According to U.S. News and World Report, the highest ranked English Department in Ohio is at the Ohio State University. About 50,000 students are enrolled at the main Columbus campus. Admission to OSU is competitive, with 87 percent of its freshman class ranking in the top quarter of their graduating high school class. OSU's English Department has about 100 faculty teaching a wide range of English-language literature across regions and centuries. Aside from the two required writing courses for all Ohio State undergraduates, English majors must complete at least 60 credit hours of English Department courses, of which 35 must be 400-level or higher. (The typical semester-long course is 5 credit-hours.) The four lower division core course requirements are medieval through 18th century British literature; romantic, Victorian, and modern British literature; critical writing; and either American literature to 1865 or American literature since 1865. Majors can also declare a concentration in 17 areas, including pre-law, critical theory, contemporary literature, and popular culture/digital media. The English Department supports eight literary journals, including The Journal, formerly titled The Ohio Journal, Literature & History, and Poetics Today.
The Ohio State University
Department of English
421 Denney Hall
164 W 17th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-6065
english.osu.edu
Next highest on the list is Miami University in Oxford. The university was named for the Native American tribe that lived in the area now known as Ohio's Miami Valley, the land surrounding the Great Miami River in the state's southwest region. Oxford is 36 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Miami University has about 15,000 undergraduates, with almost three-quarters of every undergraduate class having fewer than 30 students. The Department of English supports interdisciplinary work among its faculty, who also teach in five other programs on campus: American Studies, Black World Studies, Film Studies, Latin American Studies, and Women's Studies. Undergraduate students in English can choose among four majors: literature, linguistics, creative writing, and technical and scientific communication. Eight minors are also available, drawing from cultural studies, film studies, and critical theory. English majors can study abroad in the university's Literary London program or take courses at the university's campus in Luxembourg. The Department of English supports the online literary journal Segue.
Miami University
Department of English
356 Bachelor Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-5221
units.muohio.edu/english
Third is Ohio University, the state's oldest public institution of higher learning, which is located in Athens, 74 miles southeast of Columbus. Around 600 of the campus' 17,000 students are English majors. The Department of English offers four program areas: creative writing, literary studies, English education, and composition and rhetoric. All majors must take introduction to textual analysis and research and writing along with one historical survey, pre-1800 literature, language/theory, a senior seminar requirement and at least four additional electives at the 300- or 400-level. The Department supports three journals devoted to creative writing: Sphere, New Ohio Review, and Quarter After Eight, the last of which offers a paid assistantship for its editor-in-chief position to a creative writing PhD student.
Ohio University
Department of English
360 Ellis Hall
Athens, OH 45701
740-593-2838
english.ohiou.edu