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Contacts

Elise Juska \ ejuska@uarts.edu \ 215.717.6264
Creative Writing Program Director

Description

The BFA in Creative Writing is a 60-credit major that prepares students for professional writing careers. The 45 credits of writing courses include small, intensive workshops and craft seminars that emphasize contemporary writing arts and guide students toward the completion of a manuscript ready for publication or production. While students majoring in Creative Writing concentrate in one of three genres—poetry, short fiction, or writing for film and television, an emphasis chosen at the end of the first year—they also take craft seminars focused on specialized writing forms and genres, literature courses, hands-on courses in publishing and video production, and a cross-disciplinary course requiring close collaboration with a student in another artistic field.

In their first year, Creative Writing students acquire a working knowledge of the elements of poetry, short fiction, and screenwriting. All first year students take three year-long workshops—Introduction to the Contemporary Poem, Introduction to the Contemporary Short Story, and Introduction to Screenwriting—which equally emphasize reading, viewing, and writing. Here students begin learning to read and view as writers, to critique material productively, and to practice and hone their writing skills by using as models the significant poetry, story collections, screenplays, films, and television series of the last fifteen years.

As sophomores, students continue to explore and refine their writing interests by taking the Intermediate Workshop in fiction, poetry, or writing for film and television and choosing from among the diverse roster of craft seminars. These seminars are not literature courses in the traditional sense, but courses that look closely at a particular form or genre with an eye to craft. These electives, offered on a rotating basis, include Creative Nonfiction, Arts Criticism and Reviewing, Introduction to Episodic Television, The Linked Short Story Collection, Screenplay Adaptation, Writing for Media, Translation and Adaptation, and Graphic Storytelling.

As juniors, in addition to taking increasingly advanced writing workshops, students have the opportunity to explore connections between their writing and other arts. In the cross-disciplinary Writing and Collaboration course, students undertake a creative project with a student in another major. In the spring, poetry and fiction concentrators take a hands-on publishing course covering all aspects of producing a literary magazine; screenwriting concentrators take a similar course in video production. To complete their degree, students also enjoy 15 credits of free electives, which may be used for additional courses in Creative Writing or studio programs from across the university. Free elective credit may also be allocated for editorial internships or for work with entertainment outlets in the media markets of New York or Los Angeles.

In the senior year, Creative Writing majors take a two-semester seminar concentrated on revising finished work with potential for publication or production. The senior year culminates in a portfolio of revised pieces, an exit interview with members of the writing faculty, and a public reading or screening.

Program Objectives

Students graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Creative Writing will:

• Understand the elements of the poem, the short story, and the screenplay and be able to use them, skillfully and deliberately, in their own work;
• Be close and careful readers, able to analyze text with a writer’s eye;
• Demonstrate knowledge of significant books, video productions, writers and trends in the contemporary landscape, as well as the context for the development of these models and traditions;
• Write ably in a range of forms and genres;
• Critique writing usefully and productively, delivering detailed, well-supported verbal and written peer feedback;
• Find and articulate connections between their writing and other artistic disciplines;
• Demonstrate practical knowledge of producing a literary magazine, a film, or a television show;
• Appreciate historical and cultural influences on their original work;
• Hone public speaking and pitching skills by reading work aloud, introducing visiting writers, and participating in public readings, screenings, and other presentations;
• Engage in thorough, substantial revision of written work;
• Understand professional practices in their chosen concentration;
• Practice creative problem-solving skills, experimentation, and inventiveness;
• Produce a final portfolio of professional-quality writing;
• Have something to say.

Program Requirements (121.5 credits)