Department of English

Why study English at UVic?

Programs

Applying to UVic

Student studying in a reading room — Plan your 2022–23 courses
Let next year’s course offerings excite and inspire you!
Our courses

Student on campus — Hone your skills
Studying English increases your ability to analyze texts and to write effectively, all while delving further into the literature you love.
Undergraduate studies

Student reading on a bench outside — A vibrant community of graduate students
Our programs let you explore different topics and build your own skill sets. Graduate student Alana Sayers’ research is focused on Indigenous literature and its importance.
Graduate studies

Close-up of the Map of London project — Vibrant research
Our students and faculty participate in a number of fascinating research projects, like the Map of Early Modern London project: a digital, interactive version of the *Civitas Londinum.*
Our research

Student sitting on the grass on campus — Professional communication
UVic's unique Professional Communication program lets you develop highly employable skills while you complete your undergraduate degree.
Professional communication program

students listening to a presentation Victoria International Airport — Where Can UVic English Take You?
Where Can UVic English Take You?

Literature captures us and urges us to reflect on our relationship to the world, to our culture and to ourselves. In stories, poems and plays; in film, graphic novels and even video games, we represent who we are through imagination and language.

We offer a wide range of both traditional and innovative courses that tackle literature from a variety of perspectives. Let us feed your imagination and challenge your intellect.

Featured Courses

ENGL 437A: Modern Drama to World War II

ENGL 406: XML for Professional Communications

Special courses offered for the 2022-23 academic year

ENGL 230: Contemporary Media and Fiction (Jentery Sayers)
ENGL 230: Sexting Through the Ages (Stephen Ross)
ENGL 330: One Hundred Years of Horror (Samuel Wong)
ENGL 330: Revenge and Reconciliation (Kyle Dase)
ENGL 330: Graphic Women (Sheila Rabillard)
ENGL 330: Law and Literature (Nancy Wright)
ENGL 330: Friendship and Rivalry (Kyle Dase)
ENGL 353: An Anthology of Middle English Verse (Allan Mitchell)
ENGL 360: Shakespeare on Film (Erin Ellerbeck)
ENGL 372: “Life’s a Jest”: Wit and Humour in the 18th-Century (Eric Miller)
ENGL 391: Games and Interactive Fiction (Jentery Sayers)
ENGL 392: KAFKA (Matthew Pollard)
ENGL 392: Dante's Divine Comedy (Joseph Grossi)
ENGL 395: Science Fiction and Speculative Futures (Nicole Shukin)
ENGL 413: Never Again: Film and Literature of Holocaust and Genocide (Lincoln Shlensky)
ENGL 439B: Australian Literature and Film (Nancy Wright)
ENGL 471: Modern British Women's Fiction (Magdalena Kay)
ENGL 481: Early Printed Books in the (Digital) Archives (Janelle Jenstad)

Find other course offerings.

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.