Kenyon offers a wide range of special opportunities for its students interested in the study of literature, careers in literary publishing and creative writing.
The Department of English encourages its students to participate in the exciting literary life of the college — attending the many readings by visiting and resident writers, joining the staff of one of the many student literary magazines, writing for the Kenyon Collegian, or learning about literary publishing as a participant in the Kenyon Review Student Associates Program — and considers these activities to be an important part of a literary education. In addition to these extracurricular programs, the English department has designed its own year-long off-campus studies program — the Kenyon-Exeter Program — in which Kenyon students attend the University of Exeter in Devon, England, under the direction of a Kenyon English professor. The Kenyon-Exeter program offers students a fabulous opportunity to enhance their study of literature, deepen their knowledge of British culture and develop lifelong bonds with both British students and their Kenyon classmates.
Kenyon is renowned for producing writers, and it continues this illustrious history with programs designed to encourage students to develop their talents as writers beyond the classroom. The English department awards a series of distinguished prizes each year to its most talented student poets, fiction writers and literary critics.