Creative Writing Undergraduate Major (BA, HBA)
The creative writing major’s disciplinary foundations are the study of the craft of creative writing combined with rigorous study of literature. Students develop their expertise in reading literature in conjunction with their development of writing craft.
The program objectives are to produce majors who can think and write creatively and with imaginative power. They’ll have highly trained analytical, critical, technical, and editorial skills, preparing them for graduate work in a range of fields, from the MFA to law school, or for a job market with an increasing demand for imaginative thinkers and skilled writers who can construct masterful, meaningful narratives.
Major Code: 092
- Analyze craft in a variety of forms, genres, and cultural contexts.
- Apply aesthetic principles to their own creative work.
- Respond to the work of peers in oral and written critiques.
- Use practices of revision to produce polished and/or publishable manuscripts.
- Recognize and interpret a wide variety of literature and genres (may include visual material and inter-cultural texts) using a range of theoretical and interpretive strategies including close reading, and write effective arguments about these texts.
BA Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 53 | |
| College of Liberal Arts Core | 15 | |
| Foreign Language | 24 | |
| Remaining Bacc Core and General Electives | 88 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Division (17 credits) | ||
| WR 224 | *INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING | 3 |
| WR 240 | *INTRODUCTION TO NONFICTION WRITING | 3 |
| WR 241 | *INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING | 3 |
| Select two 200-level ENG courses: | 8 | |
| *SHAKESPEARE | ||
| *SHAKESPEARE | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: BEGINNINGS TO 1660 | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: RESTORATION TO ROMANTIC ERA | ||
| *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: VICTORIAN ERA TO 20TH CENTURY | ||
| LITERATURE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: CLASSICAL-RENAISSANCE | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: ASIA | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: AFRICA | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: MESO/SOUTH AMERICA, CARIBBEAN | ||
| *LITERATURES OF THE WORLD: MIDDLE EAST | ||
| *LITERATURE OF THE WORLD: EUROPE | ||
| *CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY | ||
| *TOPICS IN DIFFERENCE, POWER, AND DISCRIMINATION | ||
| *AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| CHILDREN'S LITERATURE | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE | ||
| *SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: COLONIAL TO 1900 | ||
| *SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: 1900 TO PRESENT | ||
| *LITERATURE OF AMERICAN MINORITIES | ||
| *THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE | ||
| *FEMINISM AND THE BIBLE | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS | ||
| Upper Division (36 credits) | ||
| Select two courses from the following: | 8 | |
| SHORT STORY WRITING | ||
| CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| POETRY WRITING | ||
| Select two courses from the following: | 8 | |
| ADVANCED FICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED POETRY WRITING | ||
| Select one pre-1800 course from the following: | 4 | |
| STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN PRE-1700 LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN SHAKESPEARE | ||
| HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | ||
| Select one post-1800 upper-division ENG course: | 4 | |
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: BEGINNINGS TO CHOPIN | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: MODERNIST PERIOD | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: POST-WORLD WAR II | ||
| *STUDIES IN PAGE, STAGE, AND SCREEN | ||
| *STUDIES IN WORD, OBJECT, AND IMAGE | ||
| *STUDIES IN GLOBALISM, TEXT, AND EVENT | ||
| *THE HOLOCAUST IN LITERATURE AND FILM | ||
| *NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| *AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS | ||
| THE ENGLISH NOVEL: VICTORIAN PERIOD | ||
| STUDIES IN ROMANTICISM | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERNISM | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERN IRISH LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| ^STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| WRITING, LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| ^STUDIES IN FILM | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select three upper-division courses in ENG, WR or FILM (if not used above) | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 53 | |
The following courses can meet the pre/post-1800 or elective requirement (if not used elsewhere) depending on course content assigned by the instructor:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 311 | ^STUDIES IN BRITISH PROSE | 4 |
| ENG 320 | *STUDIES IN PAGE, STAGE, AND SCREEN | 4 |
| ENG 321 | *STUDIES IN WORD, OBJECT, AND IMAGE | 4 |
| ENG 322 | *STUDIES IN GLOBALISM, TEXT, AND EVENT | 4 |
| ENG 399 | SELECTED TOPICS | 1-16 |
| ENG 401 | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | 1-16 |
| ENG 402 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-16 |
| ENG 403 | THESIS | 1-16 |
| ENG 405 | READING AND CONFERENCE | 1-16 |
| ENG 406 | PROJECTS | 1-16 |
| ENG 407 | ^SEMINAR | 1-16 |
| ENG 408 | WORKSHOP | 1-16 |
| ENG 410 | INTERNSHIP IN ENGLISH | 1-16 |
| ENG 416 | POWER AND REPRESENTATION | 4 |
| ENG 445 | ^STUDIES IN NONFICTION | 4 |
| ENG 454 | MAJOR AUTHORS | 4 |
| ENG 460 | STUDIES IN DRAMA | 4 |
| ENG 465 | STUDIES IN THE NOVEL | 4 |
| ENG 470 | ^STUDIES IN POETRY | 4 |
| ENG 480 | STUDIES IN LITERATURE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY | 4 |
| ENG 497 | *INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S VOICES | 4 |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)
Major Code: 092
Degree plans are subject to change and the following is only an example of how students may complete their degree in four years. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them. Contact details for advisors can be found on the Academic Advising page.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| ENG 204 | *SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE: BEGINNINGS TO 1660 | 4 |
| WR 121 | *ENGLISH COMPOSITION | 4 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Bacc Core | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Winter | ||
| ENG 253 | *SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: COLONIAL TO 1900 | 4 |
| ENG 200 | LIBRARY SKILLS FOR LITERARY STUDY | 1 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Communication | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: Western Culture | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| WR 241 | *INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING | 3 |
| MTH 105 | *INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY MATHEMATICS (or higher) | 3 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Bacc Core: DPD | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: PAC | 1 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| WR 224 | *INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING | 3 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Cultural Diversity | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: Physical Science | 4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| WR 240 | *INTRODUCTION TO NONFICTION WRITING | 3 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Bacc Core: SPI | 4 | |
| Bacc Core: Biological Science | 4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| HHS 231 | *LIFETIME FITNESS FOR HEALTH | 2 |
| Language | 4 | |
| Bacc Core: Literature & The Arts | 4 | |
| WR II | 4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| WR 340 | CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | 4 |
| Pre-1800 Upper-Division | 4 | |
| CLA Core: Social Science | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: Biol Lab | 4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Winter | ||
| WR 341 | POETRY WRITING | 4 |
| CLA Core: Fine Arts | 3 | |
| CLA Core: Non-Western Culture | 4 | |
| CLA Core: Additional Course | 3 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| WR 424 | ADVANCED FICTION WRITING | 4 |
| Post-1800 Upper-Division Lit | 4 | |
| CLA Core: Humanities | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: STS | 3 | |
| Bacc Core: PAC | 1 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| WR 440 | ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | 4 |
| Bacc Core: CGI | 3 | |
| General Elective | 4 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Winter | ||
| Upper-Division ENG, WR or FILM | 4 | |
| Upper-Division ENG, WR or FILM | 4 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| Upper division ENG, WR or FILM | 4 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |