From the Department Chair:

Our Department now serves over 140 graduate students, some 80 at the MA/MFA/MAET level and another 60 or so doctoral candidates. Many of our students are supported by teaching or research assistantships or doctoral associateships, and they challenge and inspire not only our faculty, but also—through their work as teachers—our undergraduate students. In a typical year our graduate students compile a record of publications, productions, presentations, and prizes that testifies to their impressive abilities and to the effectiveness of our faculty, whose own instruction, writing, and scholarship is exemplary. In short, we’re proud of our students—and of those who teach them.

I’m delighted to commend this Graduate Student Hanbook to everyone with an interest in our graduate programs. Our Graduate Committee, and particularly our Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Gwen Tarbox, has worked hard to assure that the Handbook will provide excellent guidance, not only to new or prospective students, but also to those currently enrolled in our programs.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of those programs, please feel free to get in touch with me or with Dr. Tarbox, either by telephone or email. We’ll also be happy to arrange for a face-to-face meeting on campus. Meantime, we hope the information in the Manual will anticipate and answer many of your questions.

Best wishes,
Arnie Johnston
Chair, Department of English
Western Michigan University
(269) 387-2571
arnie.johnston@wmich.edu