Department of English, Creative Writing, and Film

Cultivate and expand your talents in creative writing or filmmaking. Fulfill your passion for studying literature or film. The Department of English, Creative Writing, and Film offers multiple majors in a community atmosphere dedicated to learning and creating. Our award-winning faculty provide engaged interactions that foster critical thinking, conversation, and inquiry, while strengthening your research and problem-solving skills and honing your creative and communicative abilities.

The OU Pledge is the university’s commitment to providing undergraduate students with the opportunity for meaningful, hands-on learning. The Department of English, Creative Writing, and Film offers courses with experiential learning in both formal and regular settings and occasional one-time experiences.

• The Oakland Arts Review: An international undergraduate literary journal run by students in our Creative Writing program. In working on the journal, students earn course credit and gain valuable experience in editing and publishing—managing global submissions, navigating the peer review process, and producing a high-quality publication.
• Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Trip: A week-long, faculty-led study-away experience where Film students immerse themselves in the global film industry, attending premieres, industry panels, and master classes at North America's largest film festival. 
• English Language Arts for Educators: Students in our English Language Arts for Educators (ELA) program combine English coursework with a full year of hands-on field experience to prepare them for their careers as teachers of English.
• Internships: English and Creative Writing students translate their skills into professional experience through a variety of credit-bearing internships offered through the department, ranging from literacy tutoring to drafting grants for local non-profits to writing copy for Detroit-based marketing firms.
• Learning in Place: Students in our English program learn about literature by using resources on campus and in the surrounding region, including visiting Detroit archives to study manuscripts of activist writers, exploring the OU Native American Heritage Site, and conducting research in the Special Collections of OU’s Kresge Library. 
• Film and Video Production: Students in our Film program start writing, shooting, and editing their own projects from day one, learning the technical and creative skills needed to direct traditional narrative films, produce high-energy digital media for sports teams, shoot corporate advertising, and develop engaging content for YouTube.