The English major with the concentration in writing allows students to develop their talents in all areas of writing: creative writing, professional writing, journalism, and academic writing. Our degree program prepares students to be highly flexible and use their writing abilities in a variety of settings. Internships and career-focused courses help students channel their passion for writing into professional careers. Graduates of our program include published authors, poets, copywriters, technical writers, journalists, editors, activists, entrepreneurs, and marketing professionals, to name just a few. We pride ourselves on the community of writers that forms in our program--a community that includes not only students and faculty but alumni writers who come back to share their work and mentor our students.
Topics Covered:
- Creative Writing, including fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction
- Advocacy Writing, including proposals, letters, story-telling, and op-eds
- Professional Writing, including grant writing, copyediting, screenwriting, and writing about the arts
- Journalism, including basic and advanced journalism and feature writing
- Rhetoric, including advanced critical writing and persuasive communication
Program Highlights:
- Course called Career Preparation for Writers to support students in developing the skills they need to make writing their life's work
- Robust internship program, with internship experiences that count toward degree program
- Workshop-model for writing classes to give students lots of practice giving and receiving feedback on their writing
- Advanced-level courses in poetry, fiction, and memoir where students complete book-length projects
- Encouragement to publish as undergraduates
- Exceptional alumni networking
- Guest speakers and writers
- Plenty of opportunities to share work at public readings
- Opportunity to receive funding to travel to national conferences, including the Association of Writing Programs annual conference
Typical Schedule (there’s great variation, depending on students’ interests)
First Year
- Intro to Black American, Native American, or Asian American Literature
- Intro to Creative Writing
- English 101: Composition I
- College-wide general education courses
Second Year
- Journalism or Writing about the Arts
- Writing Poetry or Writing Fiction
- 200-level Literature Survey
- English 202: Composition II
- College-wide general education courses
Third Year
- Creative Non-Fiction or Feature Writing
- Persuasive Communication
- Career Preparation for Writers
- Special Topics in Writing Courses
- 300-level Literature Survey
- College-wide electives (including courses that count toward second major or minor)
Fourth Year
- Advanced Coursework in Poetry or Prose
- Internship
- Special Topics and Writing Electives
- 300-level Literature survey
- College-wide electives (including courses that count toward second major or minor)
