Faculty of English

The Faculty of English is considered to be one of the leading departments in the subject, both nationally and internationally. The Faculty is active in all major areas of English literature, and in English language for literary studies. It is rated as excellent for the quality of its teaching, and of its research by the Quality Assurance Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. It was awarded a 5* rating in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

The Faculty currently has 38 University Teaching Officers, 36 College Teaching Officers associated with the Faculty, almost 200 graduate students and over 650 undergraduates. The Faculty is located at 9 West Road in a new building opened in October 2004.

Cambridge English is particularly well known for its attention to the close reading of texts, and for textual analysis: this approach underpins much of the work of the Faculty. It is at the core of the Faculty's work to stimulate critical enquiry, engagement with current and historical literary debate, to encourage students to cultivate an enquiring mind, and to provide the appropriate conditions for members of the Faculty to carry out research which widens and deepens the understanding of literature.