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Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing & Writing Studies

Students in the Creative Writing & Writing Studies major have the opportunity to design their program of study according to their areas of interest.

The Creative Writing and Writing Studies major requires 36 credits. At the lower level, students must take a gateway course and one course each in: History and Traditions; Culture and Identity; and Writing: Topics and Genres. Sophomores are eligible to begin taking upper-division courses. All upper level courses in the department can be taken as electives. Creative Writing and Writing Studies majors must take 9 credits of advanced, upper level writing courses; a course in the Study of Language/Writing Theory; and a junior/senior experience course called “The Work of Writing.” Students may double major in Creative Writing and Writing Studies and in English. Students may major in Creative Writing and minor in English.

In Writing Topics and Genres courses students will engage in the study of thematic and formal traditions through writing. Courses will explore particular forms of writing; ways of using writing to pose and explore particular kinds of questions about class, gender, sexuality, race, etc.; and ways of using writing within particular institutional contexts.

History and Tradition courses focus students’ attention on one or several of a number of questions related to the history of English studies and the traditions it examines. Courses will introduce students to critical methods for situating literary, filmic, and cultural interpretations within the historical and cultural contexts of their creation, dissemination, reproduction and reception; explore the historical development of a particular form, topic, or critical method; and examine historically distant texts in order to provide historical understanding or insights into contemporary developments in culture, literary genre, and the practices of writing, reading, and criticism.

Culture and Identity courses will focus students’ attention on the way texts represent, construct, and engage with culture and, in doing so, enact and reflect on individual and group identities.

Students select at least 5 upper-level courses in the department, including at least three courses in the Writing core. These upper-level Writing courses develop creative writing skills in areas such as fiction-writing, poetry, and autobiography and memoir. They also introduce students to flash fiction and non-fiction, a variety of "topics" based on present faculty interest, community writing, writing in professional settings, and writing for different media. Students regularly win honors in a variety of genres. Students learn how to work in workshop settings, how to revise, how to consider the practice of writing, what it means to write in today's world whatever career you choose. Critical thinking and effective writing skills will set you apart from the pack in a multitude of professions.

In addition to small classes and one-on-one collaboration with faculty, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the curriculum toward your interests and goals—even fulfilling requirements with courses outside the department.