creative writing courses in usa universities

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 12 best creative writing colleges and programs.

College Info

Finding a dedicated creative writing program at a school you're excited about can be a real challenge, and that's even before you start worrying about getting in. Nonetheless, there are some great options. In order to help you find the best school for you, this list rounds up some of the best colleges for creative writing in the United States .

The Best Creative Writing Programs: Ranking Criteria

You should never take college rankings as absolute truth —not even the very official-seeming US News ones. Instead, use these kinds of lists as a jumping-off place for your own exploration of colleges. Pay attention not just to what the rankings are but to how the rankings are determined.

To help with that, I'll explain how I came up with this highly unscientific list of great creative writing colleges. I started by narrowing my search down to schools that offered a specific creative writing major. (If you don't see a school you were expecting, it's likely because they only have a minor.)

In ranking the schools, I considered five major criteria:

• #1: MFA Ranking —If a school has a great graduate creative writing program, it means you'll be taught by those same professors and the excellent graduate students they attract. Schools with strong MFA programs are also more likely to have solid alumni networks and internship opportunities. However, many schools with great undergrad programs do not offer MFAs, in which case I simply focused on the other four options.
• #2: General School Reputation —The vast majority of your classes won't be in creative writing, so it's important that other parts of the school, especially the English department, are great as well.
• #3: Extracurricular Opportunities —One of the key advantages of majoring in creative writing is that it can provide access to writing opportunities outside the classroom, so I took what kind of internship programs, author readings, and literary magazines the school offers into consideration.
• #4: Diversity of Class Options —I gave extra points to schools with a variety of genre options and specific, interesting classes.
• #5: Alumni/Prestige —This last criterion is a bit more subjective: is the school known for turning out good writers? Certainly it's less important than what kind of education you'll actually get, but having a brand-name degree (so to speak) can be helpful.

The Best Creative Writing Schools

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of schools! The exact numbering is always arguable, so look at it as a general trend from absolutely amazing to still super great, rather than fixating on why one school is ranked #3 and another is ranked #4.

#1: Northwestern University

Northwestern's undergrad creative writing program boasts acclaimed professors and an unparalleled track record of turning out successful writers (including Divergent author Veronica Roth and short-story writer Karen Russell).

Outside the classroom, you can work on the student-run literary journal, intern at a publication in nearby Chicago, or submit to the Department of English's yearly writing competition . The university is also home to a top journalism program , so if you want to try your hand at nonfiction as well, you'll have plenty of opportunities to do so.

#2: Columbia University

Like Northwestern, Columbia is home to both a world-class creative writing program and a top journalism school (plus one of the best English departments in the country), so you have a wide range of writing-related course options. Columbia also benefits from its location in New York City, which is bursting at the seams with publishing houses, literary journals, and talented authors.

#3: University of Iowa

The University of Iowa's big draw is the infrastructure of its graduate Writers' Workshop, which is often considered the best MFA program in the country.

As an English and Creative Writing major here, you'll take classes from great young writers and established professors alike, and get to choose from a wide range of topics. This major provides transferable skills important for a liberal arts major with a creative focus. You'll also have access to the university's impressive literary community, including frequent readings, writing prizes and scholarships, and the acclaimed literary journal The Iowa Review .

#4: Emory University

Emory is renowned for its dedicated undergrad creative writing program , which draws the very best visiting scholars and writers. Students here have the chance to attend intimate question-and-answer sessions with award-winning authors, study a range of genres, compete for writing awards and scholarships, and work closely with an adviser to complete an honors project.

#5: Oberlin College

A small liberal arts school in Ohio, Oberlin offers very different advantages than the schools above do. You'll have fewer opportunities to pursue writing in the surrounding city, but the quality of the teachers and the range of courses might make up for that. Moreover, it boasts just as impressive alumni, including actress and writer Lena Dunham.

#6: Hamilton College

Hamilton is another small college, located in upstate New York. It's known for giving students the freedom to pursue their interests and the support to help them explore topics in real depth, both inside and outside the classroom. Hamilton's creative writing program takes full advantage with small classes and lots of opportunities to intern and publish; it also has one of the best writing centers in the country.

#7: Brown University

Brown's Literary Arts program offers one of the top MFAs in the US as well as an undergraduate major . For the major, you must take four creative writing workshops and six reading-intensive courses, which span an array of departments and topics, from music and literature to Middle East studies and Egyptology.

#8: Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University has an excellent creative writing MFA program, lots of super specific class options, and a number of scholarships specifically earmarked for creative writing students. This school’s undergraduate English program also offers a concentration in creative writing that allows students to specialize in a specific genre: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. If you’re interested in exploring your potential in a specific writing genre, Washington University could be a great pick for you.

#9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT might not be a school you generally associate with writing, but it actually has an excellent program that offers courses in digital media and science writing, as well as creative writing, and provides plenty of guidance on how graduates can navigate the tricky job market.

Not to mention the school is located in Cambridge, a haven for book lovers and writers of all kinds. Though it probably isn’t a good fit for students who hate science, MIT is a great place for aspiring writers who want to build writing skills that are marketable in a wide range of industries.

#10: University of Michigan

University of Michigan is one of the best state universities in the country and has a top-notch MFA program. This school’s undergrad creative writing sub-concentration requires students to submit applications for admittance to advanced creative writing courses. These applications give students crucial practice in both building a writing portfolio and articulating their interest in creative writing to an audience who will evaluate their work. If you're looking to attend a big school with a great creative writing major, this is a fantastic choice.

#11: Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins is another school that's known more for engineering than it is for writing, but, like MIT, it has a dedicated writing program. As a major here, you must take not only courses in prose, poetry, and literature, but also classes on topics such as philosophy and history.

#12: Colorado College

Colorado College is a small liberal arts school known for its block plan , which allows students to focus on one class per three-and-a-half-week block. The creative writing track of the English major includes a sequence of four writing workshops and also requires students to attend every reading of the Visiting Writers Series.

Bonus School: New York University

I didn't include NYU in the main list because it doesn't have a dedicated creative writing major, but it's a great school for aspiring writers nonetheless, offering one of the most impressive creative writing faculties in the country and all the benefits of a Manhattan location.

How To Pick the Best Creative Writing School for You

Just because Northwestern is a great school for creative writing doesn't mean you should set your heart on going there. (The football fans are completely terrifying, for one thing.) So where should you go then?

Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at creative writing programs to help you determine the best school for you:

Does It Have Courses You're Interested In?

Look at the course offerings and see whether they interest you. While you can't predict exactly what classes you'll love, you want to avoid a mismatch where what you want to study and what the program offers are completely different. For example, if you want to write sonnets but the school focuses more on teaching fiction, it probably won't be a great fit for you.

Also, don't forget to look at the English courses and creative writing workshops! In most programs, you'll be taking a lot of these, too.

What Opportunities Are There To Pursue Writing Outside of Class?

I touched on this idea in the criteria section, but it's important enough that I want to reiterate it here. Some of the best writing experience you can get is found outside the classroom, so see what kind of writing-related extracurriculars a school has before committing to it.

Great options include getting involved with the campus newspaper, working on the school's literary journal, or interning at the university press.

Who Will Be Teaching You?

Who are the professors? What kind of work have they published? Check teacher ratings on Rate My Professors (but make sure to read the actual reviews—and always take them with a grain of salt).

If you're looking at a big school, there's a good chance that a lot of your teachers will be graduate students. But that's not necessarily a bad thing: a lot of the best teachers I had in college were graduate students. Just take into consideration what kind of graduate program the school has. If there's a great creative writing MFA program, then the graduate students are likely to be better writers and more engaged teachers.

What Are the Alumni Doing Now?

If you have a sense of what you want to do after you graduate, see if any alumni of the program are pursuing that type of career. The stronger the alumni network is, the more connections you'll have when it comes time to get a job.

What About the Rest of the School?

Don't pick a school for which you like the creative writing program but dread everything else about it. Most of your time will be spent doing other things, whether hanging out in the dorms, exploring off campus, or fulfilling general education requirements.

Many schools require you to apply to the creative writing major, so make doubly sure you'll be happy with your choice even if you aren't accepted to the program.

What's Next?

Are you sure a creative writing major is the right fit for you? Read our post on the pros and cons of the major to help you decide what path to take in college.

For more general advice about choosing a college, check out our complete guide to finding the right school for you. Some major factors to consider include deciding whether you're interested in a small college or a big university , an in-state or out-of-state institution , and a public or private school .

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List of All U.S. Colleges with a Creative Writing Major

Writing has been my passion practically since I learned to read in kindergarten. I would write stories about princesses and my family dog, Gansett. When it came time to look at colleges, I was set on attending one with a strong creative writing program. Ultimately, I graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars.

Today, colleges across the country offer creative writing as a major. Because writing skills are essential for a wide range of careers, and because most curricula emphasize broad liberal arts competencies, a degree in creative writing can set you up for success in numerous fields, whether you want to be an editor or a lawyer.

Interested in majoring in creative writing? Learn which schools offer the major and what to look for in a program.

Overview of the Creative Writing Major

Creative writing is about more than spinning tales. For your major, you’ll generally need to pursue a curriculum grounded in literature, history, foreign language, and other humanities courses, along with distribution courses, if the college requires them.

Most creative writing majors must participate in workshops, in which students present their work and listen to peer critiques, usually with a certain number of advanced courses in the mix. In some cases, colleges will ask you to specialize in a particular genre, such as fiction, poetry, or playwriting. 

To succeed in creative writing, you’ll need to have a tough spine, in order to open yourself up to feedback from your classmates and instructors. You may need to give readings in public — if not as an undergraduate, certainly during your career. Of course, a passion for creating is essential, too, as is a willingness to revise your work and learn from the greats and your peers.

A creative writing major opens up doors to many careers, including journalism, content marketing, copywriting, teaching, and others. Even careers that don’t center around writing often have a strong writing component: you’ll need to write reports, deliver presentations, and so on.

Some writers go on to earn an MFA, which will help you hone your craft. It’s also often a prerequisite for teaching creative writing at the college level.

What to Look for in a College as a Creative Writing Major

Published authors on faculty.

Many world-renowned authors have another claim to fame: professorships. Writers who have taught their craft include (among many others):

• Maya Angelou (Wake Forest University)
• Colson Whitehead (many colleges, including Vassar College and Columbia University)
• Stephen Dixon (Johns Hopkins University)
• Viet Thanh Nguyen (University of Southern California)
• Eula Biss (Northwestern University)
• Toni Morrison (Princeton University)

Be aware that as an undergraduate, you may not be able to learn from the greats. That’s why it’s important to look into which courses these faculty teach before you have dreams of being mentored by Salman Rushdie — who is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU.

Genres Offered

While many schools that have creative writing majors offer fiction and poetry courses and tracks, there are some niche genres that could be more difficult to find. If you’re interested in playwriting, for example, you won’t find that at every school. Before you decide on a program, be sure it includes the genres you’d like to explore further, whether that’s flash fiction, creative nonfiction, or something else.

Workshopping Opportunities

The core of most quality creative writing curriculum is workshopping. This means sharing your work in your classes and listening to your peers discuss and critique it. While this may sound intimidating, it can do a lot to help you hone your work and become a better writer. Look for colleges that make this the bedrock of their curriculum.

Showcasing Opportunities

Are there opportunities to present your work, such as college-sponsored readings where undergraduates can participate? Or, perhaps the school has a great literary journal. At my school, students could submit their plays and have them performed by fellow students. 

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Creative Writing Major

What are your chances of acceptance.

No matter what major you’re considering, the first step is ensuring you’re academically comparable to students who were previously accepted to the college or university. Most selective schools use the Academic Index to filter out applicants who aren’t up to their standards.

You’ll also want to demonstrate your fit with the school and specific major with the qualitative components of your application, like your extracurriculars and essays. For a prospective creative writing major, the essay is particularly important because this is a way to demonstrate your writing prowess. Activities might include editing your school’s newspaper or literary journal, publishing your work, and participating in pre-college writing workshops.

Want to know your chances of being accepted to top creative writing schools? Try our Chancing Engine (it’s free). Unlike other calculators, it takes your individual profile into account, including academic stats and qualitative components like your activities. Give it a try and get a jumpstart on your journey as a creative writing major!

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2024 Best Colleges with Creative Writing Degrees in America

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1-25 of 335 results

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA •

• • Rating 4.16 out of 5   663 reviews

Sophomore: Great place to be challenged, learn, and grow. A safe environment to fall and fail. Lots of support and resources available but you need to take the initiative to reach out about them ... Read 663 reviews

• grade  A+ Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 4%

Net price $30,958

SAT range 1510-1580

#3 Best Colleges in America .

CAMBRIDGE, MA ,

663 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says Great place to be challenged, learn, and grow. A safe environment to fall and fail. Lots of support and resources available but you need to take the initiative to reach out about them .

Read 663 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : A+ ,

Acceptance Rate : 4% ,

Net Price : $30,958 ,

SAT Range : 1510-1580 ,

Columbia University

New York, NY •

• • Rating 3.83 out of 5   1,349 reviews

Junior: The campus is beautiful and the curriculum is challenging. However, the undergraduate professors do not care very much for undergraduate students, and you have to really advocate for yourself frequently. The deans are very helpful in getting professors in motion, so I recommend getting to know your deans and academic advisors. If your schedule allows you to go to office hours, do it! ... Read 1,349 reviews

Net price $12,411

SAT range 1470-1570

#6 Best Colleges in America .

Blue checkmark.

NEW YORK, NY ,

1349 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says The campus is beautiful and the curriculum is challenging. However, the undergraduate professors do not care very much for undergraduate students, and you have to really advocate for yourself... .

Read 1349 reviews.

Net Price : $12,411 ,

SAT Range : 1470-1570 ,

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA •

• • Rating 3.9 out of 5   1,356 reviews

Alum: I'm so grateful to have spent four years at Penn, a school that gave me opportunities I couldn't have imagined possible before. I studied abroad in France twice. I recorded two albums with my a cappella group. I conducted research for my thesis in Los Angeles. I performed The Vagina Monologues in front of thousands of people. I published academic and creative work for journals, magazines, and one of Penn's libraries. I had unlimited access to free coffee at the most welcoming work-study job. In the same night, I pranced about on one stage as an 18th-century man and rocked out in a ball gown with a band on another stage in downtown Philadelphia. I met some of my best friends on the very first day of my freshman orientation. This was my Penn story from 2012 to 2016. The university looks a lot different for students today, especially in terms of feeling safe to practice their religion, protest peacefully, and voice concerns. I hope Penn prioritizes its students' well-being moving forward. ... Read 1,356 reviews

Acceptance rate 6%

Net price $14,578

SAT range 1480-1570

#7 Best Colleges in America .

PHILADELPHIA, PA ,

1356 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says I'm so grateful to have spent four years at Penn, a school that gave me opportunities I couldn't have imagined possible before. I studied abroad in France twice. I recorded two albums with my a... .

Read 1356 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 6% ,

Net Price : $14,578 ,

SAT Range : 1480-1570 ,

Saginaw Valley State University

UNIVERSITY CENTER, MI

• • Rating 3.77 out of 5   1,714

Aquinas College - Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, MI

• • Rating 3.65 out of 5   648

California Baptist University

RIVERSIDE, CA

• • Rating 4.14 out of 5   2,900

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH •

• • Rating 3.88 out of 5   745 reviews

Freshman: Great school! Not super diverse, but it’s easy to find your people. Profs are for the most part amazing and super inspirational. Definitely less competitive than the other Ivies. I have truly had the best time here and gotten to come out of my shell. ... Read 745 reviews

Net price $24,078

SAT range 1440-1560

#8 Best Colleges in America .

HANOVER, NH ,

745 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Great school! Not super diverse, but it’s easy to find your people. Profs are for the most part amazing and super inspirational. Definitely less competitive than the other Ivies. I have truly had the... .

Read 745 reviews.

Net Price : $24,078 ,

SAT Range : 1440-1560 ,

Brown University

Providence, RI •

• • Rating 3.84 out of 5   1,079 reviews

Freshman: Attending Brown University was an enriching and transformative experience. I cherished the vibrant community that fostered intellectual curiosity and diversity. The open curriculum allowed me to explore a wide range of subjects, fostering interdisciplinary connections and personal growth. The faculty were not only experts in their fields but also approachable mentors who genuinely cared about students' academic and personal development. I appreciated the emphasis on critical thinking and the encouragement to question assumptions. However, I would suggest enhancing resources for mental health support and increasing accessibility to financial aid for students from underprivileged backgrounds. Overall, Brown provided a nurturing environment that empowered me to thrive academically and personally. ... Read 1,079 reviews

Net price $25,028

SAT range 1460-1570

#10 Best Colleges in America .

PROVIDENCE, RI ,

1079 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Attending Brown University was an enriching and transformative experience. I cherished the vibrant community that fostered intellectual curiosity and diversity. The open curriculum allowed me to... .

Read 1079 reviews.

Net Price : $25,028 ,

SAT Range : 1460-1570 ,

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL •

• • Rating 3.7 out of 5   1,485 reviews

Alum: Northwestern has an incredible network of professors who are preforming cutting-edge work in all their fields. Impressively, after an entire undergrad career there is only one professor who I would name as not a good professor, and that review is simply isolated to their teaching ability, not their subject knowledge. The learning support system is also extensive, and students are incredibly supportive as well. There is a culture of enabling yourself and those around you to reach new heights. While all the academics and research are amazing, I would say Northwestern needs to work on its accessibility to mental healthcare and ties to the greater Chicagoland community. There could be many more community outreach programs designed to benefit the diverse and interesting Chicago population, from academics to student life. ... Read 1,485 reviews

Acceptance rate 7%

Net price $29,999

#15 Best Colleges in America .

EVANSTON, IL ,

1485 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Northwestern has an incredible network of professors who are preforming cutting-edge work in all their fields. Impressively, after an entire undergrad career there is only one professor who I would... .

Read 1485 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 7% ,

Net Price : $29,999 ,

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Washington University in St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO •

• • Rating 4.11 out of 5   1,572 reviews

Sophomore: I am a sophomore at WashU. The depth of the education and the number of opportunities (if you seek them) can be life-changing. The business school is super good at hosting recruitment events if your interested in business careers, and the academics ARE HARD -- You will do a lot of work. CS department could be stronger; premed/ bio/chem/pre-law deps / olin are excellent. The undergraduate student body is tight-knit and mostly extremely friendly. People are very smart but not obnoxious or entitled. Campus life is great because many of the undergrads (freshmen, sophomores, and some juniors) live on campus. The housing is excellent, and many students have kitchens on campus. St Louis is certainly not a luxury city (i.e. NY or LA) but does have good restaurants (DRIVE NOT WALK AWAY) and a cheap cost of living (concerts are usually way cheaper). It is way better than being in the woods, but not the bestest place. The school has partially impeded on the fun with their attack on greek life. ... Read 1,572 reviews

Acceptance rate 13%

Net price $28,298

SAT range 1490-1570

#16 Best Colleges in America .

SAINT LOUIS, MO ,

1572 Niche users give it an average review of 4.1 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says I am a sophomore at WashU. The depth of the education and the number of opportunities (if you seek them) can be life-changing. The business school is super good at hosting recruitment events if your... The undergraduate student body is tight-knit and mostly extremely friendly. People are very smart but not obnoxious or entitled. Campus life is great because many of the undergrads (freshmen,... .

Read 1572 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 13% ,

Net Price : $28,298 ,

SAT Range : 1490-1570 ,

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA •

• • Rating 3.71 out of 5   1,477 reviews

Freshman: Carnegie Mellon University suits those who believe in working hard, working hard, and playing hard occasionally. The academics are demanding and challenging, which ultimately creates dedicated, disciplined students, or burnout. Many people require some kind of passion to be here, as it takes passion to get through the intense workload. On the surface, the social life at CMU seems pretty dead. However, after actively looking for clubs, organizations, and student groups, I found there are a lot of opportunities to be part of communities that are passionate and welcoming. I also love that CMU is very invested in their student's success: it is easy to get help from academic advisors, pursue research positions, and take interesting opportunities to get your education outside the classroom. Overall, I am very proud and happy that I came here :). ... Read 1,477 reviews

Acceptance rate 14%

Net price $37,450

SAT range 1480-1560

#20 Best Colleges in America .

PITTSBURGH, PA ,

1477 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Carnegie Mellon University suits those who believe in working hard, working hard, and playing hard occasionally. The academics are demanding and challenging, which ultimately creates dedicated,... .

Read 1477 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 14% ,

Net Price : $37,450 ,

SAT Range : 1480-1560 ,

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI •

• • Rating 3.95 out of 5   4,699 reviews

Freshman: The University of Michigan has so many amazing things to offer. For starters, the academics are really good and well structured (with some exceptions of course). Additionally, the academic advisors in the nursing program are very helpful. I have heard from close friends that some departments, especially LSA are not as helpful as nursing advisors. The housing on campus isn't perfect and could use updating, but is overall a nice place to live and is convenient, especially as a freshman. There also could be an improvement in the amount of campus housing. The party and social scenes are also incredibly attractive to those who enjoy school spirit and involvement. There is always something happening on campus that you will have fun doing (although sometimes they can get overcrowded), as well as tons of student orgs to get involved with. Transportation around campus is also pretty good with an easily walkable, or bikable campus, and buses that run all over central and north campus. ... Read 4,699 reviews

Acceptance rate 20%

Net price $19,205

SAT range 1340-1520

#21 Best Colleges in America .

ANN ARBOR, MI ,

4699 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says The University of Michigan has so many amazing things to offer. For starters, the academics are really good and well structured (with some exceptions of course). Additionally, the academic advisors... .

Read 4699 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 20% ,

Net Price : $19,205 ,

SAT Range : 1340-1520 ,

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL •

• • Rating 3.82 out of 5   1,295 reviews

Sophomore: Starting out at this university was not easy for me since I had to face many challenges on my own, away from family and friends I had back home. However, I had adjusted to the quarter system and found my place at the college. UChicago academics have impressed me, even with the required core classes. The professors I have met so far all appear to be enthusiastic about their specific fields, and they can be especially helpful outside of class. Given that our campus is located within a neighborhood, there are plenty of community activities and restaurants that students can hang out at, such as a Mexican-Korean restaurant called Seoul Taco. There are multiple dormitory buildings on campus, and the southern one is especially convenient as it has a dining hall, gym, and a small store all in one general place. There are also plenty of clubs, called RSOs, ranging from many types of activities like boxing or Japanese drum practice (Taiko). I would like more transportation options to explore. ... Read 1,295 reviews

Net price $33,727

#23 Best Colleges in America .

CHICAGO, IL ,

1295 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says Starting out at this university was not easy for me since I had to face many challenges on my own, away from family and friends I had back home. However, I had adjusted to the quarter system and... .

Read 1295 reviews.

Net Price : $33,727 ,

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD •

• • Rating 3.68 out of 5   1,405 reviews

Alum: Johns Hopkins has top-notch academics/faculty and a truly global reach. Hopkins was a great place to go to graduate school (although definitely very challenging at times due to grade deflation and accelerated program workloads). There are maybe 2-3 other schools (Harvard, UPenn, Stanford) in the world where you can get a world-class graduate degree (MS, MBA, PhD, etc.) while having the opportunity to cross-pollinate with classes at the world #1 Public Health/#1 Nursing School/#1 International Studies schools, as well as top 15 Engineering/Science/Education/A&S schools as well as an innovative and rapidly rising Business School. I know it's not everyone's thing, but I truly fell in love with Baltimore after living their for an extended period of time. I try to get back to Fells Point, Canton, Charles Village, Mount Vernon, and the East Baltimore JHMI campus (which has really come a long way in the last 10 years) at least once or twice every few years. ... Read 1,405 reviews

Acceptance rate 8%

Net price $20,680

SAT range 1470-1560

#24 Best Colleges in America .

BALTIMORE, MD ,

1405 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Johns Hopkins has top-notch academics/faculty and a truly global reach. Hopkins was a great place to go to graduate school (although definitely very challenging at times due to grade deflation and... .

Read 1405 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 8% ,

Net Price : $20,680 ,

SAT Range : 1470-1560 ,

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA •

• • Rating 3.99 out of 5   4,034 reviews

Freshman: I like the diverse, really friendly community, thoughtful curriculum, experienced teachers, and good campus life. I feel that the community is supportive and that I have many avenues to learn, change and grow here. The people are really nice! What I would like to see changed is a better work environment for the students and staff, more mediated spaces for discussions on difficult topics, and a better-organized structure for knowing what opportunities I have to contribute to the community or make the most of my educational experience. ... Read 4,034 reviews

Net price $26,021

SAT range 1410-1540

#26 Best Colleges in America .

LOS ANGELES, CA ,

4034 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says I like the diverse, really friendly community, thoughtful curriculum, experienced teachers, and good campus life. I feel that the community is supportive and that I have many avenues to learn, change... What I would like to see changed is a better work environment for the students and staff, more mediated spaces for discussions on difficult topics, and a better-organized structure for knowing what... .

Read 4034 reviews.

Net Price : $26,021 ,

SAT Range : 1410-1540 ,

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Emory University

Atlanta, GA •

• • Rating 3.83 out of 5   1,605 reviews

Senior: My experience at Emory has been nothing short of amazing. The people you will meet, the professors you have the opportunity to interact with are incredibly enriching. The school is also close to the heart of Atlanta so there is always something to do whether it's a farmers market, the park, downtown, or concerts there's something for everyone. ... Read 1,605 reviews

Net price $28,367

SAT range 1420-1540

#36 Best Colleges in America .

ATLANTA, GA ,

1605 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says My experience at Emory has been nothing short of amazing. The people you will meet, the professors you have the opportunity to interact with are incredibly enriching. The school is also close to the... .

Read 1605 reviews.

Net Price : $28,367 ,

SAT Range : 1420-1540 ,

Wellesley College

Wellesley, MA •

• • Rating 3.77 out of 5   634 reviews

Sophomore: I really love it here and am glad that I decided on Wellesley! I'm class of 2026, so I've been on campus for about two years now and each year, I've been able to meet some of the best professors and even better people. Conversations with peers are just as nuanced as the people and although the campus could still do with some diversity, I think we're definitely on the better end (I say this as a half Black and half-Asian student from a very predominantly white town). I've found that it's really easy to make friends because the campus and class sizes are so small (that being said, I'm also more extroverted). However, even my more introverted friends have said that they were eventually able to find close friends as their first or second year progressed -- the key is to be involved in campus or go to events and intentionally talk to people and reach out. ... Read 634 reviews

Acceptance rate 16%

Net price $21,862

SAT range 1400-1540

#37 Best Colleges in America .

WELLESLEY, MA ,

634 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says I really love it here and am glad that I decided on Wellesley! I'm class of 2026, so I've been on campus for about two years now and each year, I've been able to meet some of the best professors and... .

Read 634 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 16% ,

Net Price : $21,862 ,

SAT Range : 1400-1540 ,

University of Texas - Austin

Austin, TX •

• • Rating 4 out of 5   6,760 reviews

Freshman: I love that UT has a sense of community, especially in the sporting department. Being able to witness school spirit is an aspect I love about this school. I also enjoy the vast number of majors and programs, as well as student organizations that are available for all to join. However, I’ve had a slightly difficult time realizing that because UT is so large, it’s extremely easy to sink into the cracks, and figuring your own stuff out is essential. No one is going to hold your hand through course registration or career decisions, but I think- despite the inconvenience- it teaches students how to be an adult much more effectively than a gentler approach. Overall, I love UT and Austin and can’t recommend it enough! ... Read 6,760 reviews

Acceptance rate 29%

Net price $16,589

SAT range 1230-1500

#42 Best Colleges in America .

AUSTIN, TX ,

6760 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says I love that UT has a sense of community, especially in the sporting department. Being able to witness school spirit is an aspect I love about this school. I also enjoy the vast number of majors and... .

Read 6760 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 29% ,

Net Price : $16,589 ,

SAT Range : 1230-1500 ,

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL •

• • Rating 3.86 out of 5   3,067 reviews

Junior: University of Miami has been the bast thing to happen to me. After growing up in a small town, I knew going to a big city was the best choice for me. Attending the University of Miami has opened my eyes to many things. I feel more able and ready to take on the world. University of Miami takes the best cares of their students and puts meaning into academics. I’m so thankful to attend the University of Miami. Go canes! ... Read 3,067 reviews

Acceptance rate 28%

Net price $34,492

SAT range 1300-1460

#52 Best Colleges in America .

CORAL GABLES, FL ,

3067 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says University of Miami has been the bast thing to happen to me. After growing up in a small town, I knew going to a big city was the best choice for me. Attending the University of Miami has opened my... .

Read 3067 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 28% ,

Net Price : $34,492 ,

SAT Range : 1300-1460 ,

Hamilton College

Clinton, NY •

• • Rating 3.71 out of 5   487 reviews

Alum: Looking back on my experience, I feel as though I didn't appreciate everything Hamilton College did for me. When you're in the moment, it's easy to see all the bad and be frustrated with things like the crappy campus food, a poor party scene, and a major lack of diversity. But, looking back, I do miss my time at Hamilton. I miss living in a walking community, I miss all the free food and free merchandise the school gave me. I miss the diner. I miss having small classes and being close to my professors. The community there, although not perfect, came together in moments that mattered. The school could be better. The lack of accountability from the administration on social issues and a constant battle between hate speech and lack of punishment for students who harmed others was a constant in all my 4 years. I hope the students continue to push forward and force Hamilton into a socially-accountable mindset. ... Read 487 reviews

Net price $26,803

#54 Best Colleges in America .

CLINTON, NY ,

487 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Looking back on my experience, I feel as though I didn't appreciate everything Hamilton College did for me. When you're in the moment, it's easy to see all the bad and be frustrated with things like... .

Read 487 reviews.

Net Price : $26,803 ,

University of Washington

Seattle, WA •

• • Rating 3.79 out of 5   4,667 reviews

Alum: First off, GO DAWGS! If you want to attend a university with a large community and are up for the academic challenge, the UW is more than worth considering. From my experience, this university heavily relies on research and if you are into a STEM major, you will get plenty of exposure to it. Many opportunities are available for students to expand their experience and gain on-campus part-time jobs, regardless of their standing. I attended this university for my 4 years of undergrad and am excited to say that I am returning to the university for my graduate program. Once a Husky, always a Husky. ... Read 4,667 reviews

Acceptance rate 53%

Net price $8,701

SAT range 1200-1470

#60 Best Colleges in America .

SEATTLE, WA ,

4667 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says First off, GO DAWGS! If you want to attend a university with a large community and are up for the academic challenge, the UW is more than worth considering. From my experience, this university heavily relies on research... .

Read 4667 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 53% ,

Net Price : $8,701 ,

SAT Range : 1200-1470 ,

Macalester College

Saint Paul, MN •

• • Rating 3.81 out of 5   474 reviews

Freshman: I'm only a freshman, so take my opinions with that in mind, but I am immensely fortunate to have chosen to attend Mac. Students that go to this school are kind and from countless backgrounds and experiences. I have yet to perceive any air of frustration or misery on campus—even during finals season—and the upperclassmen I've spoken to have had similar experiences. The food isn't great, but I consider it adequate for the most part (although I would love to see food options that are more compatible with some of the dietary restrictions on campus). There are always numerous events to attend on campus so you have endless opportunities to learn new skills, have new experiences, and meet new people. Even if it takes some time, I can almost guarantee that you can find your "group" on campus. The academics are exceptional and I have had so many lovely interactions with professors. You really can join in on research projects in your freshman year! Just beware the cold and you'll thrive here. ... Read 474 reviews

Acceptance rate 31%

Net price $30,939

SAT range 1340-1480

#62 Best Colleges in America .

SAINT PAUL, MN ,

474 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says I'm only a freshman, so take my opinions with that in mind, but I am immensely fortunate to have chosen to attend Mac. Students that go to this school are kind and from countless backgrounds and... .

Read 474 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 31% ,

Net Price : $30,939 ,

SAT Range : 1340-1480 ,

Haverford College

Haverford, PA •

• • Rating 3.93 out of 5   268 reviews

Junior: My experience at Haverford College has been wonderful. The Honor Code definitely plays a huge role with this. I have always felt safe walking at night on campus and am able to leave my belongings without fear it of it being taken. I feel as though I can approach my professors when I need support or accommodations and have never been turned down. It's clear that most people here respect others, faculty and the space around them (of course exceptions exist like anywhere else but are a small minority). Generally, I would say, the student population is happy, motivated, and eager to help others. Unlike Swarthmore or other selective colleges, students are collaborative, laid back, yet still strive to maintain academic excellence. Rather than only focusing on grades, Haverford students are eager to learn and contribute to the community. I would say it's fair to say that Haverford is a smaller liberal arts college version of Brown University. ... Read 268 reviews

Acceptance rate 18%

Net price $24,462

#70 Best Colleges in America .

HAVERFORD, PA ,

268 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says My experience at Haverford College has been wonderful. The Honor Code definitely plays a huge role with this. I have always felt safe walking at night on campus and am able to leave my belongings... .

Read 268 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 18% ,

Net Price : $24,462 ,

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN •

• • Rating 3.83 out of 5   5,126 reviews

Freshman: So far, Purdue University has been a fantastic place to get an excellent education and make new connections. I have made many new friends and made it my second home. So far, I am involved with leadership positions on campus and becoming involved in different cultural events/clubs. Purdue has the resources to become involved on campus, and as long as people are willing to become involved, they do! There are many activities around campus, places to eat, and places to hang out. Even though Purdue is not a big party scene, many events make people feel excited and involved, especially closer to the summertime! I have no regrets about choosing Purdue, and I am especially proud of our athletics teams here on campus, with basketball being our best sport and the most fun game to go with friends. ... Read 5,126 reviews

• grade  A Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 69%

Net price $14,619

SAT range 1190-1430

#79 Best Colleges in America .

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN ,

5126 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says So far, Purdue University has been a fantastic place to get an excellent education and make new connections. I have made many new friends and made it my second home. So far, I am involved with... .

Read 5126 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : A ,

Acceptance Rate : 69% ,

Net Price : $14,619 ,

SAT Range : 1190-1430 ,

Colby College

Waterville, ME •

• • Rating 3.83 out of 5   617 reviews

Junior: I've loved it here. I feel as if I've grown so much since I first arrived at Colby. Some things to note: -The academics are much harder than I thought, prepare to be working for most of the week. -Despite some people saying this is a "party school", the parties don't live up to the hype. The party scene here is really small and the parties themselves are very lackluster. (The one exception to this is doghead) -The college really is isolated, and it takes a while to get to any large urban center Those are the only things I can think of that are bad about colby; I've loved the rest of the experience! Basically every other aspect of the college is perfect, hence the 5 stars. ... Read 617 reviews

Acceptance rate 9%

Net price $17,912

SAT range 1400-1530

#80 Best Colleges in America .

WATERVILLE, ME ,

617 Niche users give it an average review of 3.8 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says I've loved it here. I feel as if I've grown so much since I first arrived at Colby. Some things to note: -The academics are much harder than I thought, prepare to be working for most of the week. -Despite some people saying this is a "party school", the parties don't live up to the hype. The party scene here is really small and the parties themselves are very lackluster. (The one exception to... -The college really is isolated, and it takes a while to get to any large urban center Those are the only things I can think of that are bad about colby; I've loved the rest of the experience! Basically every other aspect of the college is perfect, hence the 5 stars. .

Read 617 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 9% ,

Net Price : $17,912 ,

SAT Range : 1400-1530 ,

University of Pittsburgh

• • Rating 3.75 out of 5   4,343 reviews

Freshman: Socially, the university has multitudes to offer, countless clubs and organization and events from farmers markets to concerts, fireworks, food trucks and group fitness classes there is always something to do on campus. However, if campus recreation is not what you are interested in, the university is located in the perfect spot with access to downtown city, amazing restaurant, theaters, hiking trails and more. Academically there are several opportunities to be intellectually challenges both in the classroom and outside of the classroom with research, internships, lectures and more. I have admittedly had some qualms with a number of professors here, whether it be expecting unreasonable amount of commitment, writing unfair exams, or arrogant attitudes however I have also experience some professors that greatly impacted my collegiate experience. I would like to note that as someone who is gluten free I have not had a positive experience with dinning on campus. ... Read 4,343 reviews

Acceptance rate 67%

Net price $22,996

SAT range 1250-1470

#84 Best Colleges in America .

4343 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Socially, the university has multitudes to offer, countless clubs and organization and events from farmers markets to concerts, fireworks, food trucks and group fitness classes there is always... .

Read 4343 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 67% ,

Net Price : $22,996 ,

SAT Range : 1250-1470 ,

National University

La Jolla, CA •

• • Rating 3.98 out of 5   1,171 reviews

Graduate Student: I am in the teacher credential program and I am loving it. I used to get overwhelmed and bored with standard semester classes but at NU, I take 1 class every 4 weeks. I focus on the information for 1 class at a time and the course progresses quickly so I don’t get bored and the course requirements are reasonable, especially since most of the class participants work full time and have families. This has been a wonderful experience! ... Read 1,171 reviews

Acceptance rate 55%

Net price $9,966

SAT range 750-1170

#90 Best Colleges in America .

LA JOLLA, CA ,

1171 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Graduate Student says I am in the teacher credential program and I am loving it. I used to get overwhelmed and bored with standard semester classes but at NU, I take 1 class every 4 weeks. I focus on the information for 1... .

Read 1171 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 55% ,

Net Price : $9,966 ,

SAT Range : 750-1170 ,

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX •

• • Rating 3.86 out of 5   1,576 reviews

Freshman: I visited SMU for a campus tour during the spring break of March 2023. The major factor that led me to choose SMU is its magisterial infrastructure and the opportunity to graduate with two degrees. SMU’s propounded Simmons school of Education’s Education program especially the Early childhood to 6 and the esteemed teaching faculty is the gravity force for me. After I graduate from college, I aspire to be a teacher in Texas and teach technology to kids with special needs. With the shortage of quality teachers in Texas, I conceive high caliber teachers can make the most impact in students to pursue their careers. Therefore, I am writing an application to get a degree from SMU and build a stronger society of future students. I want to be a proud Texan to serve the Texas education system by studying in the best Texas University. ... Read 1,576 reviews

Net price $41,986

SAT range 1340-1510

#95 Best Colleges in America .

DALLAS, TX ,

1576 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says I visited SMU for a campus tour during the spring break of March 2023. The major factor that led me to choose SMU is its magisterial infrastructure and the opportunity to graduate with two degrees.... .

Read 1576 reviews.

Net Price : $41,986 ,

SAT Range : 1340-1510 ,

Pacific University Oregon

FOREST GROVE, OR

• • Rating 3.64 out of 5   828

WELLESLEY, MA

• • Rating 3.77 out of 5   634

Vermont State University Johnson

JOHNSON, VT

• • Rating 3.19 out of 5   341

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Certificate in Creative Writing

About the Online Creative Writing Certificate

The Certificate in Creative Writing offers an innovative, collaborative course of study for those who have always wanted to unlock their creativity. Each online course is designed as a workshop in which you explore new ideas, tackle new writing tools, generate original insights and discover your own powers of expression. You create, collaboratively discuss and revise your original writing with feedback from your instructors and your peers. You also engage with a range of assigned readings and multimedia that inform and grow your innovative practice.

The Certificate in Creative Writing offers both basic and advanced workshops and appeals to students new to creative writing as well as students with writing experience who want to learn new skills. Through a series of online courses in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting, the Certificate in Creative Writing focuses on creative writing as a form of critical thinking as a way to reimagine audience and as a space of innovation. Taught by professionals in the field, our courses cultivate both individual and group learning, providing an overview of the field as well as deep dives into literary genres. These online creative writing courses are designed as hands-on, intensive study of the subtleties and power of language.

Creative Writing Certificate Requirements

The Certificate in Creative Writing is a 4-course, 4 c.u.* credit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty. To earn a certificate, students complete any four courses offered, in any order.  Students who complete the basic certificate may pursue an advanced certificate (6-course, 6 c.u.*) by adding two additional creative writing courses.

Flexible Course Schedule and Tuition

Penn LPS Online courses in the Certificate in Creative Writing are offered in accelerated 8-week terms and full terms. Courses in the online certificate program are largely asynchronous with some optional synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors.

You have the option to enroll in individual creative writing courses without committing to the entire online certificate, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and interests. Visit the Cost of Attendance page for course tuition and fee rates.

Watch a video of a recent virtual information session to hear from the program team about the Certificate in Creative Writing.

If you are having trouble viewing this video, watch it on YouTube .

*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.

The Certificate in Creative Writing prepares you to:

• Understand how text conveys meaning across a variety of literary genres and styles
• Explore how to use innovation, flexibility, and collaboration to cultivate a creative writing practice
• Create, revise and edit your original writing in multiple literary genres, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and screenwriting

Online Creative Writing Courses

Certificate students who complete four of the online courses listed below earn a Certificate in Creative Writing. Those students are then eligible to pursue an Advanced Certificate in Creative Writing by taking two additional courses.

• CRWR 1010: The Craft of Creative Writing
• CRWR 1600: Modern and Contemporary US Poetry
• CRWR 2010: Poetry Workshop
• CRWR 2400: The Art of Editing
• CRWR 2500: Writing and Meditation
• CRWR 2600: Fiction Workshop
• CRWR 2800: Narrative Collage
• CRWR 3000: Writing About Place
• CRWR 3200: Screenwriting
• CRWR 3600: Advanced Nonfiction *
• CRWR 3700: Journalism

*This course may not be offered every academic year. Check the course page or our course guide to see when upcoming terms are added.

Courses are subject to change.

See Course Tuition

Meet The Faculty

Julia Bloch

• Faculty Director, Penn LPS Online Certificate in Creative Writing
• Director, Creative Writing Program

• Director, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing

Laynie Browne

• Poet, prose writer, teacher and editor

Scott Burkhardt

• Lecturer in cinema and media studies

Christy Davids

• Teacher, poet and assistant editor at The Conversant

Lise Funderburg

• Lecturer in creative writing

• 2017-2018 Digital Studies Fellow at Rutgers University-Camden

Dick Polman

• Povich Writer-in-Residence at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing (CPCW)

• Writer, editor, teacher

Zachary Tyler Vickers

Careers related to creative writing.

The Certificate in Creative Writing is designed to enhance your writing and storytelling skills and provide a framework for a creative process that can be applied to a myriad of professional roles including:

• Advertising copywriter
• Fundraising/development consultant
• Author and journalist

Best Creative Writing colleges in the U.S. 2024

Creative writing is about artistically sharing emotions, thoughts, and opinions on a subject; not just relaying information. Courses include American literature, editing and proofing, fundamentals of writing, world literature, Shakespeare, screenwriting fundamentals, fiction fundamentals, writing nonfiction, and poetry writing. Creative writing covers both nonfiction and fiction, but the predominant types of creative writing are poetry and fiction, which includes novels, short stories, novellas, and flash fiction. Playwriting, screenwriting, journaling, and memoirs are other typical forms.

Students will learn how to use written language to communicate more clearly in their professional and personal lives and move beyond proficient mechanics to writing craftily in an attempt to evoke emotions and express points of view. Careers for creative writers?outside of being a creative writer?include blogger, journalist, composition teacher, copywriter, scriptwriter, and novelist. Creative writers must understand the importance of deadlines and have well-researched writing samples in order to move up the career ladder. The median annual wage of writers and authors was more than $50,000 in May 2010. Religious, professional, and civic industries employed the most writers followed by newspapers and book industries. Creative writers may also be freelance writers. Freelance writers are self-employed individuals who make a living selling their content to publishers. They may simultaneously work on multiple assignments for numerous companies depending on individual financial goals.

Best Creative Writing colleges in the U.S. for 2024

The University of Alabama offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a small city. In 2022, 14 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 14 Master's degrees.

University of Alaska Anchorage offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a large, public, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 4 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 4 Master's degrees.

University of Alaska Fairbanks offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a medium sized, public, four-year university in a small suburb. In 2022, 5 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 5 Master's degrees.

Alaska Pacific University offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a very small, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 2 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 2 Bachelor's degrees.

Arizona State University Campus Immersion offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a midsize city. In 2022, 8 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 8 Master's degrees.

University of Arizona offers 2 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 73 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 60 Bachelor's degrees, and 13 Master's degrees.

Glendale Community College offers 2 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a large, public, two-year college in a large suburb. In 2022, 2 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 1 Associate's degree, and 1 Certificate.

GateWay Community College offers 1 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a small, public, two-year college in a large city.

Mesa Community College offers 3 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a large, public, two-year college in a large city. In 2022, 3 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 3 Certificates.

Northern Arizona University offers 2 Creative Writing degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a small city. In 2022, 27 Creative Writing students graduated with students earning 15 Master's degrees, and 12 Certificates.

Find local colleges with Creative Writing majors in the U.S.

List of all creative writing colleges in the u.s..

What to Know About Creative Writing Degrees

Many creative writing degree recipients pursue careers as authors while others work as copywriters or ghostwriters.

Tips on Creative Writing Degrees

Getty Images

Prospective writing students should think about their goals and figure out if a creative writing degree will help them achieve those goals.

Many people see something magical in a beautiful work of art, and artists of all kinds often take pride in their craftsmanship. Creative writers say they find fulfillment in the writing process.

"I believe that making art is a human need, and so to get to do that is amazing," says Andrea Lawlor, an author who this year received a Whiting Award – a national $50,000 prize that recognizes 10 excellent emerging authors each year – and who is also the Clara Willis Phillips Assistant Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

"We all are seeing more and more of the way that writing can help us understand perspectives we don't share," says Lawlor, whose recent novel "Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl" addresses the issue of gender identity.

"Writing can help us cope with hard situations," Lawlor says. "We can find people who we have something in common with even if there's nobody around us who shares our experience through writing. It's a really powerful tool for connection and social change and understanding."

Creative writing faculty, many of whom are acclaimed published authors, say that people are well-suited toward degrees in creative writing if they are highly verbal and enjoy expressing themselves.

"Creative imaginative types who have stories burning inside them and who gravitate toward stories and language might want to pursue a degree in creative writing," Jessica Bane Robert, who teaches Introduction to Creative Writing at Clark University in Massachusetts, wrote in an email. "Through formal study you will hone your voice, gain confidence, find a support system for what can otherwise be a lonely endeavor."

Read the guide below to gain more insight into what it means to pursue a creative writing education, how writing impacts society and whether it is prudent to invest in a creative writing degree. Learn about the difference between degree-based and non-degree creative writing programs, how to craft a solid application to a top-notch creative writing program and how to figure out which program is the best fit.

Why Creative Writing Matters and Reasons to Study It

Creative writers say a common misconception about their job is that their work is frivolous and impractical, but they emphasize that creative writing is an extremely effective way to convey messages that are hard to share in any other way.

Kelly Caldwell, dean of faculty at Gotham Writers Workshop in New York City, says prospective writing students are often discouraged from taking writing courses because of concerns about whether a writing life is somehow unattainable or "unrealistic."

Although creative writers are sometimes unable to financially support themselves entirely on the basis of their creative projects, Caldwell says, they often juggle that work with other types of jobs and lead successful careers.

She says that many students in her introductory creative writing class were previously forbidden by parents to study creative writing. "You have to give yourself permission for the simple reason that you want to do it," she suggests.

Creative writing faculty acknowledge that a formal academic credential in creative writing is not needed in order to get writing published. However, they suggest, creative writing programs help aspiring authors develop their writing skills and allow space and time to complete long-term writing projects.

Working writers often juggle multiple projects at once and sometimes have more than one gig, which can make it difficult to finish an especially ambitious undertaking such as a novel, a play for the screen or stage, or a well-assembled collection of poems, short stories or essays. Grants and fellowships for authors are often designed to ensure that those authors can afford to concentrate on their writing.

Samuel Ace, a published poet and a visiting lecturer in poetry at Mount Holyoke, says his goal is to show students how to write in an authentic way that conveys real feeling. "It helps students to become more direct, not to bury their thoughts under a cascade of academic language, to be more forthright," he says.

Tips on Choosing Between a Non-Degree or Degree-Based Creative Writing Program

Experts note that someone needs to be ready to get immersed in the writing process and devote significant time to writing projects before pursuing a creative writing degree. Prospective writing students should not sign up for a degree program until they have reached that sense of preparedness, warns Kim Todd, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and director of its creative writing program.

She says prospective writing students need to think about their personal goals and figure out if a creative writing degree will help them achieve those goals.

Aspiring writers who are not ready to invest in a creative writing degree program may want to sign up for a one-off writing class or begin participating in an informal writing workshop so they can test their level of interest in the field, Todd suggests.

How to Choose and Apply to a Creative Writing Program

In many cases, the most important component of an application to a writing program is the writing portfolio, writing program experts say. Prospective writing students need to think about which pieces of writing they include in their portfolio and need to be especially mindful about which item they put at the beginning of their portfolio. They should have a trusted mentor critique the portfolio before they submit it, experts suggest.

Because creative writing often involves self-expression, it is important for aspiring writing students to find a program where they feel comfortable expressing their true identity.

This is particularly pertinent to aspiring authors who are members of minority groups, including people of color or LGBTQ individuals, says Lawlor, who identifies as queer, transgender and nonbinary.

How to Use a Creative Writing Degree

Creative writing program professors and alumni say creative writing programs cultivate a variety of in-demand skills, including the ability to communicate effectively.

"While yes, many creative writers are idealists and dreamers, these are also typically highly flexible and competent people with a range of personal strengths. And a good creative writing program helps them understand their particular strengths and marketability and translate these for potential employers, alongside the more traditional craft development work," Melissa Ridley Elmes, an assistant professor of English at Lindenwood University in Missouri, wrote in an email.

Elmes – an author who writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction – says creative writing programs force students to develop personal discipline because they have to consistently produce a significant amount of writing. In addition, participating in writing workshops requires writing students "to give and receive constructive feedback," Elmes says.

Cindy Childress, who has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana—Lafayatte and did a creative writing dissertation where she submitted poetry, says creative writing grads are well-equipped for good-paying positions as advertising and marketing copywriters, speechwriters, grant writers and ghostwriters.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual compensation for writers and authors was $63,200 as of May 2019.

"I think the Internet, and writing communities online and in social media, have been very helpful for debunking the idea that if you publish a New York Times Bestseller you will have 'made it' and can quit your day job and write full time," Elmes explains. "Unless you are independently wealthy, the odds are very much against you in this regard."

Childress emphasizes that creative writing degree recipients have "skills that are absolutely transferable to the real world." For example, the same storytelling techniques that copywriters use to shape public perceptions about a commercial brand are often taught in introductory creative writing courses, she says. The ability to tell a good story does not necessarily come easily to people who haven't been trained on how to do it, she explains.

Childress says she was able to translate her creative writing education into a lucrative career and start her own ghostwriting and book editing company, where she earns a six-figure salary. She says her background in poetry taught her how to be pithy.

"Anything that we want to write nowadays, particularly for social media, is going to have to be immediately understood, so there is a sense of immediacy," she says."The language has to be crisp and direct and exact, and really those are exactly the same kind of ways you would describe a successful poem."

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• Academics /

Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Degree Program

Unlock your creative potential and hone your unique voice.

Online Courses

11 out of 12 total courses

On-Campus Experience

One 1- or 3-week residency in summer

$3,220 per course

Program Overview

Through the master’s degree in creative writing and literature, you’ll hone your skills as a storyteller — crafting publishable original scripts, novels, and stories.

In small, workshop-style classes, you’ll master key elements of narrative craft, including characterization, story and plot structure, point of view, dialogue, and description. And you’ll learn to approach literary works as both a writer and scholar by developing skills in critical analysis.

Program Benefits

Instructors who are published authors of drama, fiction, and nonfiction

A community of writers who support your growth in live online classes

Writer's residency with agent & editor networking opportunities

Personalized academic and career advising

Thesis or capstone options that lead to publishable creative work

Harvard Alumni Association membership upon graduation

Customizable Course Curriculum

As you work through the program’s courses, you’ll enhance your creative writing skills and knowledge of literary concepts and strategies. You’ll practice the art of revision to hone your voice as a writer in courses like Writing the Short Personal Essay and Writing Flash Fiction.

Within the creative writing and literature program, you will choose between a thesis or capstone track. You’ll also experience the convenience of online learning and the immersive benefits of learning in person.

11 Online Courses

• Primarily synchronous
• Fall, spring, January, and summer options

Writers’ Residency

A 1- or 3-week summer master class taught by a notable instructor, followed by an agents-and-editors weekend

Thesis or Capstone Track

• Thesis: features a 9-month independent creative project with a faculty advisor
• Capstone: includes crafting a fiction or nonfiction manuscript in a classroom community

The path to your degree begins before you apply to the program.

First, you’ll register for and complete 2 required courses, earning at least a B in each. These foundational courses are investments in your studies and count toward your degree, helping ensure success in the program.

Getting Started

We invite you to explore degree requirements, confirm your initial eligibility, and learn more about our unique “earn your way in” admissions process.

A Faculty of Creative Writing Experts

Studying at Harvard Extension School means learning from the world’s best. Our instructors are renowned academics in literary analysis, storytelling, manuscript writing, and more. They bring a genuine passion for teaching, with students giving our faculty an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Bryan Delaney

Playwright and Screenwriter

Talaya Adrienne Delaney

Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University

Elisabeth Sharp McKetta

Our community at a glance.

80% of our creative writing and literature students are enrolled in our master’s degree program for either personal enrichment or to make a career change. Most (74%) are employed full time while pursuing their degree and work across a variety of industries.

Download: Creative Writing & Literature Master's Degree Fact Sheet

Average Age

Course Taken Each Semester

Work Full Time

Would Recommend the Program

Professional Experience in the Field

Pursued for Personal Enrichment

Career Opportunities & Alumni Outcomes

Graduates of our Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Program have writing, research, and communication jobs in the fields of publishing, advertising/marketing, fundraising, secondary and higher education, and more.

Some alumni continue their educational journeys and pursue further studies in other nationally ranked degree programs, including those at Boston University, Brandeis University, University of Pennsylvania, and Cambridge University.

Our alumni hold titles as:

• Marketing Manager
• Director of Publishing
• Senior Research Writer

Our alumni work at a variety of leading organizations, including:

• Little, Brown & Company
• New York University (NYU)
• Bentley Publishers

Career Advising and Mentorship

Whatever your career goals, we’re here to support you. Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Success offers career advising, employment opportunities, Harvard alumni mentor connections, and career fairs like the annual on-campus Harvard Humanities, Media, Marketing, and Creative Careers Expo.

Your Harvard University Degree

Upon successful completion of the required curriculum, you will earn the Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: Creative Writing and Literature.

Expand Your Connections: the Harvard Alumni Network

As a graduate, you’ll become a member of the worldwide Harvard Alumni Association (400,000+ members) and Harvard Extension Alumni Association (29,000+ members).

Harvard is closer than one might think. You can be anywhere and still be part of this world.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Affordability is core to our mission. When compared to our continuing education peers, it’s a fraction of the cost.

After admission, you may qualify for financial aid . Typically, eligible students receive grant funds to cover a portion of tuition costs each term, in addition to federal financial aid options.

What can you do with a master’s degree in creative writing and literature?

A master’s degree in creative writing and literature prepares you for a variety of career paths in writing, literature, and communication — it’s up to you to decide where your interests will take you.

You could become a professional writer, editor, literary agent, marketing copywriter, or communications specialist.

You could also go the academic route and bring your knowledge to the classroom to teach creative writing or literature courses.

Is a degree in creative writing and literature worth it?

The value you find in our Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Degree Program will depend on your unique goals, interests, and circumstances.

The curriculum provides a range of courses that allow you to graduate with knowledge and skills transferable to various industries and careers.

How long does completing the creative writing and literature graduate program take?

Program length is ordinarily anywhere between 2 and 5 years. It depends on your preferred pace and the number of courses you want to take each semester.

For an accelerated journey, we offer year round study, where you can take courses in fall, January, spring, and summer.

While we don’t require you to register for a certain number of courses each semester, you cannot take longer than 5 years to complete the degree.

What skills do you need prior to applying for the creative writing and literature degree program?

Harvard Extension School does not require any specific skills prior to applying, but in general, it’s helpful to have solid reading, writing, communication, and critical thinking skills if you are considering a creative writing and literature master’s degree.

Initial eligibility requirements can be found on our creative writing and literature master’s degree requirements page .

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• Undergraduate
• Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Major

The Creative Writing Major is an undergraduate concentration within the English Department at Northwestern University and one of the first and finest undergraduate Creative Writing programs in the country. Its reputation is based on the accomplishments of its graduates, the generosity of its accomplished professors, and a pedagogy that creates a fruitful symbiosis between close reading and inventive writing. Award-winning authors teach poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as courses that cross genres, guiding students to examine literary works as writers and encouraging them to study the best literary models. Professors and students work in a close-knit community as they write their own stories, novellas, poems and essays within the living tradition of literature.

Most Creative Writing Majors begin taking creative writing courses in their sophomore year and complete the yearlong “sequence” of study during their junior year, and some have the opportunity to complete an additional honors project before graduation (see Recommended Schedule for Prospective Writing Majors below). Students also learn from prominent visiting writers at our annual Festival of Writing in the Spring.  Recent graduates of the program include MacArthur “Genius” Award Winner Karen Russell; Veronica Roth, whose bestselling novel “Divergent” was first drafted while she was a student; poet Peter Kline; and award-winning essayist Angela Mears.

Current Creative Writing faculty include   Chris Abani ,  Brian Bouldrey ,   John Bresland ,   Averill Curdy ,   Sheila Donohue ,   Reginald Gibbons , Juan Martinez , Shauna Seliy , Charif Shanahan ,  Natasha Trethewey , Daisy Hernández ,  and   Rachel Jamison Webster .

The Creative Writing program also offers two minors; the Sequence-based Minor and, for those not pursuing one of the year-long sequences, the non-application based Cross-genre Minor in Creative Writing .

See past and upcoming Creative Writing events.

Undergraduate publication opportunities

Recommended Schedule for Prospective Writing Majors

Courses for prospective creative writing majors, in a recommended order..

*Denotes courses that are REQUIRED for the Creative Writing Major

ENG 202-Introduction to Creative Writing

(can be taken in Fall quarter of Freshman year. This provides an introduction to all three genres and prepares you for our other CW courses.)

ENG 210-1,2 - English Literary Traditions       or ENG 270-1,2 - American Literary Traditions

(While not required for creative writing, these are excellent background courses for writing students, and also serve as prerequisites for the English literature major.)

* ENG 206 - Reading and Writing Poetry

* ENG 207 - Reading and Writing Fiction    

* ENG 208 - Reading & Writing Creative Nonfiction

(You may take 206, 207, or 208 in any order.  You should have taken or be enrolled in any one of these when you're applying. )

Students may apply to the Creative Writing Program in the Spring of your Sophomore Year or in the Spring of your Junior Year.

Click here to apply. Applications close April 29th, 2024 at 11:59pm. 

Some students fulfill their requirements--of 206, 207 and 208--well before the time of application to the program. If that happens, we recommend that you stay in writing practice and continue building your portfolio by taking one of our 300-level writing courses, English 306, 307, 308, or 309. Please see Juan Martinez , Director of Creative Writing, for further suggestions and help with course planning.

Initial Required Courses

All students interested in the Creative Writing Major must take one introductory course --poetry (ENG 206), fiction (207), or creative nonfiction (208)--and at least be enrolled in another before applying to the major. Students can only apply to the major in any genre for which they've completed (or are enrolled) in its 200-level component; you can only apply for poetry after having taken or enrolling in ENG 206, for fiction after ENG 207, for creative nonfiction after ENG 208.

At the 200-level, no prior knowledge of a genre is required to enroll.

• No English Department creative writing course may be audited or taken pass/fail.
• School of Professional Studies courses offered under the titles ENG 206, 207 and 208 do not count toward any course of study within the Creative Writing program.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the next stage of the Creative Writing Major or the Sequence-based Minor in Creative Writing, the year-long 300-level advanced course sequences, is competitive. Admission to the program is granted primarily on the basis of manuscript quality and the student’s promise. An applicant may be admitted to study as a major, a minor, or a sequence-only student.

For fiction and nonfiction applications, your writing sample should be 7-15 pages.

For poetry applications, your writing sample should be 4-5 poems.

No preference in admission is currently given to those who apply to the sequences, though there are later opportunities open only to Creative Writing Majors, including participation in senior honors, one-on-one conferences with visiting writers-in-residence, and the winter senior readings series.  Students may apply for admission to the sequence courses no earlier than the spring of their sophomore year.   

Click here to apply. Applications close April 29th, 2024 at 11:59pm.

The Sequences

Theory and Practice of Poetry (ENG 393), Fiction (394), and Creative Nonfiction (395):

These year-long sequences of courses ask students to pursue a rigorous program that includes explication and critical writing, imitation and modeling, close reading of literary texts, and the creation of original creative work.  The sequences are arranged in three consecutive quarters.

They begin in the fall with specialized courses in the fundamental technical and rhetorical bases of each genre. Poetry students study the uses of metaphor and mode, and the theory of prosody (including both the major form of poetry in English-accentual-syllabic verse-and the minor forms, accentual, syllabic, and free verse). Fiction students consider the tenets of realism and its alternatives, and practice different approaches to style, characterization, structure, and point of view. Creative nonfiction students focus on essay forms, logical method, authorial tone, and techniques of discourse and description. In all genres, imitations and models of great writers are assigned.

The second half of the sequence in each genre is devoted to intensive writing of a longer original work-a poem of at least 120 lines or an essay or novella of 25 to 35 pages.

Note that in the event further work in fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry is desired outside the year-long sequence, ENG 206, 207, and 208 may be repeated up to two times for WCAS credit. Advanced one-quarter courses in creative writing (ENG 306, 307, 308, 309) are also offered for non-majors.

The application is available here . Applications will close on April 29th at 11:59pm.

Other Required Courses for MAJOR Students

In addition to the sequences, creative writing majors must take:

ENG 392 - The Situation of Writing

“The Situation of Writing,” which is typically offered in the winter quarter, investigates the writer’s relation to the culture, both currently and historically. The course addresses such questions as the relation of criticism to imaginative literature, the rise and fall of specific literary genres, the effect of the university on the production and consumption of literary works, the state of the publishing industry, and international literary contexts.

The “Third-Genre Intro” Course 

English 207 or 208, whichever introductory course was not completed before application to the sequences. This requirement ensures that writing majors will have had experience reading and writing in all three major non-dramatic modes of imaginative writing.

Six 300-level literature classes

These courses must be “pure literature”; that is, courses in which the bulk of the reading is literature and not criticism or theory. They must be selected from English Department offerings ONLY:

• Two on material written prior to 1830
• Two on material written after 1830
• Two from either period

Two non-literature courses related to one another, taught in other department(s).

These courses, in areas such as history, art, classics, and gender studies, broaden the student’s background for the study of literature. These must be approved by a creative writing advisor.

Other Required Courses for Sequence-Based MINOR students

In addition to the sequences, creative writing sequence-based minors must take:

Two 300-level literature classes

• One on material written prior to 1830
• One on material written after 1830

The Cross-genre Minor in Creative Writing

Other program features.

The Annual Writers Festival gives students the chance to learn from and interact with guest Writers-in-Residence for a three-day celebration of master classes, public readings, and a panel discussion on craft. The festival is situated within the larger Evanston Literary Festival, which hosts a number of literary events throughout the city.

Writing by students at Northwestern is recognized by the award-winning student literary magazine, Helicon, and by the  Department of English Annual Writing Competition , held in the spring.

Creative Writing Alumni Testimonials

-- Veronica Roth, author of the bestselling Divergent series

“I still believe our program at Northwestern is as good as any graduate program in the country. It was nice to have the opportunity when I was 19 to spend so much time reading and writing with these other writers. There was such a serious sense of purpose. That’s a testament to Brian and Sheila and the rest of the faculty. They really could create a community.” --Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and winner of a MacArthur Genius Award.

“As a Creative Nonfiction student in the Creative Writing program, I was pushed hard -- by my professors and fellow writers -- to find my voice. Not just my voice as a writer, but as a person and advocate of my life and experiences. More than anything else, I learned that I am still learning. I am still finding that voice, and always will be. I learned that this fact is okay, it is right, it is what makes me write.”   --Danielle Littman, 2013 graduate.

"We're not just educating people for professional tracks; we're educating them for their lives." --Professor Mary Kinzie, Founder of the Creative Writing Program and award-winning poet.

• Utility Menu

• Creative Writing

The vital presence of creative writing in the English Department is reflected by our many distinguished authors who teach our workshops. We offer courses each term in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and television writing. Our workshops are small, usually no more than twelve students, and offer writers an opportunity to focus intensively on one genre. 

Apply to Creative Writing Workshops

Workshops are open by application to Harvard College undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and students from other institutions eligible for cross registration. Submission guidelines for workshops can be found under individual course listings; please do not query instructors.  Review all departmental rules and application instructions before applying.  

Fall 2024 Application Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Spring 2025 Application Deadline: TBD

Please visit our course listings for all the Fall 2024 workshops.

Our online submission manager (link below) will open for Fall 2024 applications on Friday, March 22 , 2024.

Students who have questions about the creative writing workshop application process should contact Case Q. Kerns at [email protected] .

Featured Faculty

Teju Cole  is a novelist, critic, and essayist, and is the first Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice. "Among other works, the boundary-crossing author is known for his debut novel “Open City” (2011), whose early admirers included Harvard professor and New Yorker critic James Wood." 

Faculty Bookshelf

The botany of desire by michael pollan (2001).

A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee (2010)

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dream by Darcy Frey (2004)

Open City by Teju Cole (2011)

Creative Writing Workshops

• Spring 2024

English CACD. The Art of Criticism

Instructor: Maggie Doherty Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

This course will consider critical writing about art–literary, visual, cinematic, musical, etc.—as an art in its own right. We will read and discuss criticism from a wide variety of publications, paying attention to the ways outlets and audience shape critical work. The majority of our readings will be from the last few years and will include pieces by Joan Acocella, Andrea Long Chu, Jason Farago, and Carina del Valle Schorske. Students will write several short writing assignments (500-1000 words), including a straight review, during the first half of the semester and share them with peers. During the second half of the semester, each student will write and workshop a longer piece of criticism about a work of art or an artist of their choosing. Students will be expected to read and provide detailed feedback on the work of their peers. Students will revise their longer pieces based on workshop feedback and submit them for the final assignment of the class. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please write a letter of introduction (1-2 pages) giving a sense of who you are, your writing experience, and your current goals for your writing. Please also describe your relationship to the art forms and/or genres you're interested in engaging in the course. You may also list any writers or publications whose criticism you enjoy reading. Please also include a 3-5-page writing sample of any kind of prose writing. This could be an academic paper or it could be creative fiction or nonfiction.

English CACW. Advanced Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Paul Yoon TBD | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Advanced fiction workshop for students who have already taken a workshop at Harvard or elsewhere. The goal of the class is to continue your journey as a writer. You will be responsible for participating in discussions on the assigned texts, the workshop, engaging with the work of your colleagues, and revising your work. Supplemental Application Information:   * Please note: previous creative writing workshop experience required. * Please submit ONLY a cover letter telling me your previous creative writing workshop experience, either at Harvard or elsewhere; then tell me something you are passionate about and something you want to be better at; and, lastly, tell me why of all classes you want to take this one this semester. Again, please no writing samples.

English CBBR. Intermediate Poetry: Workshop

Instructor:  Josh Bell   Monday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: Barker 018 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

Initially, students can expect to read, discuss, and imitate the strategies of a wide range of poets writing in English; to investigate and reproduce prescribed forms and poetic structures; and to engage in writing exercises meant to expand the conception of what a poem is and can be. As the course progresses, reading assignments will be tailored on an individual basis, and an increasing amount of time will be spent in discussion of student work. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a portfolio including a letter of interest, ten poems, and a list of classes (taken at Harvard or elsewhere) that seem to have bearing on your enterprise.

English CCEP. Ekphrastic Poetry: Workshop

Instructor: Tracy K. Smith Wednesday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Lamont 401 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site What can a poem achieve when it contemplates or even emulates a work of art in another medium? In this workshop, we'll read and write poems that engage with other art forms--and we'll test out what a foray into another artistic practice allows us to carry back over into the formal methods and behaviors of poetry. With poems by Keats, Rilke, Auden, Hughes, and Brooks, as well as Kevin Young, Evie Shockley, Ama Codjoe and other contemporary voices. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26) Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a writing sample of 5-10 poems and an application letter explaining your interest in this course.

English CCFC. Poetry Workshop: Form & Content

Instructor: Tracy K. Smith Tuesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: Sever 112 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site

In this workshop, we’ll look closely at the craft-based choices poets make, and track the effects they have upon what we as readers are made to think and feel. How can implementing similar strategies better prepare us to engage the questions making up our own poetic material? We’ll also talk about content. What can poetry reveal about the ways our interior selves are shaped by public realities like race, class, sexuality, injustice and more? Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26)   

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a writing sample of 5-10 poems and an application letter explaining your interest in this course.

English CCIJ. Intermediate Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Jesse McCarthy Thursday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Barker 269 Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This is an intermediate course in the art of writing literary fiction. Previous experience with workshopping writing is encouraged but not required. The emphasis of the course will be learning how to read literature as a writer, with special attention given to the short story, novella, or short novel. We will read these works from the perspective of the writer as craftsperson and of the critic seeking in good faith to understand and describe a new aesthetic experience. We will be concerned foremost with how literary language works, with describing the effects of different kinds of sentences, different uses of genre, tone, and other rhetorical strategies. Together, we will explore our responses to examples of literature from around the world and from all periods, as well as to the writing you will produce and share with the class. As a member of a writing community, you should be prepared to respectfully read and respond to the work of others—both the work of your peers and that of the published writers that we will explore together. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Saturday, August 26) Supplemental Application Information:  This course is by application only but there are no prerequisites for this course and previous experience in a writing workshop is not required . In your application please submit a short letter explaining why you are interested in this class. You might tell me a bit about your relationship to literature, your encounter with a specific author, book, or even a scene or character from a story or novel. Please also include a writing sample of 2-5 pages (5 pages max!) of narrative prose fiction.

English CCFS. Fiction Workshop

Instructor: Teju Cole Spring 2024: Tuesday, 6:00-8:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD This reading and writing intensive workshop is for students who want to learn to write literary fiction. The goal of the course would be for each student to produce two polished short stories. Authors on the syllabus will probably include James Joyce, Eudora Welty, Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Diane Williams.

Supplemental Application Information:   Please submit a cover letter saying what you hope to get out of the workshop. In the cover letter, mention three works of fiction that matter to you and why. In addition, submit a 400–500 word sample of your fiction; the sample can be self-contained or a section of a longer work.

English CLPG. Art of Sportswriting

Instructor: Louisa Thomas Spring 2024: Tuesday, 9:00-11:45am | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

In newsrooms, the sports section is sometimes referred to as the “toy department” -- frivolous and unserious, unlike the stuff of politics, business, and war. In this course, we will take the toys seriously. After all, for millions of people, sports and other so-called trivial pursuits (video games, chess, children’s games, and so on) are a source of endless fascination. For us, they will be a source of stories about human achievements and frustrations. These stories can involve economic, social, and political issues. They can draw upon history, statistics, psychology, and philosophy. They can be reported or ruminative, formally experimental or straightforward, richly descriptive or tense and spare. They can be fun. Over the course of the semester, students will read and discuss exemplary profiles, essays, articles, and blog posts, while also writing and discussing their own. While much (but not all) of the reading will come from the world of sports, no interest in or knowledge about sports is required; our focus will be on writing for a broad audience.  Supplemental Application Information:  To apply, please write a letter describing why you want to take the course and what you hope to get out of it. Include a few examples of websites or magazines you like to read, and tell me briefly about one pursuit -- football, chess, basketball, ballet, Othello, crosswords, soccer, whatever -- that interests you and why.

English CALR. Advanced Screenwriting: Workshop

Instructor: Musa Syeed Spring 2024: Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBA Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

The feature-length script is an opportunity to tell a story on a larger scale, and, therefore, requires additional preparation. In this class, we will move from writing a pitch, to a synopsis, to a treatment/outline, to the first 10 pages, to the first act of a feature screenplay. We will analyze produced scripts and discuss various elements of craft, including research, writing layered dialogue, world-building, creating an engaging cast of characters. As an advanced class, we will also look at ways both mainstream and independent films attempt to subvert genre and structure. Students will end the semester with a first act (20-30 pages) of their feature, an outline, and strategy to complete the full script.

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a 3-5 page writing sample. Screenplays are preferred, but fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and plays are acceptable as well. Also, please write a short note to introduce yourself. Include a couple films/filmmakers that have inspired you, your goals for the class, as well as any themes/subject matter/ideas you might be interested in exploring in your writing for film.

English CNFR. Creative Nonfiction: Workshop

Instructor: Darcy Frey Fall 2024: Wednesday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students. Course Site Spring 2025: TBD

Whether it takes the form of literary journalism, essay, memoir, or environmental writing, creative nonfiction is a powerful genre that allows writers to break free from the constraints commonly associated with nonfiction prose and reach for the breadth of thought and feeling usually accomplished only in fiction: the narration of a vivid story, the probing of a complex character, the argument of an idea, or the evocation of a place. Students will work on several short assignments to hone their mastery of the craft, then write a longer piece that will be workshopped in class and revised at the end of the term. We will take instruction and inspiration from published authors such as Joan Didion, James Baldwin, Ariel Levy, Alexander Chee, and Virginia Woolf. This is a workshop-style class intended for undergraduate and graduate students at all levels of experience. No previous experience in English Department courses is required. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm ET on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:   Please write a substantive letter of introduction describing who you are as writer at the moment and where you hope to take your writing; what experience you may have had with creative/literary nonfiction; what excites you about nonfiction in particular; and what you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Additionally, please submit 3-5 pages of creative/literary nonfiction (essay, memoir, narrative journalism, etc, but NOT academic writing) or, if you have not yet written much nonfiction, an equal number of pages of narrative fiction.

English CKR. Introduction to Playwriting: Workshop

Instructor: Sam Marks TBD | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students This workshop is an introduction to writing for the stage through intensive reading and in-depth written exercises. Each student will explore the fundamentals and possibilities of playwriting by generating short scripts and completing a one act play with an eye towards both experimental and traditional narrative styles. Readings will examine various ways of creating dramatic art and include work from contemporary playwrights such as Ayad Aktar, Clare Barron, Aleshea Harris, Young Jean Lee, and Taylor Mac, as well established work from Edward Albbe, Caryl Churchill, Suzan Lori-Parks, and Harold Pinter. Supplemental Application Information:  No experience in writing the dramatic form is necessary. Please submit a 5-10 page writing sample (preferably a play or screenplay, but all genres are acceptable and encouraged). Also, please write a few sentences about a significant theatrical experience (a play read or seen) and how it affected you.

English CACF. Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film

Instructor: Musa Syeed Wednesday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 student Course Site

“I’ve often noticed that we are not able to look at what we have in front of us,” the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami said, “unless it’s inside a frame.” For our communities confronting invisibility and erasure, there’s an urgent need for new frames. In this workshop, we’ll explore a community-engaged approach to documentary and fiction filmmaking, as we seek to see our world more deeply. We’ll begin with screenings, craft exercises, and discussions around authorship and social impact. Then we each will write, develop, and shoot a short film over the rest of the semester, building off of intentional community engagement. Students will end the class with written and recorded materials for a rough cut. Basic equipment and technical training will be provided.

Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a brief letter explaining why you're interested to take this class. Please also discuss what participants/communities you might be interested in engaging with for your filmmaking projects. For your writing sample, please submit 3-5 pages of your creative work from any genre (screenwriting, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc.)

English CAFR. Advanced Fiction Workshop: Writing this Present Life

Instructor: Claire Messud Thursday, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site Intended for students with prior fiction-writing and workshop experience, this course will concentrate on structure, execution and revision. Exploring various strands of contemporary and recent literary fiction – writers such as Karl Ove Knausgaard, Rachel Cusk, Chimamanda Adichie, Douglas Stuart, Ocean Vuong, etc – we will consider how fiction works in our present moment, with emphasis on a craft perspective. Each student will present to the class a published fiction that has influenced them. The course is primarily focused on the discussion of original student work, with the aim of improving both writerly skills and critical analysis. Revision is an important component of this class: students will workshop two stories and a revision of one of these. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm ET on Sunday, April 7)

Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit 3-5 pages of prose fiction, along with a substantive letter of introduction. I’d like to know why you’re interested in the course; what experience you’ve had writing, both in previous workshops and independently; what your literary goals and ambitions are. Please tell me about some of your favorite narratives – fiction, non-fiction, film, etc: why they move you, and what you learn from them.

English CAKV. Fiction Workshop: Writing from the First-Person Point of View

Instructor:  Andrew Krivak Tuesday, 9:00-11:45 1m | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This course is a workshop intended for students who are interested in writing longer form narratives from the first-person point of view. The “I” at the center of any novel poses a perspective that is all at once imaginatively powerful and narratively problematic, uniquely insightful and necessarily unreliable. We will read from roughly twelve novels written in the first-person, from Marilynne Robinson and W.G. Sebald, to Valeria Luiselli and Teju Cole, and ask questions (among others) of why this form, why this style? And, as a result, what is lost and what is realized in the telling? Primarily, however, students will write. Our goal will be to have a student’s work read and discussed twice in class during the semester. I am hoping to see at least 35-40 pages of a project —at any level of completion—at the end of term.  Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please write a substantive letter telling me why you’re interested in taking this class, what writers (classical and contemporary) you admire and why, and if there’s a book you have read more than once, a movie you have seen more than once, a piece of music you listen to over and over, not because you have to but because you want to. Students of creative nonfiction are also welcome to apply.

English CCSS. Fiction Workshop: The Art of the Short Story

Instructor: Laura van den Berg Tuesday, 12:00-2:45 pm | Location: TBD Enrollment: Limited to 12 students Course Site This course will serve as an introduction to the fundamentals of writing fiction, with an emphasis on the contemporary short story. How can we set about creating “big” worlds in compact spaces? What unique doors can the form of the short story open? The initial weeks will focus on exploratory exercises and the study of published short stories and craft essays. Later, student work will become the primary text as the focus shifts to workshop discussion. Authors on the syllabus will likely include Ted Chiang, Lauren Groff, Carmen Maria Machado, and Octavia Butler. This workshop welcomes writers of all levels of experience. Apply via Submittable  (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, April 7) Supplemental Application Information:  Please submit a letter of introduction. I’d like to know a little about why you are drawn to studying fiction; what you hope to get out of the workshop and what you hope to contribute; and one thing you are passionate about outside writing / school. Please also include a very brief writing sample (2-3 pages). The sample can be in any genre (it does not have to be from a work of fiction). 

Write an Honors Creative Thesis

Students may apply to write a senior thesis or senior project in creative writing, although only English concentrators can be considered. Students submit applications in early March of their junior year, including first-term juniors who are out of phase. The creative writing faculty considers the proposal, along with the student's overall performance in creative writing and other English courses, and notifies students about its decision in early mid-late March. Those applications are due, this coming year, on TBA . 

Students applying for a creative writing thesis or project must have completed at least one course in creative writing at Harvard before they apply. No student is guaranteed acceptance. It is strongly suggested that students acquaint themselves with the requirements and guidelines well before the thesis application is due. The creative writing director must approve any exceptions to the requirements, which must be made in writing by Monday, February 7, 2022. Since the creative writing thesis and project are part of the English honors program, acceptance to write a creative thesis is conditional upon the student continuing to maintain a 3.40 concentration GPA. If a student’s concentration GPA drops below 3.40 after the spring of the junior year, the student may not be permitted to continue in the honors program.

Joint concentrators may apply to write creative theses, but we suggest students discuss the feasibility of the project well before applications are due. Not all departments are open to joint creative theses.

Students who have questions about the creative writing thesis should contact the program’s Director, Sam Marks .

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Applications for 2024 Columbia Summer Session programs are now open!

Creative writing.

The Creative Writing Department offers writing workshops in fiction writing, poetry, and nonfiction writing. Courses are also offered in film writing, structure and style, translation, and the short story.

For questions about specific courses, contact the department.

Registration Procedures and Course Approval

All creative writing classes have limited enrollments and require instructor or departmental approval prior to registration.

Students should visit the Writing Department's website for details and instructions.

Registration Procedures

BEGINNING FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT1100W001 3 pts

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The beginning workshop in fiction is designed for students with little or no experience writing literary texts in fiction. Students are introduced to a range of technical and imaginative concerns through exercises and discussions, and they eventually produce their own writing for the critical analysis of the class. The focus of the course is on the rudiments of voice, character, setting, point of view, plot, and lyrical use of language. Students will begin to develop the critical skills that will allow them to read like writers and understand, on a technical level, how accomplished creative writing is produced. Outside readings of a wide range of fiction supplement and inform the exercises and longer written projects.

Course Number

Spring 2024, times/location, section/call number, beginning fiction workshop writ1100w002 3 pts, beginning fiction workshop writ1100w003 3 pts, beginning fiction workshop writ1100w004 3 pts, beginning fiction workshop writ1100w005 3 pts, beginning nonfiction workshop writ1200w001 3 pts, beginning nonfiction workshop writ1200w002 3 pts, beginning poetry workshop writ1300w001 3 pts, beginning poetry workshop writ1300w002 3 pts, intermediate fiction workshop writ2100w001 3 pts, intermediate fiction workshop writ2100w002 3 pts, approaches to the short story writ2110w001 3 pts.

The modern short story has gone through many transformations, and the innovations of its practitioners have often pointed the way for prose fiction as a whole. The short story has been seized upon and refreshed by diverse cultures and aesthetic affiliations, so that perhaps the only stable definition of the form remains the famous one advanced by Poe, one of its early masters, as a work of fiction that can be read in one sitting. Still, common elements of the form have emerged over the last century and this course will study them, including Point of View, Plot, Character, Setting and Theme. John Hawkes once famously called these last four elements the "enemies of the novel," and many short story writers have seen them as hindrances as well. Hawkes later recanted, though some writers would still agree with his earlier assessment, and this course will examine the successful strategies of great writers across the spectrum of short story practice, from traditional approaches to more radical solutions, keeping in mind how one period's revolution -Hemingway, for example - becomes a later era's mainstream or "commonsense" storytelling mode. By reading the work of major writers from a writer's perspective, we will examine the myriad techniques employed for what is finally a common goal: to make readers feel. Short writing exercises will help us explore the exhilarating subtleties of these elements and how the effects created by their manipulation or even outright absence power our most compelling fictions.

INTERMEDIATE NONFICTION WRKSHP WRIT2200W001 3 pts

Traditions in nonfiction writ2211w001 3 pts.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. The seminar provides exposure to the varieties of nonfiction with readings in its principal genres: reportage, criticism and commentary, biography and history, and memoir and the personal essay. A highly plastic medium, nonfiction allows authors to portray real events and experiences through narrative, analysis, polemic or any combination thereof. Free to invent everything but the facts, great practitioners of nonfiction are faithful to reality while writing with a voice and a vision distinctively their own. To show how nonfiction is conceived and constructed, class discussions will emphasize the relationship of content to form and style, techniques for creating plot and character under the factual constraints imposed by nonfiction, the defining characteristics of each authors voice, the authors subjectivity and presence, the role of imagination and emotion, the uses of humor, and the importance of speculation and attitude. Written assignments will be opportunities to experiment in several nonfiction genres and styles.

INTERMEDIATE POETRY WORKSHOP WRIT2300W001 3 pts

Traditions in poetry writ2311w001 3 pts.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Department approval NOT required. 

“For those, in dark, who find their own way by the light of others’ eyes.” —Lucie Brock-Broido

The avenues of poetic tradition open to today’s poets are more numerous, more invigorating, and perhaps even more baffling than ever before. The routes we chose for our writing lead to destinations of our own making, and we take them at our own risk—necessarily so, as the pursuit of poetry asks each of us to light a pilgrim’s candle and follow it into the moors and lowlands, through wastes and prairies, crossing waters as we go. Go after the marshlights, the will-o-wisps who call to you in a voice you’ve longed for your whole life. These routes have been forged by those who came before you, but for that reason, none of them can hope to keep you on it entirely. You must take your steps away, brick by brick, heading confidently into the hinterland of your own distinct achievement.

For the purpose of this class, we will walk these roads together, examining the works of classic and contemporary exemplars of the craft. By companioning poets from a large spread of time, we will be able to more diversely immerse ourselves in what a poetic “tradition” truly means. We will read works by Edmund Spencer, Dante, and Goethe, the Romantics—especially Keats—Dickinson, who is mother to us all, Modernists, and the great sweep of contemporary poetry that is too vast to individuate.

While it is the imperative of this class to equip you with the knowledge necessary to advance in the field of poetry, this task shall be done in a Columbian manner. Consider this class an initiation, of sorts, into the vocabulary which distinguishes the writers who work under our flag, each of us bound by this language that must be passed on, and therefore changed, to you who inherit it. As I have learned the words, I have changed them, and I give them now to you so that you may pave your own way into your own ways, inspired with the first breath that brought you here, which may excite and—hopefully—frighten you. You must be troubled. This is essential

SHORT PROSE FORMS WRIT3010W001 3 pts

Translation seminar writ3011w001 3 pts.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites. Students do not need to demonstrate bilingual ability to take this course. Department approval NOT needed. Corequisites: This course is open to undergraduate & graduate students. This course will explore broad-ranging questions pertaining to the historical, cultural, and political significance of translation while analyzing the various challenges confronted by the arts foremost practitioners. We will read and discuss texts by writers and theorists such as Benjamin, Derrida, Borges, Steiner, Dryden, Nabokov, Schleiermacher, Goethe, Spivak, Jakobson, and Venuti. As readers and practitioners of translation, we will train our ears to detect the visibility of invisibility of the translators craft; through short writing experiments, we will discover how to identify and capture the nuances that traverse literary styles, historical periods and cultures. The course will culminate in a final project that may either be a critical analysis or an original translation accompanied by a translators note of introduction.

Inhabiting Form: Writing the Body WRIT3018W001 3 pts

The body is our most immediate encounter with the world, the vessel through which we experience our entire lives: pleasure, pain, beauty, horror, limitation, freedom, fragility and empowerment. In this course, we will pursue critical and creative inquiries into invocations and manifestations of the body in multiple genres of literature and in several capacities. We will look at how writers make space for—or take up space with—bodies in their work.

The etymology of the word “text” is from the Latin textus , meaning “tissue.” Along these lines, we will consider the text itself as a body. Discussions around body politics, race, gender, ability, illness, death, metamorphosis, monstrosity and pleasure will be parallel to the consideration of how a text might function itself as a body in space and time. We will consider such questions as: What is the connective tissue of a story or a poem? What is the nervous system of a lyric essay? How is formal constraint similar to societal ideals about beauty and acceptability of certain bodies? How do words and language function at the cellular level to build the body of a text? How can we make room to honor, in our writing, bodies that have otherwise been marginalized?

We will also consider non-human bodies (animals & organisms) and embodiments of the supernatural (ghosts, gods & specters) in our inquiries. Students will process and explore these ideas in both creative and analytical writings throughout the semester, deepening their understanding of embodiment both on and off the page.

INTRO TO AUDIO STORYTELLING WRIT3031W001 3 pts

It’s one thing to tell a story with the pen. It’s another to transfix your audience with your voice. In this class, we will explore principles of audio narrative. Oral storytellers arguably understand suspense, humor and showmanship in ways only a live performer can. Even if you are a diehard writer of visually-consumed text, you may find, once the class is over, that you have learned techniques that can translate across borders: your written work may benefit. Alternatively, you may discover that audio is the medium for you.

We will consider sound from the ground up – from folkloric oral traditions, to raw, naturally captured sound stories, to seemingly straightforward radio news segments, to highly polished narrative podcasts. While this class involves a fair amount of reading, much of what we will be studying and discussing is audio material. Some is as lo-fi as can be, and some is operatic in scope, benefitting from large production budgets and teams of artists. At the same time that we study these works, each student will also complete small audio production exercises of their own; as a final project, students will be expected to produce a trailer, or “sizzle” for a hypothetical multi-episode show.

This class is meant for beginners to the audio tradition. There are some tech requirements: a recording device (most phones will suffice), workable set of headphones, and computer. You’ll also need to download the free audio editing software Audacity.

THE AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE WRIT3036W001 3 pts

What is an aesthetic experience and what does it tell us about art or about ourselves? An aesthetic experience might be best initially defined as a subjective and often profound encounter with an object, artwork, or phenomenon that elicits a heightened sense of beauty, appreciation, or emotional response. It involves a deep engagement with the sensory, emotional, and intellectual aspects of the object of appreciation. Aesthetic experiences typically involve a sense of pleasure, contemplation, or emotional resonance, and they often transcend practical or utilitarian considerations. These experiences can encompass a wide range of phenomena, literature, natural landscapes, and even everyday objects when perceived with a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation. Aesthetic experiences are highly personal and can vary from person to person based on individual preferences, cultural backgrounds, and emotional responses.

For me, an aesthetic experience is both mysterious and confounding—I’m impacted physically as much as it might mentally or emotionally. In the throes of an aesthetic experience, I might feel the small hairs on my arms or on the back of my neck stand up. I might feel nearly ill from a racing heart or my stomach turning. I might feel energized by new thoughts prompted by the experience or feel my heart swell in appreciation and awe. I might also feel a deep sense of recognition—one that connects me to the art object and its maker in a way that transcends time and place. But why do I feel this? Where does this feeling come from? What is really happening?? In this class, we’ll study this question on two levels:

1. A ‘theoretical’ level. Theorists, critics, and philosophers have long tried to understand what it means to have an aesthetic experience. Plato likened this experience to madness, Kant to the sublime; Tolstoy argued the aesthetic experience was a form of communication only accessible through engagement in art. Historians place aesthetic experience within the context of time and culture. We’ll study and discuss theories that have tried to define this mysterious phenomenon. 

 2. A ‘practical’ level. We’ll also read the work of writers who have puzzled through this question of the aesthetic experience by writing about their connection to a work or body of work by another artist. Often this involves a search to understand the self via the work of another artist.

Books: Required books available at Book Culture on 112th Street and Broadway or in course reserves at Butler Library. Several readings will be available for free via our courseworks page. They are indicated on the syllabus as (CW).

ADVANCED FICTION WORKSHOP WRIT3100W001 3 pts

Advanced fiction workshop writ3100w002 3 pts, senior fiction workshop writ3101w001 4 pts, how to write funny writ3128w001 3 pts.

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die."   

--Mel Brooks 

"Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the 

End."                                                                                                                --Sid Caesar 

"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it."                                                                                                                                  --E.B. White 

"What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke."                                                                                                                                       --Steve Martin 

"Patty Marx is the best teacher at Columbia University."

--Patty Marx 

One of the above quotations is false. Find out which one in this humor-writing workshop, where you will read, listen to, and watch comedic samples from well-known and lesser-known humorists. How could you not have fun in a class where we watch and critique the sketches of Monty Python, Nichols and May, Mr. Show, Mitchell & Webb, Key and Peele, French and Saunders, Derrick Comedy, Beyond the Fringe, Dave Chappelle, Bob and Ray, Mel Brooks, Amy Schumer, and SNL, to name just a few?

The crux of our time, though, will be devoted to writing. Students will be expected to complete weekly writing assignments; additionally, there will be in-class assignments geared to strategies for crafting surprise (the kind that results in a laugh as opposed to, say, a heart attack or divorce). Toward this end, we will study the use of irony, irreverence, hyperbole, misdirection, subtext, wordplay, formulas such as the rule of three and paraprosdokians (look it up), and repetition, and repetition.  

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK WRIT3133W001 3 pts

There’s a new cast of characters in American fiction: kids, teens, young adults who won’t grow up or grow up much too soon—kids of immigrants, most of them, millennials, a lot of them, and they’re telling stories, different stories, stories that dispel stereotypes and decenter the dominant, white gaze. In this seminar we will examine contemporary novels and short stories by immigrants and kids of immigrants that resist cliched diaspora narratives. Starting with the old guard that first defined immigrant writing, including Vladimir Nabokov and Sandra Cisneros, we’ll dig into how this genre has evolved in the 21st century first with Julie Otsuka and Jhumpa Lahiri, and, more recently, with Jenny Zhang, Jade Sharma, and Anthony Veasna So. Duty, guilt, grandmas, food, debt, intergenerational trauma and buried family secrets that rise from the dead will be ever-present, of course, but we’ll also find joy, absurdity, blasphemy, and other surprises as we study the distinct ways these authors reframe the immigrant experience and move beyond the lens of identity politics. Though our primary focus will be coming-of-age narratives, we’ll read numerous works from adult perspectives, too, grappling especially with the concept “anagnorisis” (Greek: “recognition”), which, in literary works, is a character’s often startling discovery of their true identity. Throughout the course we’ll use what we learn to produce new creative work biweekly, all while envisioning and executing ways to ultimately recast the “other” in our own fiction.  

BUILDING BETTER WORLDS WRIT3134W001 3 pts

As 20th century literary traditions prove increasingly ill-equipped to capture the realities of 21st century life, readers look towards fictional worlds for inspiration and escape from the political chaos of day-to-day existence. When we write we shape the world, because the worlds we imagine impact the world we inhabit. But what does it mean for a writer to 'build a world?' What obligations does the creator of a fiction have to readers who inhabit a world they wish to escape? Are the worlds we build for escape always political? Can we build another world as an avenue to better understand this one?

In this seminar we will explore the concept of "world building" by looking at a variety of work from authors who are known for their immense secondary worlds (such as J.R.R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, N.K. Jemisin, or Octavia Butler) but also at fiction that applies techniques of both immersion and politics in ways that may subvert our understanding of what it means to 'create.' Writers discussed are as wide ranging as Toni Morrison, Angela Carter, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, all the way up to contemporary writers whose works populate our best loved Independent bookstores: Helen Oyeyemi, Victor LaValle, Ted Chiang, Marlon James, Jeff VanderMeer, Colson Whitehead, Salman Rushdie, Carmen Maria Machado, Alexandra Kleeman, or Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

MORE THAN SCIENCE FICTION WRIT3135W001 3 pts

In this course we will explore the possibilities of scientific language and ideas both as literature and in literature. The texts we will consider will range from science fiction, to writings by scientists, to nature writing, and much else. We will also consider works that might at first appear unrelated to scientific thinking, such as folk tales, mysteries, and fantastical stories. Special attention will be paid to the special effects generated by scientific language when it appears near other styles of expression. Students will also be responsible for four short creative assignments inspired by the readings, as well as a brief in-class presentation.

SENIOR NONFICTION WORKSHOP WRIT3201W001 4 pts

Writing the sixties writ3224w001 3 pts.

In this seminar, we will target nonfiction from the 1960s—the decade that saw an avalanche of new forms, new awareness, new freedoms, and new conflicts, as well as the beginnings of social movements and cultural preoccupations that continue to frame our lives, as writers and as citizens, in the 21st century: civil rights, feminism, environmentalism, LGBTQ rights, pop culture, and the rise of mass media. We will look back more than a half century to examine the development of modern criticism, memoir, reporting, and profile-writing, and the ways they entwine. Along the way, we will ask questions about these classic nonfiction forms: How do reporters, essayists, and critics make sense of the new? How do they create work as rich as the best novels and short stories? Can criticism rise to the level of art? What roles do voice, point-of-view, character, dialogue, and plot—the traditional elements of fiction—play? As we go, we will witness the unfolding of arguably the most transitional decade in American history—with such events as the Kennedy assassination, the Watts Riots, the Human Be In, and the Vietnam War, along with the rise of Pop art, rock ‘n’ roll, and a new era of moviemaking—as it was documented in real time by writers at The New Yorker , New Journalists at Esquire , and critics at Partisan Review and Harper ’s, among other publications. Some writers we will consider: James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Susan Sontag, Rachel Carson, Dwight Macdonald, Gay Talese, Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Pauline Kael, Nik Cohn, Joseph Mitchell, Lillian Ross, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Thomas Pynchon, John Updike, Michael Herr, Martha Gellhorn, John McPhee, and Betty Friedan. We will be joined by guest speakers.

NONFICTION-ISH WRIT3226W001 3 pts

This cross-genre craft seminar aims to uncover daring and unusual approaches to literature informed by nonfiction (and nonfiction-adjacent) practices. In this course we will closely read and analyze a diverse set of works, including Svetlana Alexievich’s oral history of women and war, Lydia Davis’s “found” microfictions, Theresa Hak Cha’s genre-exploding “auto-enthnography,” Alejandro Zambra’s unabashedly literary narratives, Sigrid Nunez’s memoir “of” Susan Sontag, Emmanuel Carrére’s “nonfiction novel,” John Keene’s bold counternarratives, W. G. Sebald’s saturnine essay-portraits, Saidiya Hartman’s melding of history and literary imagination, Annie Ernaux’s collective autobiography, Sheila Heti’s alphabetized diary, Ben Mauk’s oral history about Xinjiang detention camps, and Edward St. Aubyn’s autobiographical novel about the British aristocracy and childhood trauma, among other texts. We will also examine Sharon Mashihi’s one-woman autofiction podcasts about Iranian Jewish American family. What we learn in this course we will apply to our own work, which will consist of two creative writing responses and a creative final project. Students will also learn to keep a daily writing journal.

CLIMATE AND TIME WRIT3229W001 3 pts

This class is called Climate and Time, Writing in Catastrophe. The focus of the course is intentionally narrow and specific. Climate refers to all aspects of climate change and its repercussions. It is, to me, the most consequential factor operating in our understanding of the world right now. It is also one of the slowest moving changes that we have experienced in our lifetime. It is the kind of change that mounts in consequences on a massive scale, so much so that the changes seem almost imperceptible until they become visible to us as cataclysm. This class is also about time because time factors in, very heavily, to our understanding of our opportunity to engage, intercede and report on climate change. Specifically, time is out of bounds of our typical understanding of it. We live in human time, the human lifecycle, which in this country is around 70 years. Many of these changes are happening in geological time that stretches across eras of change that have garnered magnitude from a chronology parallel to human time but does not rely at all on our lifecycle to frame it. The resulting tension is that we struggle to know whether we are perceiving change accurately.

The terms “nature” and “environment” are also subject to time, in that they attempt to frame a way of thinking about a set of phenomena that are perceived to exist outside of human engagement. These terms that holds vestiges of enlightenment thinking, the 18th c. European philosophy that has not been particularly useful in defining power dynamics that support observable phenomena or non-ownership models of land holding. As the climate crisis continues to be revealed, we face new conflicts informed by time: ice is melting faster than expected, sea levels rising faster than expected, fires happening more frequently than expected, marine level die-offs happening faster than expected, etc. The urgency with which the facts are now being revealed keeps changing the timelines we must confront, and yet, if we do not understand time—beyond our biological relationship to it—we may miss the opportunity to engage in meaningful work.

One goal of this seminar is to write artfully and compellingly about our changing climate in a way that invites thoughtful engagement, imagining and reconsideration of accepted values. This may require us to reckon with existing forms of expertise, institutions, and writing about the physical world, which are often saturated in philosophies of nostalgia, xenophobia, colonialism, and militarism. Another goal is to support each other in our pursuit of topics related to climate change through readings, research, and writing. To this point, we will also confront some of the emotional challenges associated with doing work on the physical world, especially in these particularly dynamic times. This is not a historical course, but it is a practical one that is very much engaged with the current issues we must face as writers—some of which are immense in proportion. Because the data and stakes related to this era are complex, we will also develop protocols for research that are appropriate to enhancing your ongoing and emergent interests in fact-based, deeply researched storytelling and lyric. The culminating work is a substantial research portfolio on a topic of your choosing that can be used for future writing projects.

SENIOR POETRY WORKSHOP WRIT3301W001 4 pts

Waste writ3322w001 3 pts.

What if we think of writing as waste management? “To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now,” said Samuel Beckett then, famously, but: What does this mean? In this course, we will explore the many ways in which artists and writers have tried to answer this question, not only with waste as a figure for thought but as the concrete and recalcitrant reality of our being. Students will be asked to keep a notebook, with the instruction to keep everything that is for them a signature of thought. In this way, a pinecone or a piece of garbage is as much “writing” as anything else. Together, we will create an archive for the semester, of everything that is produced and/or consumed under this aegis of making. This class is designed to pose questions about form and the activity of writing and, in turn, the modes and methods of production not only as writers, but as persons. In addition to our weekly readings, we will be taking field trips throughout the city, convening with Freegan.info for a trash tour and meeting with the artist in residence at the Department of Sanitation, as well as hosting visitors for additional conversations over Zoom.

SENSORY POETICS WRIT3324W001 3 pts

“A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist” —Vladimir Nabokov

“Every word was once an animal.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

How do writers use words to bring whole worlds to life in the senses? Sensory Poetics is a semester-long exploration of how this formal question has propelled the last 150 years of formally innovative poetry, manifestos and essays on craft. Here, we will read by critically and creatively responding to these texts with a single goal in mind: Borrow their methods to compose a dossier of writing that brings just one thing to life in the senses—any one thing—of your individual choosing. To that end, the semester is divided into 3 Labs that each isolate a different register of sensemaking: Sound, Image, and Line. For example, in the Sound Lab unit, you’ll respond to poems and essays by acoustic-centered poets like John Cage, Kamau Brathwaite and Gertrude Stein, transcribing the sound of your one thing, and writing a metered sonnet based on models from different periods and artistic contexts. To capture the look and logic of your one thing, further in you’ll read Surrealists like Aimé and Suzanne Césaire (for Image Lab), Kathy Acker’s cut-ups, and the psychedelic prose poems of Georges Perec and Yoko Ono (for Line Lab). Throughout, we’ll also read Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style , a book that is similarly a dossier of one thing written a hundred different ways. Class time focuses on close-reading and analyzing poems together. At the end of each of the three Labs, you’ll submit a portfolio which showcases and reflects on your favorite creative/critical writing generated during the unit. So, no matter how boring or inflexible your one thing may appear to you at any point, your only limits beyond this constraint—make a dossier on one thing—will merely be the finite plasticity of your own imagination, which luckily, readings in this course are curated to expand. This is a place to encounter, practice and experiment with new and exciting forms that broaden your repertoire for articulating your obsessions in ways that bring them to life in the ears, eyes and minds of your audience. Writers of all majors and levels welcome.

SHORT PROSE FORMS DISC WRIT3406W001 0 pts

Required discussion section for WRIT UN3010 Short Prose Forms

NONFICTION-ISH DISC WRIT3407W001 0 pts

Required discussion section for WRIT UN3226 Nonfiction-ish

INTRO TO AUDIO STORYTELLING DISC WRIT3408W001 0 pts

Independent writing project writ3700w001 3 pts, independent writing project writ3700w002 3 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r001 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r002 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r003 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r004 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r005 6 pts, fiction workshop writ5100r006 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r001 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r002 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r003 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r004 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r005 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r006 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r007 6 pts, nonfiction workshop writ5200r008 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r001 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r002 6 pts, poetry workshop writ5300r003 6 pts, special projects workshop writ5500r001 6 pts, independent study writ5700r001 6 pts, independent study writ5700r002 6 pts, independent study writ5700r003 6 pts, cross-genre seminar writ6010q001 3 pts.

CROSS-GENRE SEMINAR

CROSS-GENRE SEMINAR WRIT6010Q002 3 pts

Cross-genre seminar writ6010q003 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r001 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r002 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r003 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r004 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r005 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r006 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r007 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r008 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r009 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r010 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r011 3 pts, fiction seminar writ6110r012 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r001 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r002 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r003 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r004 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r005 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r006 3 pts, nonfiction seminar writ6210r007 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r001 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r002 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r003 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r004 3 pts, poetry seminar writ6310r005 3 pts, translation workshop writ6400r001 3 pts, translation workshop writ6400r002 3 pts, translation seminar writ6410r001 3 pts.

TRANSLATION SEMINAR

TRANSLATION SEMINAR WRIT6410R002 3 pts

Fiction lecture writ6510r001 3 pts, nonfiction lecture writ6520r001 3 pts.

NONFICTION LECTURE

POETRY LECTURE WRIT6530R001 3 pts

Master class writ6610q001 2 pts, master class writ6610q002 2 pts, master class writ6610q003 2 pts, master class writ6610q004 2 pts, master class writ6610q005 2 pts, master class writ6610q006 2 pts, master class writ6610q007 2 pts, master class writ6610q008 2 pts, master class writ6610q009 2 pts, master class writ6610q010 2 pts, master class writ6610q011 2 pts, master class writ6610q012 2 pts, master class writ6610q013 2 pts, master class writ6610q014 2 pts, master class writ6611r001 1 pts, master class writ6611r002 1 pts, master class writ6611r003 1 pts, teaching beyond the gates: a practicum on arts administration and pedagogy writ6650r001 0 pts.

The Writing Program has in place several programs that involve more than 70 students a term going beyond the Columbia gates to teach writing in community groups and schools. These programs include Columbia Artist/Teachers (CA/T), Our Word, The Incarcerated Artists Project (IAP), The Incarcerated Writers Initiative (IWI), as well as public programs on and off campus (including Lenfest) that are produced collaboratively.

The diverse array of partner organizations (see attached)—curated to provide a multiplicity of teaching experiences as well as service to the community—require various modalities of pedagogy and administration. About  14 students (see attached) are in leadership positions, with dual responsibilities of working with the partner programs in structuring and troubleshooting programs while also supervising the MFA participants and providing pedagogical guidance. In effect, these leaders are acting as arts administrators, an experience that may be useful for them in pursuing post-MFA employment.

The Writing Program’s Director of Community Outreach oversees these programs and student leaders on an ad hoc basis. The purpose of this no-credit, no-tuition course is to formalize faculty supervision and support for the Writing Program’s outreach component.

The shape of this course will be mutable, tailored to the ongoing needs of the students, their partner organizations, and the Writing Program. Contact hours will comprise in-person meetings as well as emails and phone calls, focusing on: setting up and running programs and events, working collaboratively, implementing pedagogy, and troubleshooting.

Student leaders will meet as a group with the instructor three times a term.

Individuals leaders will meet with the instructor an additional minimum of twice a term.

The CA/T Director and the instructor will meet about eight times a term.

FICTION THESIS WORKSHOP WRIT8100R001 9 pts

Fiction thesis workshop writ8100r002 9 pts, fiction thesis workshop writ8100r003 9 pts, fiction thesis workshop writ8100r004 9 pts, fiction thesis workshop writ8100r005 9 pts, fiction thesis workshop writ8100r006 9 pts, fiction thesis workshop writ8100r007 9 pts, poetry thesis workshop writ8300r001 9 pts, poetry thesis workshop writ8300r002 9 pts, poetry thesis workshop writ8300r003 9 pts, poetry thesis workshop writ8300r004 9 pts, research arts writing writ9000qra1 0 pts.

Research Arts for MFA Writing Program - Students Must Have Completed 60 Points to Register

THESIS ADVISEMENT - WRITING WRIT9001Q001 0 pts

Writ research arts internship writ9800r001 6 pts, writ research arts internship writ9800rri1 6 pts.

Interenship for MFA Writing Research Arts Students

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Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English

Transfer credits, next start date, explore the fundamentals of creative writing and english to help you take a step forward in your career.

Do you have a passion for storytelling and are looking to develop your writing skills? Do you want to ensure you are as prepared as possible for your future career? Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science (BS) in Creative Writing – English can give you a fundamental knowledge of the English language and practical skills that can make a difference in your career outlook.

Various types of creative works are covered in your classes, which can help mold you into a more well-rounded author. If you are interested in developing a deep understanding of the English language and how it can be used to communicate through stories, Liberty University’s Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English may be the right fit for you.

Why Choose Liberty’s Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing with a Concentration in English?

At Liberty, we seek to ensure our students receive the best education possible – regardless of subject area. Our professors have real-world experience and are specially equipped to help you develop the skills needed to distinguish yourself as an author.

Our mission here at Liberty University is to Train Champions for Christ . We teach all our courses from a Christian worldview. This gives our BS in Creative Writing – English a unique perspective on how communication is used in many media forms.

Because our degree is 100% online, you can take classes while maintaining your current commitments – both personal and professional. We are here to come alongside you and help you succeed without putting your life on hold. Partner with us, and we can work together to prepare you for an exciting career in creative writing.

What Will You Learn in Our Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English Degree?

Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing with a concentration in English contains courses designed to teach you marketable writing skills in a wide variety of genres, including poetry, novellas, memoirs, theater, and film. Other courses will cover editing for publishing, methods and materials of research, print and digital publishing, writing for cultural engagement, and a creative writing workshop.

You also can take several elective English and/or writing courses as part of your specialization. Some of the topics you could study include American literature, English literature, world literature, inspirational writing, grant writing, and fashion writing. This gives you the unique opportunity to tailor your degree to your interests and prepare specifically for your desired future career.

Featured Courses

• WRIT 201 – Introduction to Creative Writing
• WRIT 303 – Writing Poetry
• WRIT 304 – Novellas
• WRIT 400 – Editing for Publishing

Highlights of Our Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English Degree

• We are recognized by multiple institutions for our academic quality, affordability, and accessibility . Our commitment to excellence also helped us rank in the top 10% of Niche.com’s best online schools in America . Earning your online degree from a nonprofit university with this kind of recognition can help set you apart from others in your field.
• Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years — and counting.
• To continue our mission of providing affordable education,  electronic textbooks are provided for all undergraduate courses at no cost to you. As a full-time student, this could save you an estimated $800-2,000 per year on textbooks!
• You can complete this online creative writing degree in as little as 3.5 years!
• You can mix and match several English and writing electives to make your degree tailored to your interests and goals.
• Liberty University holds institutional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges ( SACSCOC ).

Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English Degree Information

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Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students from all over the globe. Whether you are a current service member, discharged or retired from service, or the spouse of a service member or veteran, we are here to support you every step of the journey.

As a thank-you for your dedication and service to our country, Liberty is honored to serve and support you in your pursuit of online education by offering the following benefits:

• Tuition discounts – $250 per credit hour for undergraduate courses
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Potential Career Opportunities for Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing – English Graduates

Admission requirements for undergraduate online degrees.

Applicants must have a 2.0 or above cumulative GPA for admission in good standing. Please visit our  admission requirements page  for more detailed admissions-related information. 

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*There is no upfront application fee; however, a deferred $50 application fee will be assessed during Financial Check-In. This fee is waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required.

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Creative Writing

Learn to express yourself creatively with the written word and craft new ideas and new worlds that inform, inspire, and entertain.

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Why Study Creative Writing?

As a creative writing major at USD, you will learn the craft of writing in multiple genres through a hands-on, action-based approach that builds writerly skills in reading, craft and technique, and creative process. Our faculty members–all published writers–challenge students to experiment and take chances, to learn from the critiques of their classmates and professors, and embrace the process of revision. At USD, you can explore writing classes in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and publishing. You also have opportunities to read your work at public events, publish your work, participate in the editing of a student-run magazine, and help manage an independent literary press. Our students graduate with marketable skills in professional writing, editing, marketing, and teaching. Many pursue graduate work.

As a creative writing major at USD, develop real world professional skills while also learning the art of writing.

Degrees & Offerings

English: creative writing specialization (b.a., b.s.).

A creative writing specialization allows an English major to extend the tradition of strong and imaginative creative storytellers, poets and creative nonfiction writers who have honed their skills at USD. Our faculty include novelists, poets, creative nonfiction and short-story writers and a South Dakota Poet Laureate. Students work in small, intimate classes on their own creative work while also gaining a firm grounding in literature and literary criticism.

A minor in creative writing allows you to combine your imaginative interests in writing with your primary major area. This minor pairs well with any Arts and Sciences majors allowing students to work with published writers to develop literary craft and artistic skills across a wide range of genres including poetry, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Program Details

Undergraduate

College of Arts & Sciences

Student Opportunities

• Editorial and Professional Opportunities
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• Gasque Study in Britain Scholarship

The Department of English offers opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in the operation of two periodicals and a literary press. South Dakota Review , a quarterly journal, publishes both creative and critical work for a national audience. Undergraduate students may assist English graduate students and faculty in the editorial and circulation duties associated with this publication.

The Vermillion Literary Project holds open-mic reading events, an annual writers festival and produces an annual anthology of local fiction, poetry and artwork entitled the Red Coyote. Undergraduate students participate in all of the group's activities. Astrophil Press produces award-winning books of literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Undergraduate students may help graduate students and faculty in management of this influential independent publishing enterprise.

Students who excel at writing can become a paid peer writing consultant at USD's Writing Center, which offers help in all areas of writing for USD students. Writing consultants receive training to assist students with any task that includes writing, including essays, reports, theses, short stories, resumes and cover letters. Working as a writing consultant gives you experience as a critical reader, proofreader and editor--all skills that will serve you in a future career.

Academic Support and Resources

USD is home to more than 170 student organizations, including several that are housed in the Department of English. For example, you may be interested in joining Vermillion Literary Project to make friends, develop new skills and explore your interests. Also, Alpha Mu Phi is USD's local chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta international English Honor Society. Students inducted into our chapter hold flash fiction contests, sponsor a little free library in the Vermillion community and present research and creative work at the national Sigma Tau Delta conference.

Get Involved

Thomas and Alice Gasque Study-in-Britain Scholarship 

English students interested in traveling abroad are encouraged to apply for the the Gasque Study-in-Britain Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a USD undergraduate with a grade point average of 3.2 or higher, with special preference given to English majors, for the purpose of studying in Great Britain.

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Investigate and gain insight into how we understand ourselves and communicate through stories, poetry and other narratives. Cultivate your ability to read and write and think about complex issues with the Department of English.

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Darlene Farabee

Duncan Barlow

Prentiss Clark

Pete Dexter

John Dudley

Paul Formisano

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Julie Kelderman

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Home > Learn More About Creative writing > Top 15+ Creative Writing Course in USA: 2024 [Updated]

Top 15+ Creative Writing Course in USA: 2024 [Updated]

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Table of Contents

In this blog, we will be talking about what Creative Writing Course in USA is, its type as well as the institutes that provide Creative Writing course. A Creative Writing Course will give you expert guidance in sharpening your artistic talents.

Now let’s go through the

Top 10 Creative Writing Course in USA,

1. Henry Harvin

About the course, content writing courses with gold membership.

45-min online masterclass with skill certification on completion

Mentored By Chetan Bhagat

Access Expires in 24Hrs

Register Now for Free

Upcoming Batches of Creative Writing Courses :-

Duration: 16hrs Live Online Classroom Training

Trainer: Passionate writers with 10+years of experience

Live Projects:  Experience Industry Projects

Internship: You will get to work with Henry Harvin or partner firms

Job Opportunities: Job Opportunities every week 

Benefits of the course

1. UNDERSTAND

Here you will understand the principles of creative writing.

Here you will become a creative writing enthusiast and learn to apply the basic rules and conventions to their creative writing.

3. DEMONSTRATE

You will be able to demonstrate a broad understanding of pieces of literature.

You can apply the principles of creative writing to pen down poems, stories, blogs, or essays.

You will master the universal foundation that helps in writing great fiction.

Why choose Henry Harvin’s Creative Writing Course?

Ranking: Ranked No.1 Writing Course by Trainings360

Employment Support: Live Projects + Internship + Weekly Job Support

Certification: Get Certified Creative Writer certification from Henry Harvin Education with affiliations from the American Association of EFL, UK Cert, UKAF, Content Writing Association in India, MSME & Govt of India

Who Can Attend?

• Digital Marketers / Business Development professionals
• Existing entrepreneurs/business owners
• Professors / Teachers / Trainers
• Bloggers / Content Writers
• Housewives / Retired / Unemployed individuals
• Aspiring entrepreneurs
• Professionals / Corporates

Also Henry Harvin Provides These Courses

Content Writing Course: Content writers endeavors to elevate their writing performance by upgrading their skills. You can learn pinpoints of content writing after completion of this course. Henry Harvin provides assistance in content writing courses to reach the paradise of your career. You can learn a myriad of writing styles after completing the course. You can improve your grammatical segment as well as lexis to make your writing magnificent. Instructors can guide you through experiential teaching and learning. Moreover, it elevates your propensity towards writing.

Content writing is the core segment of marketing and entices readers to promulgate your brand. You can accumulate web traffic after a fascinating write-up. Henry Harvin encourages you to write in different ways.

Research Writing Course: Research writing is an elucidation of the problems. It includes ascertaining the problems, formulating a research plan. Subsequently, research writers have to gather information based upon evidence. They have to make possible explanations that are known as hypotheses. When hypotheses are experimentally verified, it transforms into theories. Moreover, research writers reach a conclusion. Theories are always based on logic.

Henry Harvin teaches the fine art of research writing to convert complex write-ups into simple and well-structured for target audiences. Research writing comprises three phases namely, the planning phase, the research phase, and eventually the presentation phase. They proffer the experiential learning process of this course.

Technical Writing Course: Technical writing highlights the factors that ascertain the level of technicality of the language and concepts. Technical writing is essential to communicate information acquired through a process of technical or experimental work. Moreover, it develops technical writing prowess to pen down your technical terms into more simple ones that can be understood.

Henry Harvin helps you in writing different technical reports, for instance, laboratory reports, research reports, design and feasibility reports, progress reports, consulting reports, etc. It provides a practical platform to explore more in technical writing. Moreover, an industry-experienced instructor will give you proper guidance to become proficient in technical writing.

Check Henry Harvin Other Courses

• Technical Writing Course
• Content Writing Course
• Medical Writing Course

Henry Harvin Provide Creative Writing courses in these Cities

Mumbai ,  Hyderabad ,  Indore ,  Jaipur ,  Chennai ,  Delhi ,  Noida

Henry Harvin Creative Writing Course Ranks #1 in India by  India Today ,  The Statesman

2.  Northwestern University

Northwestern is an elite private university built in Evanston, Illinois in the Chicago Area. It is a mid-size institution with a registration of 8,161 undergraduate students.

There is extreme competition for admission as the Northwestern acceptance rate is only 8%. Most recognized majors include Economics, Psychology, and Journalism. Graduating 95% of pupils, Northwestern alumni go on to receive a starting salary of $58,900.

Northwestern University is a privately owned 4-year research institution in the Chicagoland area. Northwestern has accommodation of 12 colleges and schools and is prominent for its Medill School of Journalism, Kellogg School of Management, and Bienen School of Music.

Added to these academic facilities, the NU campus features the Dearborn Observatory and Shakespeare Garden. To escape the rigors of academia, NU’s location in the town of Evanston provides access to recreational facilities too like coffee shops, theatres, and the city of Chicago.

3. Dartmouth College

Dartmouth is an A-list private college located in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is a small institution with 4,357 undergraduate students.

The competition for admission is extremely high as the Dartmouth acceptance rate is only 9%. Well known majors comprise of Economics, Political Science and Government, and Computer Science. Graduating 95% of students, Dartmouth alumni go on to earn a great starting salary.

4. Emory University

Emory University, situated in Atlanta, Georgia  is a liberal arts institution, with another campus in the Oxford. The campus is stretched over a vast land of 600 acre in the Druid Hills neighbourhood has four undergraduate and seven graduate colleges.

The University has over a dozen research centers and facilities that give more than half of Emory undergraduates with research opportunities. The Atlanta campus provide Bachelors of both arts, and sciences, BSNs and BBAs, while the Oxford College campus provides associates of arts, altogether providing more than 70 majors and 50 minors.

With a campus situated only three miles away from downtown Atlanta, students can use the 2,000 internship possible  opportunities in the city or supplement their horizons through the 135 study abroad programs initiatives outside of it.

Emory University presents sustainability measures all over campus as well as within the classroom, including sustainability courses in 61% of its departments.

5. Oberlin College

There are a number of educational resources on campus, that comprises of the Allen Memorial Art Museum’s always free of cost events and exhibits, the Center for Innovation & Impact, and also a performing arts coffeehouse popularly called The Cat in the Cream Coffeehouse.

Oberlin is historically progressive college and its Memorial Arch on campus has been cited a site for activism, as well as protest, for several years.

6. Brandeis University

Brandeis University is a private, non-sectarian institution set-up by the Jewish community and named after the Supreme Court’s first Jewish justice. The 235-acre campus is settled in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, and home to more than 100 academic and residential buildings.

As a much appreciated and recognised research university, Brandeis’ motto of “Truth, Even Unto Its Innermost Parts” is upheld in the number of centers and institutes dotting its campus. Which they have also made it a preference to include undergraduate students.

In its 13 th year, Brandeis received Phi Beta Kappa recognition, making a history for being the youngest university to do so, and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management has a combination of social welfare and policy making it the first school in the US to do so.

7. Hamilton College

Hamilton college is well known 4-year liberal arts college located in central New York, named for Alexander Hamilton and founded in 1812. Hamilton confers undergraduate degrees in around 43 academic concentrations and features an open curriculum policy.

To provide space for students interested in the fine and performing arts, Hamilton has provided access to the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts. Hamilton holds an annual sprint triathlon every spring known as Ham Trek for interested student-athletes.

8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT is a private college located in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the Boston Area. It is a small institution with a registration of 4,557 undergraduate students.

There is extremely high competition as the MIT acceptance rate is only 7%. Well-liked majors comprise Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Mathematics. Graduating 94% of students, MIT alumni go on to receive an average  starting salary of $82,200.

9. Brown University

Most desired majors compromise Computer Science, Economics, and Biology. Graduating 95% of students, Brown alumni go on to receive a starting salary of at least $52,500.

10. Columbia University

This place is distinct from any other. Where a renowned Core Curriculum is powered by an incredibly diverse community.

Columbia University is a privately owned research university situated in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was founded in 1754. The urban Ivy League campus has accommodation of 17 libraries and 20 schools, which offer over 350 majors, as well as the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest cathedral worldwide.

6,000 undergraduate students from all around the 50 states and more than 100 countries with different diversities find a favoured place in the residential campus in Morningside Heights: your corner of New York City.

Undergraduates in the college can select from about 100 areas of study and boost their classroom conversations through research at 200+ research centers and institutes.

Columbia education will be the foundation base for a lifetime of learning, collaboration, and the unending pursuit of truth and understanding.

As the birthplace of FM radio and the very first literary magazine in the nation, this university has a well desired Journalism School, and houses the records of winning Pulitzer Prize entries in journalism dating to the present goes back to the early 1917.

11. Harvard University

Harvard University offers various creative writing course in USA to its undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and cross-registrable students from other universities. Each program has a capacity of 12 participants. Moreover, the best creative writing classes are offered during the fall or spring. Students must apply to the course of their choosing before the application deadline. Undergraduates have the option to participate in both workshop and seminar formats for their Creative Writing Course in USA. Students write inventive works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction to practice and hone their critical thinking skills.

12. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

The university offers undergraduate students minor in creative writing courses in USA. Over thirty departments on campus provide a variety of approved courses for students to choose from. To complete the course, students must select three creative writing courses and two academic courses from any department. Students must declare their minor by the end of the term preceding their anticipated graduation term.

Students can select beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes based on their preferences. The application date for Spring 2023 is on November. 

13. Stanford University

The Creative Writing program at Stanford is among the top in the nation. It offers workshop-based and independent tutoring for its creative writing major and minor courses. The English major comprises fourteen courses, eight of which are English classes and six of which are creative writing classes. The minor consists of six courses, and students must pick between prose, poetry, and fiction. Stanford also offers the best online creative writing course.

They provide creative writing course in USA in various genres, such as fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, etc. Students are required to apply to enrol in one of the many available courses. All majors and minors can enrol in the best online creative writing course.

14. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago offers a creative writing concentration. There are three primary genres: fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Furthermore, the curriculum includes many courses, advanced workshops, technical seminars, and a thesis. 

Students must declare their major at the end of the third year’s Autumn quarter.

The undergraduate curriculum combines workshops and seminars in creative writing course in USA. Students create imaginative works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for the purpose of critical critique. Additionally, the university offers the best creative writing classes. Students may follow either a single genre or a combination of two genres (Poetry, Fiction, or Nonfiction).

15. New York University (NYU)

NYU is the premier institution for the study of literature and writing. NYU’s creative writing department, housed in a West 10th Street townhouse, welcomes students to participate in workshops, events, and other activities. NYU provides graduate students with an MFA in Creative Writing and a Creative Writing Minor for undergraduates.

 In addition to literary outreach activities, teaching opportunities, a reading series, seminars, contests, and summer programs in New York, Paris, and Florence, the program includes other components. 

The courses include poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, essay, memoir, travel writing, documentary writing, and theatre. For the creative writing course in USA, students must choose five courses.

What do you know about Creative Writing?

Creative writing is a way to express ideas and thoughts in an imaginative way, here you are free to express feelings and emotions in your writing style. There are three major creative writing genres: short story, narrative essay, and memoir.

Good writing is a craft, and the impact of a work of literature is dependent on the writer’s skill. And hence, a Creative writing course can help you become a more sound writer.

Creative Writing is the study and practice of new literary works. We all know writing has different purposes. Some of the writing forms inform, such as technical or academic. Some writing reports, however, exist to tell a story or signify an idea.

During this quarantine you can improve your writing skills with the help of creative writing course online , you can choose essay writing, grammar, business writing and more from top universities. You can learn to produce clear and effective written communications.

Creative writing has many forms and literature and poetry are the most well-known form of creative writing.

Why choose Creative Writing?

A career in writing is a difficult thing to look up to, so while choosing this path many questions may arise in your subconsciousness. The questions like

• what will you get to learn during this course
• the potential careers that you can choose

If you are innovative, have a good command of English, and are able to make connections then you are perfect for the job. You can opt for novel writing, poetry or any other form of creative writing to gain more knowledge about this area.

The creative writing course or degree will allow you to analyze the existing literature works and use this as your reference for your own creative works.

If you are a person who like creating original works like, stories, poems or a blog then Creative Writing may be right up your street.

The skills that you will learn while studying Creative Writing in any of the top institutes can make you highly employable in areas like:

• Creative Industries
• PR & Marketing
• Social Media

Some examples of creative writing

• Short Story
• Movie Script

Why Creative Writing is Important?

Creative Writing can help you in building a career, but studying creative writing can engross you with a range of other fields. Character development and other writing practices can help you think in new ways.

You can focus on and build communication skills by learning creative non-fiction. Even the short story can guide you on how to make an excellent point.

Looking beyond these skills, creativity is also a critical part of the human experience. You need to develop your empathy and expand your horizons with a creative discipline and see what it can do for you.

Studying creative writing can help you with a variety of other fields. Like earlier said, non-fiction writing can help you to focus on and build communication skills and short story can teach you how to make an excellent point.

Writing could help with your mental health and overall well-being. It will teach you empathy. Creative writers are often innovative individuals, they have the ability to make connections where other people wouldn’t.

You can improve your skills with free creative writing course online in essay writing, grammar, business writing and more from top universities. You will learn how to improve your creative writing process to produce clear and effective written communications.

Elements of Creative Writing?

• Unique Plot
• Character Development
• POV (Point Of View)
• Emotional Appeal
• Imaginative Language
• Visual Description

Recommended Read-  

Why Henry Harvin Content Writing Course

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  creative writing course in navi mumbai  ,   9 best creative writing course in kolkata  ,   best creative writing course in bangalore,   creative writing course in guwahati.

As a software engineer what skills should I pursue to be successful in 2020?

What are the trending software technologies in 2020? What opportunities should I explore?

Is there any certification that I should go for, to boost my software engineering career?

If you have any of the above questions, most likely you are a software engineer or an aspiring software engineer. Software Engineering is one of the most sought after careers. Most of the professionals get attracted to it because of its handsome remuneration. However, software engineering being a very dynamic field, needs its professionals to keep themselves constantly updated with changing tools and technologies. This is precisely the reason, some professionals are most sought after in this industry and some are not. Keeping track of all such changes and pursuing all of them as they change is impossible. 

Here we list out top 10 skills required for software engineers to be successful in this year.

1. Data Science Skills

Data Science is a multidimensional field that wields,

Business acumen 

Scientific methods

Data Science uses these components for the extraction of information. Moreover, it discerns from structured and unstructured data and executes cognition and practicable insights from data.

Henry Harvin’s Data Science Course provides you hands-on experience and training in Data Science. Henry Harvin offers 40-hours training and free brush-up sessions. Henry Harvin gives a chance to experience industry projects.

RPA Course is Robotic process automation t hat emerges as a prime technology for reorganizing business processes. It helps IT professionals to expedite the novice  RPA tools and practices. It is a software development that curtails the efforts of humans by making a wield of Artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Henry Harvin gives you the tips to execute RPA solutions in your organization. Henry Harvin, upgrade your RPA prowess by complete prop up and interactive sessions.

Expert trainers of Henry Harvin show you the facets of RPA and provide internship programs for exposure to the leading industry. 

1. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) are the buzzwords in the market. The hype is justified, given its possibilities and applications. It is still in its nascent stage, yet, has shown promise and students with a degree in AI and ML are hired at a very handsome package.

AI and ML opens up possibilities not only for greater remunerations but also the satisfaction of building something unique. There have been some amazing implementations using this. Your software engineer skills will get thoroughly tested and challenged to bring out unique solutions to the problem at hand. 

An AI and ML professional is widely respected in the software engineer community for his/her software developer skills. There are many online courses, distance learning opportunities, and on campus curriculum providing AI and ML related courses.

2. Cloud Computing Literacy

Software engineer skills, like staying open to fresh things, adoption of distinct software languages, tools and techniques go a long way. The major cloud offerings are proprietary and thus get governed by their own set of tools and methodologies. However, a generic idea of how things operate and expertise in at least one of such platforms open scope for one to work comfortably in most cloud environments. 

Training, courseware and certification are provided by respective cloud service providers. For Google Cloud you get certified by Google, For AWS(Amazon Web Services) you get certified from Amazon and for Azure you get certified by Microsoft.

3. Security Expertise

With an increase in solutions getting online, for wider availability and acceptance, most data which used to reside on stand-alone databases or servers, are now on the move over the internet. This not only increases accessibility, ease of use and convenience but also risks to that data during transit. 

Software and data security is a vast field. You can make an entire career out of it. There are a variety of fields of application, a multitude of tools to use and management processes. There are many certifications available for this field of software engineering. Your s oftware engineer skills are put to test in this field almost everyday due to evolution of threats very frequently.

Remuneration wise this skill is valuable as software security specialists are highly sought after professionals in the industry. With certifications like CEH, CISSP, ECSA, CISM etc the value increases even more.

4. Software Testing Basics

When I mention software testing basics as an in-demand skill, some who are familiar with the industry may disapprove. However, truth be told, earlier dedicated software testing roles are getting mutated into automation testing or into coders for maintaining existing software codes. 

Then why am I saying software testing is an essential skill? Because, since the dedicated tester roles are getting obliterated, every software developer has to be a tester besides his development profile. They have to understand software testing principles, techniques and methods to be effective in testing their own piece of code. They have to integrate testing as a quality assurance trait into their software developer skills.

In an organisation where they follow latest trends, processes for software development, they would not hire dedicated full-time testers; instead they will groom their engineers to develop software engineer skills which should definitely have a decent amount of software testing fundamentals covered.

5. Docker and Kubernetes

With the increase in usage of cloud based environments, a hunt for a convenient software shipping solution began. Docker was the answer. Docker allows all your configuration to be saved easily in images and shipped for further usage. Without the need of any major setups that span across multiple softwares or dependencies, one can directly start using the docker images. Not only convenience, docker also provides optimal usage of underlying hardware in your hosting environment. 

Kubernetes is the orchestration tool for Docker that significantly adds to the capabilities of Docker. With Kubernetes, Docker’s true potential of being a very dependable and convenient containerization solution can be exploited.

This is definitely one of the skills required for software engineers this year and many more years to come to be successful. Being a relatively new technology, this also has tremendous earning potential if one becomes an expert in using this platform.

DevOps includes a large Tool-chain to achieve the primary goal of enriching customer experience and reducing time to market all the while adding more quality to the software product. This is achieved by continuous integration of improvements on the live software. One can learn and be a master of some tools from the various aspects of Devops like Coding, Building, Testing, Packaging, Releasing, Configuring and Monitoring to add to the overall progress of the software. Getting familiar with this new mode of execution, all in the meantime adding to his/her software engineer skills will ensure the professional never goes out of demand.

7. Professional Networking

This is the age of collaboration, to leverage market opportunities and maximize profits. For example, you may have something excellent that addresses some important use case of the customer, but you may not have the means to reach out to the customer at their convenience or in a specific market. Here, you can find a suitable business partner and collaborate with them to use their solution or market presence to increase your business gains. In exchange, the partner can also gain some from your expertise, products, a share of your revenue and increase credibility in the market for future collaborations.

Not only business gains but also you can get lessons, best practices from peers in other companies to improve your competencies, processes and knowledge of new tools and technologies. The more you collaborate, more chances are there for your software developer skills to get exposure and recognition. If you are recognized in a professional circle, then chances of landing a desired job balloons up significantly.

This is one of the trending, and important skills required for software engineers in this era of professional interdependence.

With the increase in computer literacy, availability of mobile computing devices (including your mobile phone) to the masses, it becomes important for you to make your software as presentable as possible. There are few web frameworks that make lucid user interfaces that fit both on the Desktop Web and mobile Web with ease. Angular is at the forefront of such technologies. It becomes extremely important to have a neat, accurate, attractive and efficient website to stay relevant in this changing market. 

You can significantly boost your demand in the industry by including Angular expertise in your software developer skills list. Most companies adopting Angular are now looking for professionals adept in this technology. However, this technology being relatively new, has less practicing professionals. This has led to hiring such professionals at a higher pay package. It can definitely be considered as one of the skills required for software engineers in this year to be successful.

9. Internet of Things

The Internet of Things can be best imagined by taking the example of a smart home solution. Elaborating, it is the inter-operation of various electronic devices, primarily interfaced via sensors over a network to carry out intended functionalities; mostly driven and orchestrated remotely. 

A lot of technologies like machine learning, real-time analysis, commodity sensors and embedded systems go into achieving the complete use cases of IoT. Your software engineer skills will need to be innovative enough to fit useful code in smaller form factor hardware, limited bandwidth internet connection and adopt wireless technology protocols. If you are dealing with Realtime devices that have critical functionalities like medical implementations then you need to make them extra resilient to failure.

To be successful in this domain, in addition to your component, it is advisable to have an idea of the complete picture. This will help you grow into a solutions consultant role. As a solutions consultant, you will need to see use cases that others cannot and thus be successful in this field. Because of unavailability of common standard till now, we can say IOT still has a lot of scope to grow and open its wings. Solution consultants being some reference point, are in high demand in companies that provide IoT solutions.

10. Management and Certifications

One of the most underrated software engineer skills is to mature from being an individual technical contributor to handling higher roles by growing into a manager without a formal degree. With a lot of technologies changing overnight, it is important to adapt to such changes in your management style.  

Besides, new process certifications like Agile Certification and its derivatives you can rely on some old but industry proven certifications like Six Sigma that help you grow into a thorough management professional. Besides, your technical background, such management skills will add even more value to your profile and distinguish you over your peers.

Conclusion:

Software Engineer Skills being very dynamic because of the rate at which technology changes, by the time you go through this blog, it is possible that the technologies mentioned here have become obsolete. Still the takeaway from this blog should be to stay open to fresh things and keep upgrading your skills instead of taking this blog as a cornerstone of your career. 

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Content Writing Course with Gold Membership

*Learn from South Asia's Oldest Content Writing Course | Recognized by American Association of EFL, Content Writing Association of India, UK Cert, UKAF & MSME | Guaranteed Live Projects & Internship Opportunity.

Technical Writing Course with Gold Membership

*A cutting-edge Technical Writing Course which teaches you the fine art of transforming data and information accumulated through a process or experimental work into technical documentations and guides.

Creative Writing Courses with Gold Membership

Henry Harvin® Creative Writing Course Ranks#1 in India by The Statesman! Creative Master the creative writing skills to compose engaging Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Drama, and Poetry that will snap a reader’s curiosity from the advent to end of your write-up.

Medical Writing Training Course and Certificate

A one-of-a-kind Medical Writing course which helps you get a thorough understanding of pharmaceutical regulatory writing as well as medico-marketing writing. Strengthen your writing prowess as you boost your skills as a medical and scientific writer. The Certified Medical Writer(CMW) certification is your key to success.

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21 comments.

My aim was to get a job and I wanted to join an institute that provides me with a guarantee of placement. Henry Harvin did just that and although I am yet to apply for the creative writing exam I am already working as a content writer fresher. Henry Harvin prepared me for an extensive interview and written test, which companies conducted and I was able to clear it with very much ease.

Thank you so much for your encouraging feedback. We always strive to offer you a delightful learning experience. Happy learning!

I had come across many institutes for this course but after Evaluating options and reading this article it has cleared all my doubts and queries . This article on is amazing in deciding among the top Creative Writing Course in USA

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34736 Tuxedo Cmns Fremont, CA 94555, United States

FREE 15min Course Guidance Session:

Program Code: CRWE.S.AA • Credit Hours: 61

Description.

The Creative Writing Program is designed specifically for students interested in studying how to write original creative work, including poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Students hone their writing skills and learn about the world of publishing in this program, as well. Graduates of this program are well-prepared to transfer to a four-year college or university to continue their studies. The curriculum fulfills the freshman and sophomore general education requirements of most four-year colleges and universities. . As part of this degree program, students must complete the requirements of the Ohio Transfer 36 in order to graduate.

Program Requirements

• BIS 1120 - Introduction to Software Applications
• COM 2206 - Interpersonal Communication OR
• COM 2211 - Effective Public Speaking OR
• COM 2225 - Small Group Communication
• ENG 1101 - English Composition I
• ENG 1201 - English Composition II
• ENG 2250 - Introduction to Creative Writing
• ENG 2262 - Writing to Publish

Choose three courses from:

• ENG 2255 - Poetry Writing AND/OR
• ENG 2256 - Fiction Writing AND/OR
• ENG 2257 - Creative Writing: Nonfiction AND/OR
• ENG 2259 - Novel Writing
• LIT 2220 - Introduction to Literature
• LIT 2217 - Images of Women in Literature OR
• LIT 2234 - Literature of Africa, Asia, & Latin America OR
• LIT 2236 - African-American Literature
• OT36 Arts & Humanities Elective    (at least one non-LIT)  6   Cr. Hr(s).
• OT36 Mathematics Elective     3   Cr. Hr(s).
• OT36 Natural & Physical Sciences Elective     6   Cr. Hr(s).
• OT36 Social & Behavioral Sciences Elective     (at least two disciplines)  9   Cr. Hr(s).
• Language Elective 4   Cr. Hr(s).

Language Elective 4 Cr. Hr.

• CHN 1101 - Elementary Chinese I
• FRE 1101 - Elementary French I
• GER 1101 - Elementary German I
• JPN 1101 - Elementary Japanese I
• SPA 1101 - Elementary Spanish I

Lewis Center for the Arts’ Princeton Atelier presents a concert of original songs by students in the spring course, “How to Write a Song”

Princeton students perform April 23 at 4:30 p.m. at Frist Film/Performance Theatre

Students in Princeton University’s spring course, “How to Write a Song,” offered by the Princeton Atelier at the Lewis Center for the Arts, will present a concert of original songs on Tuesday, April 23, at 4:30 p.m. in the Frist Film/Performance Theatre at Frist Campus Center on the Princeton campus. The students will present selected new songs with music and lyrics written over the past semester. The concert is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at [email protected] at least one week prior to the event date.

Students and instructor Bridget Kearney who will perform new songs they have written in the spring Princeton Atelier course “How to Write a Song.” Photo credit: Brandon Le

“How to Write a Song” is taught this semester by Bridget Kearney, a founding member of the band Lake Street Dive. Each week the students, all with varying levels of literary and musical backgrounds, split into different groupings of four or five participants and wrote lyrics and composed tunes on an assigned emotional topic, such as gratitude, loss, protest, desire, joyousness, remorse, and defiance. At each class, the students performed their pieces for Kearney and their classmates, who then provided critiques. Guest critics and singer/songwriters joined the class to share their experience and to listen to and provide feedback to the student songwriters. Some of the guests this semester included Arooj Aftab, Cautious Clay and Akie Bermiss.

“The class has really dug deep over the course of the semester and written over 100 songs, honing their craft as lyricists, baring their souls in song and even trying some new instruments for the first time,” said Kearney. “No subject matter has been overlooked, from zooming in on the overlooked beauties of everyday life to zooming out to global and generational stories. We’ll be selecting our favorite songs from the semester to share at the final concert, and it is sure to bring the house down!”

The Princeton Atelier , celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, was founded by Princeton Professor Emerita Toni Morrison and is directed by Paul Muldoon, Princeton’s Howard G.B. Clark ’21 Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Creative Writing. The Atelier brings professional artists from different disciplines together with Princeton faculty and students to create new work in the context of a semester-long course that usually culminates in the public presentation of the new work. Participating Atelier artists often select a project they want to explore and experiment within the context of a class with Princeton students before developing it for the professional art world. Previous artists have included the choreographer Jacques d’Amboise, cellist Yo-yo Ma, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, theater artist Basil Twist, choreographer Monica Bill Barnes, the theater ensemble Elevator Repair Service, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, and the Wakka Wakka puppet theater.

Kearney, who has co-taught “How to Write a Song” with Muldoon in past years, is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. A founding member of the band Lake Street Dive, she has performed at Radio City Music Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and The White House South Lawn, as well as appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Ellen , and Conan . Her 3rd solo album, Comeback Kid , comes out this month on Keeled Scales. With Lake Street Dive she will release a new album in June and headline Madison Square Garden in September. Kearney holds a Bachelors in Music from the New England Conservatory in Jazz Studies (bass) and Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University in English.

Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about the Princeton Atelier, the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the more than 100 public performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts, lectures, and special events presented by the Lewis Center each year, most of them free.

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Lewis Center for the Arts’ Princeton Atelier presents Mr g: A Play About the Creation

Program in Creative Writing Celebrates National Poetry Month 2024

How to Write a Song: Concert of New Songs

How to Write a Song

Bridget Kearney

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Spring 2025 Semester

Undergraduate courses.

Composition courses that offer many sections (ENGL 101, 201, 277 and 379) are not listed on this schedule unless they are tailored to specific thematic content or particularly appropriate for specific programs and majors.

• 100-200 level

ENGL 201.ST2 Composition II: The Mind/Body Connection

Dr. sharon smith.

In this online section of English 201, students will use research and writing to learn more about problems that are important to them and articulate ways to address those problems. The course will focus specifically on issues related to the body, the mind, and the relationship between them. The topics we will discuss during the course will include the correlation between social media and body image; the psychological effects of self-objectification; and the unique mental and physical challenges faced by college students today, including food insecurity and stress.

English 201 S06 and S11: Composition II with an emphasis in Environmental Writing

S06: MWF at 10:00 – 10:50 in Yeager Hall Addition 231

S11: MWF at 12:00 – 12:50 in Crothers Engineering Hall 217

Gwen Horsley

English 201 will help students develop skills to write effectively for other university courses, careers, and themselves. This course will provide opportunities to further develop research skills, to write vividly, and to share their own stories and ideas. Specifically, in this class, students will (1) focus on the relationships between world environments, land, animals and humankind; (2) read various essays by environmental, conservational, and regional authors; and (3) produce student writings. Students will improve their writing skills by reading essays and applying techniques they witness in others’ work and those learned in class. This class is also a course in logical and creative thought. Students will write about humankind’s place in the world and our influence on the land and animals, places that hold special meaning to them or have influenced their lives, and stories of their own families and their places and passions in the world. Students will practice writing in an informed and persuasive manner, in language that engages and enlivens readers by using vivid verbs and avoiding unnecessary passives, nominalizations, and expletive constructions.

Students will prepare writing assignments based on readings and discussions of essays included in Literature and the Environment and other sources. They will use The St. Martin’s Handbook to review grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and usage as needed.

Required Text: Literature and the Environment: A Reader On Nature and Culture. 2nd ed., edited by Lorraine Anderson, Scott Slovic, and John P. O’Grady.

LING 203.S01 English Grammar

TuTh 12:30-1:45

Dr. Nathan Serfling

The South Dakota State University 2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog describes LING 203 as consisting of “[i]nstruction in the theory and practice of traditional grammar including the study of parts of speech, parsing, and practical problems in usage.”

“Grammar” is a mercurial term, though. Typically, we think of it to mean “correct” sentence structure, and, indeed, that is one of its meanings. But Merriam-Webster reminds us “grammar” also refers to “the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique,” taking it beyond the confines of syntactic structures. Grammar also evolves in practice through application (and social, historical, economic changes, among others). Furthermore, grammar evolves as a concept as scholars and educators in the various fields of English studies debate the definition and nature of grammar, including how well its explicit instruction improves students’ writing. In this course, we will use the differing sensibilities, definitions, and fluctuations regarding grammar to guide our work. We will examine the parts of speech, address syntactic structures and functions, and parse and diagram sentences. We will also explore definitions of and debates about grammar. All of this will occur in units about the rules and structures of grammar; the application of grammar rhetorically and stylistically; and the debates surrounding various aspects of grammar, including, but not limited to, its instruction.

ENGL 210 Introduction to Literature

Jodi andrews.

Readings in fiction, drama and poetry to acquaint students with literature and aesthetic form. Prerequisites: ENGL 101. Notes: Course meets SGR #4 or IGR #3.

ENGL 222 British Literature II

TuTh 9:30-10:45 a.m.

This course serves as a chronological survey of the second half of British literature. Students will read a variety of texts from the Romantic period, the Victorian period, and the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, placing these texts within their historical and literary contexts and identifying the major characteristics of the literary periods and movements that produced them.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature

Randi l. anderson.

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various types of juvenile literature.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature: 5-12 Grade

In English 240 students will develop the skills to interpret and evaluate various genres of literature for juvenile readers. This particular section will focus on various works of literature at approximately the 5th-12th grade level.

Readings for this course include works such as Night, Brown Girl Dreaming, All American Boys, Esperanza Rising, Anne Frank’s Diary: A Graphic Adaptation, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, The Giver, The Hobbit, Little Women, and Lord of the Flies . These readings will be paired with chapters from Reading Children’s Literature: A Critical Introduction to help develop understanding of various genres, themes, and concepts that are both related to juvenile literature, and also present in our readings.

In addition to exploring various genres of writing (poetry, non-fiction, fantasy, historical, non-fiction, graphic novels, etc.) this course will also allow students to engage in a discussion of larger themes present in these works such as censorship, race, rebellion and dissent, power and oppression, gender, knowledge, and the power of language and the written word. Students’ understanding of these works and concepts will be developed through readings, discussion posts, quizzes, and exams.

ENGL 240.ST2 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

April myrick.

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various genres of juvenile literature. Text selection will focus on the themes of imagination and breaking boundaries.

ENGL 242.S01 American Literature II

TuTh 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Dr. Paul Baggett

This course surveys a range of U.S. literatures from about 1865 to the present, writings that treat the end of slavery and the development of a segregated America, increasingly urbanized and industrialized U.S. landscapes, waves of immigration, and the fulfilled promise of “America” as imperial nation. The class will explore the diversity of identities represented during that time, and the problems/potentials writers imagined in response to the century’s changes—especially literature’s critical power in a time of nation-building. Required texts for the course are The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1865 to the Present and Toni Morrison’s A Mercy.

WMST 247.S01: Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

TuTh 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

As an introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies, this course considers the experiences of women and provides an overview of the history of feminist thought and activism, particularly within the United States. Students will also consider the concepts of gender and sexuality more broadly to encompass a diversity of gender identifications and sexualities and will explore the degree to which mainstream feminism has—and has not—accommodated this diversity. The course will focus in particular on the ways in which gender and sexuality intersect with race, class, ethnicity, and disability. Topics and concepts covered will include: movements for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights; gender, sexuality, and the body; intersectionality; rape culture; domestic and gender violence; reproductive rights; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW); and more.

ENGL 283.S01 Introduction to Creative Writing

MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.

Prof. Steven Wingate

Students will explore the various forms of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) not one at a time in a survey format—as if there were decisive walls of separation between then—but as intensely related genres that share much of their creative DNA. Through close reading and work on personal texts, students will address the decisions that writers in any genre must face on voice, rhetorical position, relationship to audience, etc. Students will produce and revise portfolios of original creative work developed from prompts and research. This course fulfills the same SGR #2 requirements ENGL 201; note that the course will involve creative research projects. Successful completion of ENGL 101 (including by test or dual credit) is a prerequisite.

English 284: Introduction to Criticism

TuTh 12:30-1:45 p.m.

This course introduces students to selected traditions of literary and cultural theory and to some of the key issues that animate discussion among literary scholars today. These include questions about the production of cultural value, about ideology and hegemony, about the patriarchal and colonial bases of Western culture, and about the status of the cultural object, of the cultural critic, and of cultural theory itself.

To address these and other questions, we will survey the history of literary theory and criticism (a history spanning 2500 years) by focusing upon a number of key periods and -isms: Greek and Roman Classicism, The Middle Ages and Renaissance, The Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Formalism, Historicism, Political Criticism (Marxism, Post-Colonialism, Feminism, et al.), and Psychological Criticism. We also will “test” various theories we discuss by examining how well they account for and help us to understand various works of poetry and fiction.

• 300-400 level

ENGL 330.S01 Shakespeare

TuTh 8:00-9:15 a.m.

Dr. Michael S. Nagy

This course will focus on William Shakespeare’s poetic and dramatic works and on the cultural and social contexts in which he wrote them. In this way, we will gain a greater appreciation of the fact that literature does not exist in a vacuum, for it both reflects and influences contemporary and subsequent cultures. Text: The Riverside Shakespeare: Complete Works. Ed. Evans, G. Blakemore and J. J. M. Tobin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

ENGL 363 Science Fiction

MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.

This course explores one of the most significant literary genres of the past century in fiction and in film. We will focus in particular on the relationship between science fiction works and technological and social developments, with considerable attention paid to the role of artificial intelligence in the human imagination. Why does science fiction seem to predict the future? What do readers and writers of the genre hope to find in it? Through readings and viewings of original work, as well as selected criticism in the field, we will address these and other questions. Our reading and viewing selections will include such artists as Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Stanley Kubrick, and Phillip K. Dick. Students will also have ample opportunity to introduce the rest of the class to their own favorite science fiction works.

ENGL 383.S01 Creative Writing I

MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m.

Amber Jensen

Creative Writing I encourages students to strengthen poetry, creative nonfiction, and/or fiction writing skills through sustained focus on creative projects throughout the course (for example, collections of shorter works focused on a particular form/style/theme, longer prose pieces, hybrid works, etc.). Students will engage in small- and large-group writing workshops as well as individual conferences with the instructor throughout the course to develop a portfolio of creative work. The class allows students to explore multiple genres through the processes of writing and revising their own creative texts and through writing workshop, emphasizing the application of craft concepts across genre, but also allows students to choose one genre of emphasis, which they will explore through analysis of self-select texts, which they will use to deepen their understanding of the genre and to contextualize their own creative work.

ENGL 475.S01 Creative Nonfiction

Mondays 3:00-5:50 p.m.

In this course, students will explore the expansive and exciting genre of creative nonfiction, including a variety of forms such as personal essay, braided essay, flash nonfiction, hermit crab essays, profiles, and more. Through rhetorical reading, discussion, and workshop, students will engage published works, their own writing process, and peer work as they expand their understanding of the possibilities presented in this genre and the craft elements that can be used to shape readers’ experience of a text. Students will compile a portfolio of polished work that demonstrates their engagement with course concepts and the writing process.

ENGL 485.S01 Writing Center Tutoring

MW 8:30-9:45 a.m.

Since their beginnings in the 1920s and 30s, writing centers have come to serve numerous functions: as hubs for writing across the curriculum initiatives, sites to develop and deliver workshops, and resource centers for faculty as well as students, among other functions. But the primary function of writing centers has necessarily and rightfully remained the tutoring of student writers. This course will immerse you in that function in two parts. During the first four weeks, you will explore writing center praxis—that is, the dialogic interplay of theory and practice related to writing center work. This part of the course will orient you to writing center history, key theoretical tenets and practical aspects of writing center tutoring. Once we have developed and practiced this foundation, you will begin work in the writing center as a tutor, responsible for assisting a wide variety of student clients with numerous writing tasks. Through this work, you will learn to actively engage with student clients in the revision of a text, respond to different student needs and abilities, work with a variety of writing tasks and rhetorical situations and develop a richer sense of writing as a complex and negotiated social process.

ENGL 492.S01 The Vietnam War in Literature and Film

Tuesdays 3:00-5:50 p.m.

Dr. Jason McEntee

In 1975, the United States officially included its involvement in the Vietnam War, thus marking 2025 as the 50 th anniversary of the conclusion (in name only) of one of the most chaotic, confusing, and complex periods in American history. In this course, we will consider how literature and film attempt to chronicle the Vietnam War and, perhaps more important, its aftermath. I have designed this course for those looking to extend their understanding of literature and film to include the ideas of art, experience, commercial products, and cultural documents. Learning how to interpret literature and movies remains the highest priority of the course, including, for movies, the study of such things as genre, mise-en-scene (camera movement, lighting, etc.), editing, sound, and so forth.

We will read Dispatches , A Rumor of War , The Things They Carried , A Piece of My Heart , and Bloods , among others. Some of the movies that we will screen are: Apocalypse Now (the original version), Full Metal Jacket , Platoon , Coming Home , Born on the Fourth of July , Dead Presidents , and Hearts and Minds . Because we must do so, we will also look at some of the more fascinatingly outrageous yet culturally significant fantasies about the war, such as The Green Berets and Rambo: First Blood, Part II .

ENGL 492.S02 Classical Mythology

Tu Th 3:30-4:45 p.m.

Drs. Michael S. Nagy and Graham Wrightson

Modern society’s fascination with mythology manifests itself in the continued success of novels, films, and television programs about mythological or quasi-mythological characters such as Hercules, the Fisher King, and Gandalf the Grey, all of whom are celebrated for their perseverance or their daring deeds in the face of adversity. This preoccupation with mythological figures necessarily extends back to the cultures which first propagated these myths in early folk tales and poems about such figures as Oðin, King Arthur, Rhiannon, Gilgamesh, and Odysseus, to name just a few. English 492, a reading-intensive course cross-listed with History 492, primarily aims to expose students to the rich tradition of mythological literature written in languages as varied as French, Gaelic, Welsh, Old Icelandic, Greek, and Sumerian; to explore the historical, social, political, religious, and literary contexts in which these works flourished (if indeed they did); and to grapple with the deceptively simple question of what makes these myths continue to resonate with modern audiences. Likely topics and themes of this course will includeTheories of myth; Mythological Beginnings: Creation myths and the fall of man; Male and Female Gods in Myth; Foundation myths; Nature Myths; The Heroic Personality; the mythological portrayal of (evil/disruptive) women in myth; and Monsters in myth.

Likely Texts:

• Dalley, Stephanie, trans. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford World’s Classics, 2009
• Faulkes, Anthony, trans. Edda. Everyman, 1995
• Gregory, Lady Augusta. Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of Ulster. Forgotten Books, 2007
• Jones, Gwyn, Thomas Jones, and Mair Jones. The Mabinogion. Everyman Paperback Classics, 1993
• Larrington, Carolyne, trans. The Poetic Edda . Oxford World’s Classics, 2009
• Matarasso, Pauline M., trans. The Quest of the Holy Grail. Penguin Classics, 1969
• Apollodorus, Hesiod’s Theogony
• Hesiod’s Works and Days
• Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Homeric Hymns
• Virgil’s Aeneid
• Iliad, Odyssey
• Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica
• Ovid’s Heroides
• Greek tragedies: Orestaia, Oedipus trilogy, Trojan Women, Medea, Hippoolytus, Frogs, Seneca's Thyestes, Dyskolos, Amphitryon
• Clash of the Titans, Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts, Troy (and recent miniseries), Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

ENGL 492.ST1 Science Writing

Erica summerfield.

This course aims to teach the fundamentals of effective scientific writing and presentation. The course examines opportunities for covering science, the skills required to produce clear and understandable text about technical subjects, and important ethical and practical constraints that govern the reporting of scientific information. Students will learn to present technical and scientific issues to various audiences. Particular emphasis will be placed on conveying the significance of research, outlining the aims, and discussing the results for scientific papers and grant proposals. Students will learn to write effectively, concisely, and clearly while preparing a media post, fact sheet, and scientific manuscript or grant.

Graduate Courses

Engl 575.s01 creative nonfiction, engl 592.s01: the vietnam war in literature and film, engl 704.s01 introduction to graduate studies.

Thursdays 3:00-5:50 p.m.

Introduction to Graduate Studies is required of all first-year graduate students. The primary purpose of this course is to introduce students to modern and contemporary literary theory and its applications. Students will write short response papers and will engage at least one theoretical approach in their own fifteen- to twenty-page scholarly research project. In addition, this course will further introduce students to the M.A. program in English at South Dakota State University and provide insight into issues related to the profession of English studies.

ENGL 792.ST1 Grant Writing

This online course will familiarize students with the language, rhetorical situation, and components of writing grant proposals. Students will explore various funding sources, learn to read an RFP, and develop an understanding of different professional contexts and the rhetorical and structural elements that suit those distinct contexts. Students will write a sample proposal throughout the course and offer feedback to their peers, who may be writing in different contexts, which will enhance their understanding of the varied applications of course content. Through their work in the course, students will gain confidence in their ability to find, apply for, and receive grant funding to support their communities and organizations.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

How the dung queen of Dublin was swept from history

AI to be used by researchers to scour documents for information on women omitted from chronicles written by men about men

F our centuries ago Dublin had an official city “scavenger” who was tasked with running sanitation teams to clear streets of human and animal waste. In return, the scavenger earned tolls from shopkeepers and traders.

It could have worked well, except the contractor decided to cut costs and maximise profits by deploying just two carts rather than six. Dung piled up and the city stank.

This upset everyone save the scavenger, who pocketed enough cash to set herself up as a moneylender. Her name was Catherine Strong.

In 1635, the city fired her, ending an intriguing if inglorious career in public service. And then, like so many women of her era, Strong vanished into history, her entrepreneurship – creditable or otherwise – barely scraping a footnote in Irish chronicles written by men about men.

Trinity College Dublin aims to remedy that with an ambitious research project launched this week that will use artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to uncover women’s experiences in Ireland from 1500 to 1700.

Jane Ohlmeyer, a history professor who is leading the project, titled Voices , said: “Women are largely absent from historical narratives, with the historical record privileging the perspectives of elites and elite men in particular.

“But ordinary women are not absent from the story of early modern Ireland; they are hiding in plain sight in fragments and passing mentions across a multitude of historic records – wills, maps, surveys, records of debt and legal depositions.”

Historians, literary scholars, data analysts and computer scientists would collaborate in a groundbreaking effort to recover marginalised voices and – it is hoped – set an example for other overlooked narratives, such as the experience of women in colonial-era Latin America, said Ohlmeyer. “Our approach is transferable and applicable to other countries.”

The five-year project, funded by a €2.5m (£2.1m) European Research Council grant, will document the roles women played during social and political upheavals that included massacres, sexual violence and extreme trauma.

AI and other tools will harvest names from sources such as legal records, inquisitions, censuses and statute staple records of lending and borrowing, amassing material that will be organised in a “knowledge graph”, an online resource that will be available to researchers and the public for free.

“The documents will talk to each other so we can start to connect people. We’re able to develop these profiles of people that previously were just a name,” said Ohlmeyer.

GPT-4 from OpenAI and the AI-driven text recognition tool Transkribus will help search and summarise material, albeit with human oversight of the technology. “Everything still has to be checked; we don’t trust it,” said Ohlmeyer.

Declan O’Sullivan, a professor at Trinity’s school of computer science, expressed confidence his department could turn the data into knowledge that was easily accessible to the public and researchers.

The 1500-1700 period represented a transition from the medieval to the modern and coincided with the English empire expanding, said Ohlmeyer, the author of Making Empire: Ireland, Imperialism and the Early Modern World .

“From the late 16th century, colonialism really ramps up and gets tremendous momentum, especially in plantations. That’s when we see Ireland becoming English through language, law and socioeconomic infrastructure.”

Civil wars created opportunities for women who, in the absence of men, found themselves becoming breadwinners and running businesses as brewers, moneylenders, tanners and tavern keepers.

Catherine Strong, after being accused of presiding over “foulness of the streets”, appeared as a creditor on the Dublin statute staple.

However, conflicts also wreaked horrors. Depositions taken after a 1641 Catholic uprising showed widespread robbery, assault and rape that was often euphemised as “stripping”, said Ohlmeyer.

In one statement, Amy Manfin, a Protestant settler, said she was forced to stand in the blood of her murdered husband before being stripped and dragged by the hair through thorns. English government forces were just as brutal.

Other documents show women pursuing legal cases. In a battle with a debtor over a contested will, Joan Flynn in 1599 allegedly tricked Dublin’s probate court into granting her power over her late husband’s estate.

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