Creative Writing Major – Bachelor of Fine Arts

Program Competencies

  1. Students create original works of fiction.
  2. Students create original poems.
  3. Students create original essays.
  4. Students critique peers' work.
  5. Students critique their own work.
  6. Students evaluate submissions to a literary journal.
  7. Students design literary journal content.

Assessment

  1. Survey of graduates
  2. Portfolio
  3. Annual assessment of original works of creative writing via a cumulative portfolio
  4. Yearly progress reports
  5. Assessment of senior thesis - all graduating BFA candidates are required to present a senior thesis in the form of a cumulative portfolio which contains a collection of the student's best writing. This portfolio will be discussed during a 30-minute defense in which the student will be required to discuss the work, its literary influences, ideas toward publication, process, etc.

Program Requirements

The BFA in creative writing diverges from the BA in English in its significantly greater concentration on the study of creative writing (requiring 18 credit hours in creative writing and a senior creative thesis).

General Education

CRW 499CSenior Thesis

3

General Education courses

variable

Total Credit Hours:36

Refer to the General Education section for a complete listing of general education requirements for the University.

Major Requirements

Creative Writing Requirements

ENG 395Poetry Writing

3

ENG 396Fiction Writing

3

ENG 397Writing Creative Nonfiction

3

Total Credit Hours:9
Select three courses from the following:
ENG 483Advanced Poetry Writing

3

ENG 484Advanced Fiction Writing

3

ENG 485Advanced Nonfiction Writing

3

THEA 412Playwriting

3

Total Credit Hours:9

Literature Cornerstone

ENG 300Introduction to the Study of Literature in English

3

Total Credit Hours:3

ENG 300: only offered in spring

Literature Surveys

Select three of the following:
ENG 331British Literature to 1789

3

ENG 332British Literature Since 1789

3

ENG 341American Literature to 1865

3

ENG 342American Literature Since 1865

3

Total Credit Hours:9

Literature and Linguistics electives

Select three of the following, no more than one course from a specific area:

Linguistics (choose one)
ENG 305Introduction to Linguistics

3

ENG 315Structure of English

3

ENG 393History of the English Language

3

ENG 394Language and Society

3

ENG 401Semantics

3

ENG 404Advanced Syntax

3

Total Credit Hours:3
Cultural Diversity (choose one)
ENG 311Global English Literature

3

ENG 320Women Writers and Feminist Perspectives

3

ENG 348African-American Literature

3

ENG 360Appalachian Literature

3

ENG 365Literature of the South

3

ENG 398Gay and Lesbian Literature

3

Total Credit Hours:3
Literary Period (choose one)
ENG 422Studies in American Literature to 1900

3

ENG 423Studies in American Literature, 1900-1965

3

ENG 424Studies in Contemporary American Literature

3

ENG 436The English Renaissance

3

ENG 441Restoration and Eighteenth Century British Literature

3

ENG 442Romantic Writers

3

ENG 443Victorian Writers

3

ENG 444British Literature since 1901

3

Total Credit Hours:3
Major Author (choose one)
ENG 435Shakespeare

3

ENG 495Seminar: Major Writers

3

Total Credit Hours:3
Genre (choose one)
ENG 344The Short Story and the Novel

3

ENG 432The British Novel

3

ENG 435Shakespeare

3

ENG 453Modern Drama

3

ENG 455Early Dramatic Literature

3

ENG 463American Fiction

3

ENG 466American Poetry

3

ENG 470Film and Literature

3

Total Credit Hours:3

Supplemental Requirements

ENG 293Creative Writing I

3

Foreign Language one course above 101-level in any foreign language

3

Total Credit Hours:6

Minor

All majors must also include a minor or additional major. See Terms to Know.
Total Credit Hours:21

General electives

Total Credit Hours:18

Total Credit Hours: 120