Creative Writing Major – Bachelor of Fine Arts

Program Competencies

1. Students distinguish features of major literary genres.
2. Students recognize works by major authors.
3. Students create original works of fiction.
4. Students create original poems.
5. Students create original essays.
6. Students critique peers' work.

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 that 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

General Education Courses	(See GNED Course Listings)	33
Total Credit Hours:		33

Refer to the General Education section for a complete listing of general education requirements for the University. Program requirements that are also general education requirements will count in both places (as applicable).

Major Requirements

Creative Writing Requirements

ENG 395	Poetry Writing	3
ENG 396	Fiction Writing	3
ENG 397	Writing Creative Nonfiction	3
CRW 499C	Senior Thesis	3
Total Credit Hours:		12

Select three courses from the following:

ENG 483	Advanced Poetry Writing	3
ENG 484	Advanced Fiction Writing	3
ENG 485	Advanced Nonfiction Writing	3
THEA 412	Playwriting	3
Total Credit Hours:		9

Literature Cornerstone

ENG 300	Introduction 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 331	British Literature to 1789	3
ENG 332	British Literature since 1789	3
ENG 341	American Literature to 1865	3
ENG 342	American 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

ENG 305	Introduction to Linguistics	3
ENG 315	Structure of English	3
ENG 393	History of the English Language	3
ENG 394	Language and Society	3
ENG 401	Semantics	3
ENG 404	Advanced Syntax	3

Cultural Diversity

ENG 311	Global English Literature	3
ENG 320	Women Writers and Feminist Perspectives	3
ENG 348	African American Literature	3
ENG 360	Appalachian Literature	3
ENG 365	Literature of the South	3
ENG 398	Gay and Lesbian Literature	3

Literary Period

ENG 422	Studies in American Literature to 1900	3
ENG 423	Studies in American Literature, 1900-1965	3
ENG 424	Studies in Contemporary American Literature	3
ENG 436	The English Renaissance	3
ENG 441	Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature	3
ENG 442	Romantic Writers	3
ENG 443	Victorian Writers	3
ENG 444	British Literature since 1901	3

Major Author

ENG 435	Shakespeare	3
ENG 495	Seminar: Major Writers	3

Genre

ENG 344	The Short Story and the Novel	3
ENG 432	The British Novel	3
ENG 435	Shakespeare	3
ENG 453	Modern Drama	3
ENG 455	Early Dramatic Literature	3
ENG 463	American Fiction	3
ENG 466	American Poetry	3
ENG 470	Film and Literature	3
Total Credit Hours:		9

Supplemental Requirements

ENG 293	Creative 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

Free Electives

Free Electives

(chosen by student)

variable

Total Credit Hours: 120