage in first-round editorial screening, proofreading, and production through work as volunteers, interns, and, every fourth semester, through ENGL 4088: Literary Editing: Copper Nickel.


Departmental Latin Honors

As we near the end of spring semester, the English Department encourages their undergraduates to pursue Latin honors with their English degree. The application process is easy, and we’d be happy to answer any questions that students might have. 

Please reach out to Wayne Miller (cynthia.wong@ucdenver.edu) in the next few weeks if interested. Wayne Miller would be happy to answer questions and assist in the development of a project. There is still plenty of time to apply. You can find the guidelines for pursuing honors at the following website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/english/latin-honors.


English Faculty Accomplishments 


English Student and Alumni Accomplishments

  • Asma Al-Masyabi published "Loss for Words" in The Cincinnati Review. Congrats Asma!
  • Asma Al-Masyabi, a Creative Writing student, has won the 2023 Emerging Poet Award from the Ruth Weiss Foundation for her poem “The Future I Feed My Brother.” The award comes with a $1,500 grant. The ruth weiss Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities to support poetic artists through their annual grant program. Asma Al-Masyabi is a Scholastic Silver Medal Poetry winner with publications in Subnivean, the Santa Clara Review, the Riverstone Literary Journal, and more. She often uses poetry as a way to process the world, as she does with “The Future I Feed My Brother,” which she dedicates to her younger brother. She’s currently pursuing a degree in creative writing at the University of Colorado Denver and looks forward to a career filled with words and art, her two biggest passions. Congrats!
  • ​​Congratulations to Fernanda Cabrera, Kinzey Gill, and Yesenia Olivas-Jimenez for being awarded the 2022-2023 Michael S. Gorniak Scholarship. 
  • Kendall Mallon's series of podcasts were chosen as the winner of the Rex Burns Award for best graduate essay of the year!
  • Doran Seff was awarded the Richard T. Dillon Scholarship award, which recognizes undergraduate excellence in the English Department. Lexi Cipriani was awarded as the follow-up runner for the Dillion Scholarship. Congratulations to you both!