English | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Reading. Writing. Iowa.

Study at the Writing University in the heart of the nation's most celebrated literary town.

Why Iowa?

Immerse yourself in the world of literature, books, and creative writing–in a college and community obsessed with the written word.

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Build a foundation

If you love reading and writing, you belong at Iowa. Declare the English or English and Creative Writing major, and join a community dedicated to exploring–and creating–great literature.

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Develop your literary scholarship. Hone your creative writing. Delve into book studies. Harness the digital humanities. Prepare for success in the academy, public service, education, and the literary arts and professions.

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Learn from experts

Our faculty are creating the future of the English disciplines, inspired by our storied past. They advance scholarship and artistry in a welcoming academic community internationally recognized for literary excellence.

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See yourself here

Make Iowa City, the first UNESCO City of Literature in the United States, your new home, and join our community of nationally respected professors and award-winning writers.

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News and announcements

Pop star Dua Lipa recommends professor Kaveh Akbar's book Martyr!

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Zara Chowdhary in the Los Angeles Review of Books

Monday, September 21, 2026

English alumna has spent career amplifying citizens’ voices

Thursday, September 10, 2026

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Join a top university in the country for writing with one of our English and English and Creative Writing programs, or our Nonfiction Writing Program, one of the oldest nonfiction programs in the nation.

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Sydney Mayes english and creative writing student

"Iowa City is the place to be– specifically the University of Iowa–if you want to be a writer and if you want to have access to incredible resources around writing. The reputation is insane."

- Sydney Mayes, English and Creative Writing major

Hear Sydney's "Why Iowa"

Upcoming events

Vcologies 2026

Saturday, September 26, 2026 (all day)

English-Philosophy Building

Co-sponsored by the Obermann Center.

Vcologies (Victorian Ecologies Today) is an interdisciplinary, international collective of scholars committed to the environmental humanities, the energy humanities, and other ecology-focused approaches.

Vcologies 2026

Friday, Sept. 25: Gerber Lounge (304 EPB)

9-10:30 a.m.: Session One: Energy

Siobhan Carroll, “Equiano and the Fishes: Romantic Energy Systems and Slavery at Sea”

Devin Griffiths, “; Or, the Whale”

Michael Tondre, “Aesthetic Disfiguration: A Short...

MFA Info Series: The Personal Statement

Monday, September 28, 2026 1:30pm to 2:30pm

English-Philosophy Building

Irwin Lecture Series presents: Evie Shockley

Thursday, October 1, 2026 4:00pm to 5:30pm

English-Philosophy Building

Professor Evie Shockley is the author of Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry (U Iowa P, 2011) and six collections of poetry, most recently suddenly we (Wesleyan UP, 2023). Her books have been recognized with a number of awards: the new black (Wesleyan UP, 2011) received the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; semiautomatic (Wesleyan UP, 2017) received the same award in 2018, and was also a finalist that year for the LA Times Book Review Prize and the...

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