creative writing uchicago minor

Creative Writing

The Program in Creative Writing takes a comprehensive approach to the study of contemporary literature, criticism, and theory from a writer’s perspective, and provides rigorous training in the fundamental practices of creative writing. In our courses, students work with established poets and prose writers towards these pursuits, and both the major and minor in Creative Writing provide ample opportunities for interdisciplinary work across University departments. The program’s commitment to interdisciplinary work and academic rigor, coupled with an emphasis on teaching the elements of creative writing that underlie all genres, accounts for the program's vitality and explains why Creative Writing at Chicago is currently the largest initiative in the humanities for the College. The Program in Creative Writing offers workshops and seminars in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as an increasing number of translation workshops.

Students who graduate with the bachelor of arts in Creative Writing will both be skilled in writing in a major literary genre and have a theoretically informed understanding of the aesthetic, historical, social, and political context of a range of contemporary writing. Students who are not English Language and Literature or Creative Writing majors may complete a minor in English and Creative Writing.

Creative Writing in the College Catalog
Minor in Creative Writing in the College Catalog
Creative Writing Home Page

Skip to Content
Catalog Home
Institution Home

2014-2015 Catalog

Creative Writing
Introduction
Programs of Study
The Curriculum
Academic Regulations and Procedures
Examination Credit and Transfer Credit
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Big Problems
Chicago Studies
Computational Neuroscience
Human Rights
Joint Degree Programs
Study Abroad
Preparation for Professional Study
Research Opportunities
Archived Catalogs
The College Catalog 2014-2015 >
Interdisciplinary Opportunities >

Contacts | Minor Program in English and Creative Writing | Summary of Requirements for the Minor Program | Program Structure | Courses

Department Website: http://creativewriting.uchicago.edu

Students at the University of Chicago pursue creative writing within the larger context of academic study. While the purpose of the program is, above all, to give students a rigorous background in the fundamentals of creative work by providing them with the opportunity to study with established poets and prose writers, it differs from the free-standing creative writing programs at other universities in seeing itself as an integral part of the intellectual life of the University of Chicago, and most particularly in providing opportunities for interdisciplinary work. A playwright working through University Theater under the auspices of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities may take writing workshops in fiction or poetry as part of the process of developing scripts. Students in the visual arts may join forces with writers in work on graphic novels. And students in non-English languages and literatures may find themselves taking not only literature courses but also poetry or fiction writing workshops as part of developing translation projects. It is this commitment to interdisciplinary work, coupled with the program's insistence on teaching the elements of creative writing that underlie all genres, that accounts for the program's vitality and explains why creative writing at Chicago is currently the largest initiative in the humanities for the College.

Students can pursue their creative writing interests within the formal requirements of the two interdisciplinary majors below; within the formal requirements of the minor program in English and Creative Writing described below; in other programs of study, with approval to count writing courses toward requirements; or among the eight to eighteen electives available to students across the range of other programs of study.

Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Students wishing to engage the dialogues between creative writing and other studies in the humanities, including artistic media (e.g., dance, film, theater, visual arts), may apply to explore writing opportunities through one of the options in the Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities major.

English Language and Literature

Students majoring in English Language and Literature may choose to produce a creative writing thesis to satisfy part of the requirement for honors. Prior to the end of their third year, students must complete at least two creative writing courses in the genre (poetry, fiction, or nonfiction) of their BA project. At least one must be an advanced course, in which the student has earned a B+ or higher. In Winter Quarter of their fourth year, students will work intensively on their projects in the context of a designated creative writing thesis seminar.

To do a creative writing BA project, students must fill out a declaration form available at the English undergraduate office by the spring of their third year. On this form they declare their intent to write a creative writing BA project in a specific genre and list the two creative writing courses in the relevant genre that they have taken as prerequisites for doing the BA project.

Students work on their project over three quarters. Early in Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students will be assigned a graduate student preceptor. In Autumn Quarter, students will attend a series of colloquia led by their graduate preceptor. In Winter Quarter, students will continue meeting with their graduate preceptor. In addition, students must enroll in one of the creative BA project workshops in their genre. Students are not automatically enrolled in a workshop; they must receive the consent of the workshop instructor, who will also serve as their faculty adviser for their creative BA project. These workshops are advanced courses limited to eight students and will include not only students majoring in English but also those in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (ISHU) and the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) who are producing creative theses. Students will work closely with their faculty adviser and with their peers in the workshops and will receive course credit as well as a final grade for the workshop. Students should be aware that because of the high number of students wishing to write fiction for their BA projects, students will not necessarily get their first choice of workshop instructor and faculty adviser.

In consultation with their faculty adviser and graduate preceptor, students revise and resubmit a near final draft of their creative BA projects by the beginning of the third week of Spring Quarter. Students submit the final version of their creative BA project to their preceptor, faculty adviser, and the undergraduate program assistant by the beginning of the fifth week of Spring Quarter. The project will then be evaluated by the faculty adviser, graduate preceptor, and director of undergraduate studies to determine whether the student will be recommended.

Minor Program in English and Creative Writing

Students who are not English majors may complete a minor in English and Creative Writing. Such a minor requires six courses plus a portfolio of creative work. At least two of the required courses must be Creative Writing (CRWR) courses, with at least one at the intermediate or advanced level. The remaining required courses must be taken in the English department (ENGL). In addition, students must submit a portfolio of their work (e.g., a selection of poems, one or two short stories or chapters from a novel, a substantial part or the whole of a play, two or three nonfiction pieces) to the undergraduate program assistant in the English department by the end of the fifth week in the quarter in which they plan to graduate.

Students who elect the minor program in English and Creative Writing must meet with the undergraduate program assistant in the English department before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor. Students choose courses in consultation with the undergraduate program assistant. The undergraduate program assistant's approval for the minor program should be submitted to a student's College adviser by the deadline above on a form obtained from the adviser. NOTE: Students completing this minor will not be given enrollment preference for CRWR courses, and they must follow all relevant admission procedures described at the Creative Writing website.

Courses in the minor (1) may not be doubly counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and (2) may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for quality grades (not P/F), and at least half of the requirements for the minor must be met by registering for courses bearing University of Chicago course numbers.

Summary of Requirements for the Minor Program

2 CRWR courses (at least one at the intermediate or advanced level)		200
4 CRWR or ENGL electives		400
A portfolio of the student's work
Total Units		600

Two Sample Plans of Study

	Beginning Fiction Workshop	100
	Intermediate Fiction Workshop	100
	Reading as a Writer	100
	Writing Biography	100
	Introduction to Fiction: The Short Story	100
	Shakespeare I: Histories and Comedies	100
a portfolio of the student's work (two short stories)
Total Units		600

	Intermediate Poetry Workshop	100
	Advanced Poetry Workshop	100
	Introduction to Poetry	100
	Medieval Epic	100
	Introduction to Literary Theory	100
	The Poet In The Novel	100
a portfolio of the student's work (ten short poems)
Total Units		600

Program Structure

Creative Writing courses are cross-listed to enable students to apply to courses based on their level of preparation rather than on their level in the degree program. Classes are organized in the following way:

Core courses are multigenre introductions to creative writing that satisfy the general education requirement for the arts. The courses fall into two categories, Introduction to Genres and Reading as a Writer, though each may be pitched with a unique focus, such as science fiction or crime and story. Admission is by open bid. Enrollment in each class is limited to fifteen students.

Beginning courses are intended for students who wish to gain experience in a particular genre. Admission is by open bid. Enrollment in each class is limited to twelve students.

Intermediate

Intermediate courses are intended for students with some writing experience in a particular genre. Admission requires completion of a beginning class in the same genre and/or consent of instructor based on submission of a writing sample. For specific submission requirements, see course descriptions. The submission process must be completed online in advance of the term by the deadline. Enrollment in each class is limited to twelve students.

Advanced courses are intended for students with substantive writing experience in a particular genre. Admission requires completion of an intermediate class in the same genre and/or consent of instructor based on submission of a writing sample. For specific submission requirements, see course descriptions. The submission process must be completed online in advance of the term by the deadline. Enrollment in each class is limited to ten students.

Thesis/Major Projects Seminar

This course is required for students who are working on their BA or MA theses in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. If space permits, these seminars may also be open to advanced students who are interested in writing or revising a substantial project. Students must obtain the consent of the instructor in advance by submission of a writing sample. Enrollment in each class typically is limited to eight students.

Special Topics

Several special topics courses are offered each year. These courses vary in terms of subject matter, requirements for the submission of writing samples, and enrollment limitations.

Cross-Listed Courses

Courses originated by other departments that include creative writing components are cross listed by Creative Writing (CRWR).

Required Writing Samples

Consent of instructor is typically required to enroll in Creative Writing courses, based on faculty review of student writing samples. For specific sample submission requirements, see course descriptions. Submission deadlines are:

Autumn Quarter, September 15
Winter Quarter, November 21
Spring Quarter, February 23

For more information on Creative Writing courses and opportunities, visit the Creative Writing website.

Faculty and Visiting Lecturers

For a current listing of Creative Writing faculty, visit the Creative Writing website.

Creative Writing Courses

CRWR 10200. Beginning Fiction Workshop. 100 Units.

This beginning-level fiction writing class uses a wide range of exercises and activities to help students discover their oral and written voices. Point of view, seeing-in-the-mind, gesture, audience, and other aspects of story are emphasized so that students can attempt to incorporate basic storytelling principles, forms, and techniques into their own writing. The major goals of the class are to guide students to discover and use the power of their individual voices, heighten their imaginative seeing and sense of imaginative options, and develop their overall sense for story structure and movement. Students select at least one of the assignments undertaken, rewrite it extensively, and attempt a complete story movement (short story or novel excerpt) of publishable quality.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring Prerequisite(s): Open bid through classes.uchicago.edu. If course is full, sign up for wait list at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/waiting-list. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 30200

CRWR 10300. Beginning Poetry Workshop. 100 Units.

Based on the premise that successful experimentation stems from a deep understanding of tradition, this course will help students gain a foundation in poetic constructions while encouraging risk-taking in expression and craft. It will expose students to ways that poets have both employed and resisted patterns in meter, line, and rhyme, and it will ask students to experiment with constraints as a way of playing with formal limitations in their own poems. Students will also explore innovations in diction, syntax, and voice, and apply what they learn from these investigations in workshop discussions. While delving into work by both canonical and emerging poets, students will draft and revise a significant portfolio of their own poems.

CRWR 10400. Beginning Creative Nonfiction. 100 Units.

In this workshop you are free to write about anything at all as long as you do so in an intimate and personal, rather than academic, voice. To that end you will try your hand at a true story—be it a memoir, travelogue, anecdote, character study, essay or argument—and submit it to your classmates, who will edit and critique it. Together we will refine our narratives and our prose, primarily by insisting on rigorous reflection and total honesty. Finding your voice takes time, but we have only ten weeks. So come to the first day of class with ideas and work already underway and ready to share. Be prepared to finish three total rewrites of your work in progress. We will also read and discuss published exemplars of the form. You will leave this class with a polished work sample to use for admission to more advanced courses.

CRWR 12000. Intermediate Fiction Workshop. 100 Units.

This intermediate fiction workshop will build on the fundamental elements of craft laid out in Beginning Fiction Writing and encourage you to begin cultivating your own aesthetic—not merely your own writing style, but more importantly your unique perspective on the world that necessarily informs and is informed by that style. We will read a selection of writers (like Raymond Carver, Paul Bowles, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami, Lorrie Moore) who have very unique and identifiable voices, and then complement those readings with writing exercises that will help you contextualize, refine, and expand your emerging voice. As always, there will be an emphasis on the workshop process so that you are actively engaging with your own work and the work of your peers. For the course, you will complete one full-length story, which you will present for class critique, and then write a significant revision of that story, which you will either present for a second workshop or turn into me at the end of the quarter. Please come to class prepared to share your work, your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your honesty.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring Prerequisite(s): To apply, submit writing through online form at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 32000

CRWR 12101. Reading as a Writer: Chicago Stories. 100 Units.

This course invites writers to reconsider the influence of Chicago’s public and private spaces on genre and artistic form. How does one tell a “Chicago story”? Is the “City on the Re-Make” best told in prose or poem? Is there a “Chicago epic”? Working through these questions, students analyze and explore the technical vocabularies of other writers’ responses in a variety of literary genres. Examples here include how political or social conflicts have shaped fiction writers’ definition of characters and point of view in Chicago writing. Similarly, how have the city’s historical geographies of South Side, the Great Migration, and the suburb influenced form in poetry and creative nonfiction? What theoretical approaches have been particularly influential in understanding “place” among Chicago writers? Using workshop format, students develop their own creative responses, building connections to their adopted critical approaches. To these ends, we examine work by writers including Nelson Algren, Gwendolyn Brooks, John Conroy, Aleksandar Hemon, and Sterling Plumpp, as well as the city’s rich legacies in drama, the visual arts, and music.

Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): Open bid through classes.uchicago.edu. Sign up for wait list by contacting instructor if class is full. Note(s): This course meets the general education requirement for dramatic, musical, and visual arts.

CRWR 12104. Introduction to Genres: Four Western Myths. 100 Units.

Consider the proposition that myths inform the fabric of our thought, from its structures to its particularities. If this is so, how do we understand the power these myths exert on our imaginations? Is this power always benign? Is there a malevolent shadow these myths can cast on our collective soul? Let’s examine four myths that arise out of the Western tradition. Two of them are old: the story of King Oedipus and the myth of the Holy Grail. The other two are newer: the story of the Wizard of Oz, the first complete American myth, and the story of Star Wars, as much a commentary on myth as a myth itself. Both of these newer myths have insinuated themselves into the popular imagination, in ways that the earlier myths are so ingrained they have the ability to be continually made novel. In this course, you will read texts that transmit these myths (Sophocles, Chrétien de Troyes, and L. Frank Baum), you will consider films that depict these myths ( Edipe Re by Pasolini, The Da Vinci Code by Howard, The Wizard of Oz by Fleming, and Star Wars by Lucas), you will examine theories that interpret these myths (Freud, Weston, Lévi-Strauss, and Campbell, respectively), and, finally, and perhaps most importantly, you will generate your own versions of these myths in various creative forms: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, screenplays, and drama.

Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): Open bid through classes.uchicago.edu. If course is full, sign up for wait list at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/waiting-list. Note(s): This course meets the general education requirement for dramatic, musical, and visual arts.

CRWR 13000. Intermediate Poetry Workshop. 100 Units.

Poets often turn to the constraints and conventions of lyric forms (sonnets, sestinas, pantoums, etc.) as a way to generate material and experiment within a poetic tradition. The history of poetry, however, is as rich in genres as it is in forms. How is genre different from form? How do the two intersect? How have different genres evolved over time? In this course we will study various traditional genres (the elegy, the epistle, the dramatic monologue, for example) alongside such "non-poetic" genres as the essay, the obituary, and the travelogue, in the hopes of expanding and refining our encounter with the art.

CRWR 13006. Investigations through Rhyme. 100 Units.

Rhyme, and its almost necessary companion, meter, have found their way into almost every form of expressive language, low and high: from sonnets to limericks, quatrains to playground insults, plays to songs, mnemonic devices for school children to didactic sermons, raps to jingles—even the occasional novel. Though it may be something of a mystery as to why, that rhyme can be pleasing to the reader (and listener) is established. What practical use, however, might it be to the writer? This course—welcoming writers of any stamp—will explore how composing in rhyme uncovers previously unsuspected pathways in a writer's imagination and is a powerful editing tool as well. Rhymed poetic, dramatic, and rhetorical writings and basic verse structures (the Onegin stanza, sonnet, quatrain, etc.) will be introduced and analyzed. The focus, however, will be on the "translation" of works of prose—some selected, but mostly pieces original with the student—into rhymed verse, with the aim of exploding/unfolding those works out in fresh directions. Possible texts/authors/artists: Shakespeare, Pope, William Blake, Chuck D, Emily Dickinson, Yip Harburg, Cole Porter, Magnetic Fields, Ogden Nash.

Terms Offered: Spring Prerequisite(s): PQ: Instructor consent required. To apply, submit writing sample online at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Once given consent, attendance on the first day is mandatory. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 33006

CRWR 14000. Intermediate Creative Nonfiction. 100 Units.

In this course we will examine what is creative about so-called creative nonfiction. What makes a personal essay or literary journalism different from straight journalism or editorial opinion? By what alchemy do we transmute facts into art? Through daily and weekly reading, writing, and editing you will learn to combine the facts of the matter at hand with your own retrospection and reflection. Your grade will be based on the artistry you display in balancing the factual with the personal and in recognizing how they can both complement and contradict one another. This is a workshop, so come to the first day of class with work underway and ready to share. Be prepared to write every day of the week and to finish two complete rewrites of an essay of fifteen or so pages. We will also read and discuss published exemplars of the form.

CRWR 22100. Advanced Fiction Workshop. 100 Units.

This advanced fiction workshop is for students who have taken Beginning or Intermediate Fiction Writing and produced a body of work, large or small, that reflects their developing aesthetic and style. In our workshops, we will focus on the fundamentals of craft like language, voice, and plot and character development, but with an eye also on expanding our perspective on our subject matter and the form we use to write about it. To that end, we will read a selection of writers (like Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortazar, Donald Barthelme, Alice Munro, George Saunders, Tim O’Brien) who experiment with form, who unravel the rules of a well-made story and reconstitute it in order to tell their own particular narratives in a more meaningful way. Our goal in this class is to create a constructive, critical atmosphere that facilitates and demands the process of revision, and that expands the horizon of expression for each student while also refining their emerging voice. For the course, you will complete one full-length story, which you will present for class critique, and then write a significant revision of that story, which you will either present for a second workshop or turn into me at the end of the quarter. Please come to class prepared to share your work, your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your honesty.

CRWR 23100. Advanced Poetry Workshop. 100 Units.

In this course, we will examine various formal, theoretical, and sociological currents in contemporary American poetry as a means of provoking and informing our own creative work in the lyric field. While the class will be a “writing workshop” first and foremost, we will also study recent books of poetry from a variety of contemporary “schools” at work in the fertile, sectarian, and maddeningly complex landscape of today’s lyric writing. We will also attend poetry readings by some of these authors here at the University in order to explore the world of contemporary verse as fully as possible. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this is ultimately a course about your work as a poet. Throughout the semester, we will read one another’s writing within the broad context of contemporary American poetics, and yet we will respect the solitary and idiosyncratic nature of the lyric enterprise as well.

CRWR 24100. Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop. 100 Units.

The goal of this workshop is to attempt the kind of nonfiction published by magazines aimed at the smart, general reader: the New Yorker , Harper's , and the Atlantic Monthly , as well as smaller journals. You may write a personal essay, argument, memoir, character study or travelogue, as well as a more journalistic profile of a person, place, or culture. We also welcome reportorial, researched, and investigative pieces. No matter what rubric your nonfiction falls under, we will help you to distinguish between what Vivian Gornick has called The Situation—that is, the plot, or facts at hand—and The Story, the larger, more universal meaning that arises naturally from these facts. By developing the two and by tying them more artfully you will make your piece as appealing as it can be to editors and a discerning audience. Come to the first day of class with ideas and work underway and ready to share. Be prepared to write every day and to finish three full revisions of your work in progress. We will also read and discuss successful published work. You will leave this class with a polished sample of your best work.

CRWR 28200. Journalism: Arts Reviewing. 100 Units.

In this course we will study and practice the craft of arts reviewing for newspapers, magazines, and online publications. We will strive to write fair, effective reviews of several art forms, including but not limited to movies, books, theater, music, cuisine, and visual arts. We will examine and adhere to the legal and ethical standards of the profession of journalistic arts reviewing. As much as possible we will emulate the pace of the job, completing weekly reviews for a specific audience.

Terms Offered: Autumn Prerequisite(s): To apply, submit writing through online form at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 48200

CRWR 29200. Thesis/Major Projects Seminar: Fiction. 100 Units.

This advanced fiction course is for BA and MA students writing a creative thesis or any advanced student working on a major fiction project. It is primarily a workshop, so please come to our first class with your project in progress (a story collection, a novel, a novella, etc.), ready for you to discuss and to submit some part of for critique. As in any writing workshop, we will stress the fundamentals of craft like language, voice, and plot and character development, with an eye also on how to shape your work for the longer form you have chosen. To supplement our workshops, we will read and discuss published fiction relevant and hopefully informative to your specific projects, while also exploring the potential avenues towards publication.

Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Required for students working on BA or MA thesis in fiction; for others to apply, submit writing through online form at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 49200

CRWR 29300. Thesis/Major Projects Seminar: Poetry. 100 Units.

This course is an advanced seminar intended primarily for seniors and MAPH students writing honors theses in creative writing as well as advanced students who are working on major projects. Because it is a thesis seminar, the course will focus on various ways of organizing larger poetic “projects.” We will consider the poetic sequence, the chapbook, and the poetry collection as ways of extending the practice of poetry beyond the individual lyric text. We will also problematize the notion of broad poetic “projects,” considering the consequences of imposing a predetermined conceptual framework on the elusive, spontaneous, and subversive act of lyric writing. Because this class is designed as a poetry workshop, your fellow students’ work will be the primary text over the course of the quarter.

Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Required for students working on BA or MA thesis in poetry; for others to apply, submit writing through online form at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 49300

CRWR 29400. Thesis/Major Projects Seminar: Creative Nonfiction. 100 Units.

This course is for BA and MA thesis students and those writing a long piece of nonfiction. It can be an extended essay, a memoir or travelogue, literary journalism, or an interrelated collection thereof. It is a workshop, so come to the first day of class with your work underway and ready to submit. You are required to edit your classmates' writing as diligently as you edit your own. I focus on editing because writing is, in essence, rewriting. Only by learning to edit other people's work will you gradually acquire the objectivity you need to skillfully edit your own. You will profit not only from the advice you receive, but from the advice you learn to give. I will teach you to teach each other and thus yourselves, preparing you for the real life of the writer outside the academy.

Terms Offered: Winter Prerequisite(s): Required for students working on BA or MA thesis in creative nonfiction;for others to apply, submit writing through online form at creativewriting.uchicago.edu/courses/creative-writing-submission-form. Note(s): Attendance on the first day is mandatory. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 49400

Undergraduate Primary Contact

Committee Chair John Wilkinson Taft House 301 Email

Administrative Contact

Committee Coordinator Anne Janush Taft House 103 773.834.8524

[email protected]

University Homepage
My.UChicago
Parents and Families
The College
College Programming Office
College Directory
Campus Maps

University Registrar 1427 East 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637 United States Ph: 773-702-7891 Fax: 773-702-3562

Department of English Language and Literature, The University of Chicago

The English Major and Minor

Major in english.

The program presupposes the completion of the general education requirement in the Humanities (or its equivalent), in which basic training is provided in the methods, problems, and disciplines of humanistic study. Because literary study itself attends to language and is enriched by some knowledge of other cultural expressions, the major in English requires students to extend their work in a language other than English beyond the level required of all College students.

Summary of Requirements

The Department of English requires a total of thirteen courses: eleven courses in the Department of English and two language courses or their equivalent, as well as a Cluster Statement to be submitted by the end of the third week of Spring Quarter of a student’s third year. By Spring Quarter of their third year, all students are required to meet with with the Student Affairs Administrator to complete the English Requirements Worksheet . Additional forms can be found on the Resources and Department Forms page.

Two quarters of study at the second-year level in a language other than English OR credit for the equivalent as determined by petition OR two quarters of a computer language OR two quarters of coursework outside the English department in literature originally written in a language other than English. Students should consult the following list of courses that have been approved to fulfill this requirement.
One English genre fundamentals course (fiction, poetry, drama, or theory) or "Approaches to Theater" course
One English course in fiction
One English course in poetry
One English course in drama
One English course on literature composed before 1650
One English course on literature composed between 1650 and 1830
One English course on literature composed between 1830 and 1990
One English course in literary or critical theory
0 - 7 English electives (for a total of eleven courses in the department; may include ENGL 29900)
Concentration statement
BA project (optional)
Thirteen* total courses

* The total of thirteen required courses must include eleven courses in the Department of English and two language courses.

NOTE: Some courses satisfy several genre and period requirements. For details about the requirements met by specific courses, students should consult the Student Affairs Administrator or the Director of Undergraduate Studies. As of Autumn 2013, the following course combinations may be taken to satisfy the language requirement:

CMSC 12100 & CMSC 12200
CMSC 15100 & CMSC 15200
CMSC 16100 & CMSC 16200
English Requirements Worksheet
Full list of Resources and Departmental Forms

Students majoring in English must receive quality grades (not P/F) in all 13 courses taken to meet the requirements of the program. Non-majors may take English courses for P/F grading with consent of instructor.

Concentration Statement

The purpose of the concentration statement is to help students organize and give coherence to their individual program of study. Students will design a concentration of at least five courses that share a conceptual focus. By the end of the third week in Spring Quarter of their junior year, students submit a one-to-two page statement to their faculty Departmental Advisor and the Student Affairs Administrator outlining their interests in and describing how at least five completed and/or proposed future courses coheres as a cluster. Up to two of the five courses in the cluster can be courses offered outside of the Department of English.

Students should devise an individual course of study that falls within one of the following four broad cluster categories: 1) Literary and Critical Theory; 2) Form/Genre/Medium; 3) Literature in History; 4) Literature and Culture(s). For more information on the cluster and a list of example program topics, please contact the Student Affairs Administrator.

Students are encouraged to declare an intention to major in English to their College Advisers as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the second year of study. After declaring the major, students should first meet with the Student Affairs Assistant in English who will direct them to a faculty advisor and help students fill out the English Requirement Worksheet. After this, students should meet with their faculty advisor at least twice a year in year three, and once in year four, to discuss their academic interests, progress in the major, and long-term career goals. The Student Affairs Assistant and Director of Undergraduate Studies are also available to assist students. Students should meet with the Student Affairs Administrator early in their final quarter to be sure they have fulfilled all requirements.

Courses Outside the Department Taken for Program Credit

A maximum of three courses outside the Department of English may count toward the total number of courses required by the major. The student must submit a petition for course approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies before taking courses outside the department for credit toward the major. Such courses may be selected from related areas in the University (history, philosophy, religious studies, social sciences, etc.), or they may be taken from a study abroad program. Up to four English courses that originate in Creative Writing (CRWR) may be counted toward the elective requirement without a petition.

Transfer credits for courses taken at another institution are subject to approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Transferred courses do not contribute to the student's University of Chicago grade point average for the purpose of computing an overall GPA, Dean's List, or honors. NOTE: The Office of the Dean of Students in the College must approve the transfer of all courses taken at institutions other than those in which students are enrolled as part of a University sponsored study abroad program. For details, visit Examination Credit and Transfer Credit .

Per College requirements, more than half of the requirements for a major or minor must be met by registering for courses bearing University of Chicago course numbers.

Double Majors in English and Creative Writing

It is college policy that students pursuing double majors may double-count four courses maximum towards both majors. Students who double major in Creative Writing and English typically double-count courses to fulfill the Creative Writing major's four literature requirements: 1 literary genre course (in a primary genre), 1 literary theory course, 1 pre-20th-century literature course, and 1 general elective. The two research background electives required for the Creative Writing major can also be English classes, as long as the student observes the shared four-course maximum. Beyond the maximum, students may continue counting Creative Writing courses towards the English major, so long as the course is only counted towards the English major and not Creative Writing. Students who are pursuing only the English Language and Literature major may count up to four CRWR courses towards the major in English as electives without a petition. However, when students are pursuing a double major in English Language and Literature and Creative Writing, they must observe the shared four-course maximum, so any eligible CRWR courses beyond this cap must be counted towards English only .

Minor in English and Creative Writing

Undergraduate students who are not majoring in English may enter a minor program in English and Creative Writing. These students should declare their intention to enter the minor program by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year. Students choose courses in consultation with the Program Manager in Creative Writing and must submit a minor program consent form to their College Adviser in order to declare the minor. Students completing this minor must follow all relevant admission procedures described in the Creative Writing website. Courses in the minor may not be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for quality letter grades, and all of the requirements for the minor must be met by registering for courses bearing University of Chicago course numbers. Here are the requirements for the minor program:

1 Fundamentals in Creative Writing Seminar
2 Workshops
1 Beginning Workshop
1 Advanced Workshop in the same genre
3 CRWR or ENGL electives

For a more detailed breakdown of requirements, please visit Creative Writing's page .

There is no minor solely in English. The Minor in English and Creative Writing for Non-English Majors is the only minor available through the Department of English.

Reading Courses

Upon prior approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, undergraduate reading courses (ENGL 29700 Reading Course & ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation) may be used to fulfill requirements for the major if they are taken for a quality grade (not P/F) and include a final paper assignment. No student may use more than two reading courses in the major, and only one of those may be an Independent BA Paper Preparation course. Critical BA writers who wish to register for the senior project preparation course (ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation) must arrange for appropriate faculty supervision and obtain the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. ENGL 29900 Independent BA Paper Preparation counts as an English elective but not as one of the courses fulfilling distribution requirements for the major.

NOTE: Reading courses are special research opportunities that must be justified by the quality of the proposed plan of study; they also depend upon the availability of faculty supervision. No student can expect a reading course to be arranged automatically. For alternative approaches to preparing a BA paper, see the section on honors work.

Students who wish to be considered for departmental honors must complete a BA Project. However, completion of a BA Project does not guarantee a recommendation for departmental honors. For honors candidacy, a student must have at least a 3.25 grade point average overall and a 3.6 GPA in the major (grades received for transfer credit courses are not included into this calculation).

To be eligible for honors, a student's BA project must be judged to be of the highest quality by the graduate student preceptor, faculty advisor, and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Honors recommendations are made to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division by the department and it is the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division who makes the final decision.

Creative Writing, The University of Chicago

Join our Email Lists

Physical address.

Lorado Taft House 935 East 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637

Faculty Administrators

Director of Creative Writing & Poetics

Robyn Schiff [email protected] Taft 301

Associate Director; Minor and MAPH Liaison

Ryan Van Meter [email protected] Taft 205

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Vu Tran [email protected] Taft 302

Senior Program Manager

Michael Fischer [email protected] Taft House 103 (773) 834-8524‬

Contact the Senior Program Manager for general program information, curricular matters, and questions related to faculty.

Student Affairs Administrator

Denise Dooley [email protected] Taft House 104

Contact the Student Affairs Administrator for questions about course scheduling, course registration the Major in Creative Writing, the Minor in English & Creative Writing, and the MAPH Creative Writing Option.

Creative Writing Major Unleashes Student Imagination

November 14, 2017

By Adia Robinson

College Media Editor

Last winter, the College announced a new major in Creative Writing—previously available only as a minor—in response to a substantial demand from students. Nearly a quarter in, students and administrators are enthusiastic about the relatively small, but mighty, major.

“When the full major came out, I signed up as a knee-jerk reaction,” said third year Angela Ma. “Aside from my thing for words and stories, I made the choice because Creative Writing at UChicago is a real gem of a department.”

The Creative Writing major allows students to fully explore their interests in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. Through a variety of courses, the program hopes to produce well-rounded writers.

“We like to think of the major as a way for students...to get help on their writing, their creative writing projects, whether it's as a poet, as a fiction writer, or as a nonfiction writer,” said Professor Vu Tran, Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing.

The major consists of a fundamentals in creative writing course, two technical seminars, three advanced creative writing workshops, a literary genre course, three other literature courses, two research background electives, and a thesis/major projects workshop. It culminates in a BA thesis: a major work of either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

“The way the major has been designed is it's still going to make room for [interdisciplinary] inquiry,” said Jessi Haley, Program Manager for the University’s Creative Writing and Poetics program. “It is a University of Chicago program, so we're capitalizing on that energy and interest here.”

Much of this interdisciplinary focus comes from the research-background electives and new technical seminars. The research-background electives are two classes in any field, allowing students to structure the major around their own creative interests.

The technical seminars, new courses that accompany the major, teach creative writing through a variety of lenses. Unlike workshop classes, where students write and critique their own work, these seminars focus on situating students in the world of contemporary creative writing and encouraging them to question their own work from different perspectives. Topics of upcoming technical seminars include the possibilities of tone in nonfiction writing and units of composition in poetry.

“I really want students to take seriously how other disciplines can flesh them out as writers and inform them as thinkers,” said Tran about the new major. “I think, no matter what kind of writing you do, no matter what genre, I think you can only be a good writer if you're a good thinker.”

Other aspects of the major work to foster a community among its students. The Fundamentals of Creative Writing course includes students working in all genres, with the hope of creating a “cohort” among the students.

Students like the focus on the technical aspects of creative writing in the major, as well as how the department encourages community among its students. “I've never been exposed to or really thought about how the process of writing occurs. [The seminar] also pushes me outside my comfort zone, which is important for both writing and life,” said third year Creative Writing Major Adrienne Beck. “I really like it so far; I've never done anything quite like this.”

“The program builds much more than a writer; it also builds out a person. I truly believe the skills you pick up from this major are the most diverse at the university,” added Ma, who is double majoring in Economics. She warns, however, that the Creative Writing major can be tough.

“Don't take these classes thinking you'll make an easy A,” she said. “There have been times that creative writing's taken 500% more out of me than any econ [problem set] ever could.”

Many students in the Creative Writing major explore additional academic focuses. Chair of Creative Writing and Poetics, Professor John Wilkinson, said that previously, for their minor, many of their students majored in Economics or Biology. When they pitched the major to the College, he added, the biggest enthusiasm was from the science faculty.

“Whatever area of work you happen to be in, the ability to write well is going to enormously benefit you,” Wilkinson said.

Beck, who also studies pre-medicine, had another take, viewing the major as a way for her to explore her passion for writing. “I'm excited to be a doctor one day, and at the same time I have this idea for a novel that I simply can't ignore,” she said. “I would like to use the skills I learn in this major to do my idea justice and execute it as well as I can. Even though I don't see writing as a career goal, I've found that I'm too passionate about writing to stop now, and I know I would never be satisfied leaving my novel unfinished.”

For students who are interested in pursuing creative writing as a career, the new major offers a variety of supports. Every year, the department has a panel where faculty, most of whom are published poets and authors, talk to students about the process of publishing, hiring an agent, and pitching work to magazines. They also offer guidance on what to look for in MFA programs, which for many young writers have become the bridge between undergraduate creative writing and a professional career. Additionally, many professors infuse discussion of the life of a professional writer into their courses.

Students thinking about joining the major should reach out to Professor Tran and to Jessi Haley by email at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively for more information.

“We're really enthusiastic about it,” said Tran. “Students who are interested should know that there are a lot of other students who are [as well]. They'll have a great cohort if they do decide to major in creative writing. It'll be a good community for them.”

UChicago to offer undergraduate major in creative writing

The Department of English Language and Literature will offer a new undergraduate major in creative writing, beginning in Autumn Quarter 2017.

First-, second- and third-year students will have the option to major in creative writing, or take on a double major in creative writing and any major they wish to pursue, including English. A minor in English and creative writing also will be open to students outside those programs.

The major’s creation will help satisfy long-felt demand from students in the College for a creative writing major alongside the traditional program in English.

“For years students have been asking for a program of study in creative writing,” program coordinator Jessi Haley said. “The courses we currently offer are notoriously oversubscribed. In the last five years we have expanded our faculty, but demand is always running ahead of us. This is a basis for future expansion.”

While it will provide rigorous training in the skills required to write at a high level in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, students who graduate with a BA in creative writing will find themselves well suited to a wide range of career paths, said John Wilkinson, chair of Creative Writing.

“A BA in creative writing doesn’t lead only to graduate school for an MFA,” said Wilkinson, a professor in English who led a group of Core faculty in designing the new major. “In any employment, literary skills are important, so there is a link to many practical applications. For instance, the major is great for science students looking toward science journalism or popular science writing, as much as for arts students interested in arts reviewing.”

The creation of the creative writing major marks the culmination of a UChicago Arts initiative to offer majors in all of the living arts. The hope is that the new program will lead to continued growth in a variety of fields, including literary translation and new media, and will attract students from diverse fields and backgrounds eager for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Alongside the current offering of workshop courses in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, new courses will be added to include seminars focused on issues of craft in contemporary literature, as well as a cross-genre seminars on the fundamentals of creative writing as a discipline. In total, students will complete 13 courses: 11 within the creative writing and literature departments, as well as two electives. All creative writing majors will complete a BA thesis and take a corresponding thesis workshop during their fourth year of study.

Vu Tran, assistant professor of practice in the arts and the director of undergraduate studies in creative writing, said the program aims to cultivate both compelling and adept writers.

“Our program will offer students a foundational, technical and critical understanding of their chosen genre, and then help them in their practice,” Tran said.

Latest News

Education lab: using tutoring to reverse pandemic-era learning loss.

Illustration of a couple with kids and a couple with no kids

Big Brains podcast: Why are more women saying no to having kids?

Photo of 3 scientists on a stage with The Kavli Prize backdrop behind

UChicago President Paul Alivisatos accepts 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience

a room of scientists cheer in front of a bank of computers

Particle physics

Fermilab short-baseline detector detects its first neutrinos

Go 'Inside the Lab' at UChicago

Explore labs through videos and Q&As with UChicago faculty, staff and students

Collapse of bat populations increased infant mortality rate, study finds

UChicago scientists develop new nanomedicine approach to improve cancer treatment

Around uchicago.

Dispatches from Abroad

At Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, UChicago student unravels the mysteries of galaxies

Artificial Intelligence

NSF awards $20 million to build AI models that predict scientific discoveries a…

New chicago booth course empowers student entrepreneurs to tackle global issues.

Campus News

Project to improve accessibility, sustainability of Main Quadrangles

2024 DNC, RNC

An ‘unparalleled experience’: UChicago students at the Democratic, Republican conventions

John Jayne (pictured left) and Jesse Ssengonzi

The Olympics

Living their Olympic dreams: UChicago alumni relish moments on world stage

Meet A UChicagoan

“The trouble comes from using these immortal materials for disposable products.”

Photo of A scientist with black gloves and blue lab coat and a mustache holding a small item

Obama Foundation

University of Chicago Obama Foundation Scholars Program includes 18 emerging leaders for 2024-25

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Department of English

Why English Studies?
Why Creative Writing?
Career Success
BA in English/Creative Writing
Graduate Admissions
Undergraduate Studies
MA/PhD in Literary/Writing Studies
Undergraduate Course Offerings
Graduate Course Offerings
MFA in Creative Writing
Blogs & Digital Projects
Conferences & Series
PhD Dissertations
Reading, Research, & Discussion Groups
Undergraduate Resources
Graduate Resources
Convocation
Faculty Resources
Department Calendar
Department News
Administration
Faculty by Specialty Areas
Affiliate Faculty
Emeriti Faculty
Specialized Faculty
Graduate Students
Stay Connected
Get Involved
Give to English
Undergraduate Alumni Spotlight
Graduate Alumni Spotlight

The Creative Writing Minor

Through our program, writers shape their literary voices, develop distinctive styles, and intensify their written, critical, and editorial skills.

The undergraduate Creative Writing minor at the University of Illinois combines small, foundational workshops (poetry or fiction) with electives in literature, storytelling, rhetoric, and theatre. The result is a lively and flexible program of study that develops students' analytical and creative skills and helps prepares them for work or graduate study in any number of fields.

Creative Writing Minor Requirements

Core course (3 credit hours).

CW 100: Intro to Creative Writing

Creative Writing Coursework (9 credit hours)

One of the following sequences.

CW 106: Poetry Workshop I
CW 206: Poetry Workshop II
CW 406: Poetry Workshop III
CW 104: Fiction Workshop I
CW 204: Fiction Workshop II
CW 404: Fiction Workshop III

Approved Electives (6 credit hours)

Two courses from the following list. One of them must be a 300 or 400 level course:

Any CW or ENGL class
CMN 310: The Rhetorical Tradition
CMN 423: Rhetorical Criticism
JOUR 475: Magazine Writing
THEA 211: Introduction to Playwriting
IS 409: Storytelling
The Creative Writing Major

Majors & Programs