Greetings from the Department of Language and Literature at North Carolina Central University! Thank you for your interest in our programs. The Department of Language and Literature is a unique department: we house programs in English, Modern Foreign Languages, and Interdisciplinary Studies. We provide undergraduate and graduate students with the critical thinking skills and knowledge base they need to succeed in a wide array of professional fields and to participate as informed citizens in a pluralistic democratic society. Our graduates take a variety of paths: they are prepared for graduate school, law school, or other post-graduate professional study; they enter into professional fields such as communications, public relations, marketing, and community activism; they become educators and administrators; and they become independent, freelance writers. Some of our recent undergraduate graduates are now continuing their studies in graduate programs at UNC-Chapel Hill, Temple University, and Pennsylvania State University. Others have successfully entered into regional law schools, including NCCU School of Law. Recent English MA graduates have been accepted into doctoral programs UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Maryland, and the University of Georgia.
Due to required General Education Curriculum (GEC) courses, most students who matriculate at NCCU will take during their freshman year English composition, foreign language, and arts and humanities classes, all of which are offered through our department. The department also offers philosophy courses. As a faculty, we understand that we are meeting students during this critical year in their college careers and seek to cultivate students’ writing and critical thinking skills, which will support their success throughout their academic studies and beyond.
Currently, the department offers four degree programs: a BA in English, a BA in Spanish, a new BA in Interdisciplinary Studies, and an MA in English. The English degree program includes three areas of concentration: literature, writing, and education. The Spanish degree program includes two areas of concentration: without licensure (general) and with licensure (education). We also offer several minors: English (literature or writing concentration), German, Spanish, and Philosophy. Our storied English Master’s degree program offers a wide range of American, British, and multicultural literature courses, as well as rhetoric and composition courses, and is especially well-suited for public school educators who wish to further their professional development and students who desire the graduate education that will prepare them to successfully apply to PhD programs at other institutions.
Our department also offers many extracurricular activities through our active language clubs—English, French, German, and Spanish. Some of these activities include celebrating international holidays and participating in international festivals where food, culture, and dance are exhibited. We also are offering our own Professional and Technical Writing Internship course and have placed a number of students in college-credit earning, on-campus, and off-campus internships. Additionally, we host the Bi-annual African-American Literature Symposium and the annual Mason-Sekora Lecture, as well as a variety of other speakers and special events.
Our faculty and staff work every day to foster the intellectual development of our students in our GEC courses, in our upper-level courses for majors and minors, and in our graduate seminars. Student success, in all its various forms, is our top priority in the Department of Language and Literature! If you wish to learn more about our department and/or degree programs, please continue to explore our web site or visit us on the third floor of the Farrison-Newton Communications Building.
Dr. John Prince
– Interim Chair, Department of Language and Literature
The Department of Language and Literature engages students in languages, cultures, literatures, linguistics, and writing, fostering analytical and creative thinking, problem-solving abilities, and communication strategies that reflect an awareness of global perspectives.
Read this year's edition of the student literary magazine, Ex Umbra. This has been a proud Department of Language and Literature publication since 1961.