Welcome to Bowie State University’s Department of English and Modern Languages!

The Department of English and Modern Languages supports the University’s goals and priorities by creating an environment of academic excellence that will enable our students to develop critical thinking skills and comprehensive knowledge bases. Completing a degree in English at Bowie State will enable them to become competent and productive citizens in the academic or professional world. Moreover, the department is committed to developing curricula, utilizing technology, and enhancing library resources to assist students to become proficient in communicating, teaching English and modern languages, researching and analyzing literature and foreign languages, and performing successfully on local and national exit examinations.


The department offers two undergraduate degrees in English—the Bachelor of Arts (BA) with concentrations in Africana Literature, Creative Writing, and Language and Literature, and the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Secondary Education. Students may pursue minors in Creative Writing, Language and Literature, Literature of the Third World, Technical and Professional Writing, French, Spanish, and Hispanic Culture. The department also offers a Master of Arts in English.

Additionally, the department offers a number of support services (i.e., Reading Laboratory, Modern Languages Laboratory, and Smith Vidal Literacy and Language Center. It also sponsors The Figures of Speech (English Club), Le Cercle Français (French Club), the Spanish Club, Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honor Society), and an annual Poetry Slam. Click here for more information on the department’s clubs and organizations.

Department of English and Modern Languages

Bowie State University

14000 Jericho Park Road

MLK Building, Room 0232/0238

Bowie, MD 20715-9465

Phone:  301-860-3670