Majoring in Creative Writing

The Creative Writing guides students in developing their writing craft, examining the literary and cultural contexts of their works, and expanding their readers’ understanding of what it means to live. Through course offerings and co-curricular opportunities, students carefully study contemporary modes and theories, gain professional experience in publishing, and creating their own original literary works. For students who desire added specializations, the major provides three optional concentrations: Narrative Studies, Publishing, and Activism.

Degree Requirements

Total program: 48 semester hours

Core Requirements

24 semester hours

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
CWRT 201	Intro to Creative Writing	4
or CWRT 204	Introduction to Prose Writing
CWRT 303	Poetry Writing	4
CWRT 305	Literary Magazine Staff	2,2
CWRT 336	Latinx: The Magical & the Real	4
CWRT 390	Great Author Immersion	2
CWRT 499	Senior Seminar in Writing	2
Select two of the following:		8
CWRT 303	Poetry Writing (repeatable once)
CWRT 304	Advanced Fiction Writing
CWRT 324	Advanced Non-Fiction Writing
Total Semester Hours		28

Elective Core

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
Select eight semester hours of the following:		8
CWRT 305	Literary Magazine Staff
CWRT 307	Special Topics Writing & Lit 1
CWRT 309	Creative Writing Workshop
Total Semester Hours		8

¹

May be repeated 3 times

Literature Electives

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
Select 12 semester hours of the following:		12
CWRT 307	Special Topics Writing & Lit
ENG 335	Los Angeles Fiction
ENG 385	Studies in Ethnic American Literature
ENG 430	Contemporary American Fiction
ENG 434	Studies in the American Novel
FREN 365	French Literature in Translation
SPAN 350	Indigenous Writer-Translator
Total Semester Hours		12

 Narrative Studies Concentration

12 Semester Hours

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
CWRT 350	Building a Novel	4
TV 251	Writing the Short Script	4
TV 351	Playwriting and Screenwriting I	4
Total Semester Hours		12

Publishing Concentration

10 -12 Semester Hours

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
JOUR 100	News Reporting	4
JOUR 115	News Editing	2-4
or JOUR 315	Syntax and Grammar for the Professional Writer
JOUR 317	Graphic Production Processes and Design for Publications	4
or JOUR 318	Survey of Multi-Media
Total Semester Hours		10-12

Activism Concentration

12 Semester Hours

Course List

Code	Title	Semester Hours
PLSC 445	Race & Resistance in the 20th Century	4
One of the following three courses:		4
RCS 380	Feminist Rhetorics
RCS 390	Queer Theory and BIPOC Rhetorics
RCS 400	Voices of Revolution
THAR 370	Theatre and Community	4
Total Semester Hours		12