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The Creative Writing Certificate is a program concentration that seeks to expose learners to a variety of creative writing genres, including poetry, creative nonfiction, drama, fiction, and screenwriting. Four tracks are offered in the program:

  1. Poetry Writing,
  2. Fiction Writing,
  3. Creative Nonfiction Writing, and
  4. Screenwriting.

For students in each track, Introduction to Creative Writing is required, followed by one genre writing course, one literature/theater course in the chosen track, one program elective, and one capstone course.

Our unique capstone options include a choice of one of the following:

ENGLI 2210, Literary Journal: Prairie Light Review: an experiential course where students oversee the production of the journal, including acquisitions, copy editing, design, and marketing;

ENGLI 2261, Writing for Publication: a market-driven course that exposes the inner-workings of the publishing industry to writers seeking to release their work to the world;

ENGLI 2860, Internship: a hands-on course where students work with employers on real-world creative writing projects that will impact the business's mission and/or bottom line.

For more information about English, please visit the program page.

Certificate Requirements

Field of Study Code: ENGLI.CER.CW

Program Requirements
ENGLI 2250Introduction to Creative Writing3
Emphasis Courses
Select two courses from one of the following tracks:6
Program Electives 1
Select three credits from the following:3
Introduction to Literature
Introduction to Film Art
Film History
Short Fiction
Poetry
Drama
Film As Literature
Science Fiction
Children's Literature
Greek Mythology
Multicultural Literatures of the U.S.
Literature, Gender, and Sexualities
Selected Topics I
Creating a Literary Journal: Prairie Light Review
British Literature to 1800
British Literature From 1800 Through The Present
American Literature From the Colonial Period to the Civil War
American Literature From the Civil War to the Present
World Literature
Shakespeare
Film Directors and Authorship
Fiction Writing
Poetry Writing
Creative Nonfiction Writing
Writing for Publication
Non-Western Literature
Screenwriting for Short Forms
Screenwriting for Feature Films
Theater Appreciation
Improvisational Acting
Acting I
Repertory Acting
Capstone Course
ENGLI 2210Creating a Literary Journal: Prairie Light Review 2-3
or ENGLI 2261 Writing for Publication
or ENGLI 2860 Internship (Career & Technical Ed)
Total Credits14-15
1

Students choose from a wide-range of literature courses to learn the techniques of published writers and develop deep reading skills. Theater electives develop characterization and dialog writing skills. Film courses assist in the study of plot, characterization, and visualization techniques. Students can also choose to take a genre writing course outside of their track.

Emphases

Creative Nonfiction Track

Genre Writing Course
Required:
ENGLI 2253Creative Nonfiction Writing3
Literature/Theater Course
Select one:
ENGLI 1130Introduction to Literature3
ENGLI 1161Multicultural Literatures of the U.S.3
ENGLI 1165Literature, Gender, and Sexualities3
ENGLI 2220British Literature to 18003
ENGLI 2221British Literature From 1800 Through The Present3
ENGLI 2223American Literature From the Colonial Period to the Civil War3
ENGLI 2224American Literature From the Civil War to the Present3
ENGLI 2262Non-Western Literature3

Fiction Writing Track

Genre Writing Course
Required:
ENGLI 2251Fiction Writing3
Literature/Theater Course
Select one:
ENGLI 1150Short Fiction3
ENGLI 1153Drama3
ENGLI 1156Science Fiction3
ENGLI 1161Multicultural Literatures of the U.S.3
ENGLI 2220British Literature to 18003
ENGLI 2221British Literature From 1800 Through The Present3
ENGLI 2223American Literature From the Colonial Period to the Civil War3
ENGLI 2224American Literature From the Civil War to the Present3
ENGLI 2226World Literature3
ENGLI 2262Non-Western Literature3
THEAT 1105Improvisational Acting3
THEAT 1111Acting I3
THEAT 2211Repertory Acting3

Poetry Writing Track

Genre Writing Course
Required:
ENGLI 2252Poetry Writing3
Literature/Theater Course
Select one:
ENGLI 1130Introduction to Literature3
ENGLI 1152Poetry3
ENGLI 2220British Literature to 18003
ENGLI 2221British Literature From 1800 Through The Present3
ENGLI 2223American Literature From the Colonial Period to the Civil War3
ENGLI 2224American Literature From the Civil War to the Present3
ENGLI 2226World Literature3
ENGLI 2228Shakespeare3
ENGLI 2262Non-Western Literature3

Screenwriting Track

Genre Writing Course
Select one:
MPTV 2022Screenwriting for Short Forms3
MPTV 2032Screenwriting for Feature Films3
Literature/Theater Course
Select one:
ENGLI 1135Introduction to Film Art3
ENGLI 1145Film History3
ENGLI 1154Film As Literature3
ENGLI 2234Film Directors and Authorship3
ENGLI 2235Film Genres3
ENGLI 2236World Cinema3
ENGLI 2238Longform Television3
THEAT 1100Theater Appreciation3
THEAT 1105Improvisational Acting3
THEAT 1111Acting I3
THEAT 2211Repertory Acting3