Creative Writing Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Mission Statement: The Creative Writing Program develops students’ abilities in creative writing in the genres of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction on a foundation of study of significant literary texts in British, American, and world literature.
Creative Writing is a studio program designed to help students publish their artistic work. It is not intended to prepare a student for a specific career; however, our creative writing graduates, while publishing artistic work, have found diversified careers in editing, publishing, grant writing, teaching, professional schools and many fields less directly related to their writing abilities. Courses in technical communications are complementary to these career interests.
Note: two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.
Students in the Creative Writing option are encouraged to register for 5+ credits from the following list of Breadth Area Core Requirements: HUMN 210 or HUMN 211 or history courses appropriate to the student’s area of literary interest.
Some substitutions may be allowed.
| Pre-Major Requirements | ||
| CRWR 111 | CREATIVE WRITING ORIENTATION | 1 |
| CRWR 210 | INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING (students must complete this course with a grade ≥B ) | 5 |
| Required Workshops–choose two from the following | 10 | |
Note: courses from the workshop sequence require a ≥B average for the two courses together. | ||
| BEGINNING FICTION WORKSHOP | ||
| BEGINNING POETRY WORKSHOP | ||
| BEGINNING NONFICTION WORKSHOP | ||
| Required CRWR Foundational Literature Surveys | ||
| CRWR 301 | FOUNDATIONAL TEXTS: PROSE | 5 |
| CRWR 302 | FOUNDATIONAL TEXTS: POETRY | 5 |
| Required English Literature Surveys–CRWR majors are required to choose three (some substitutions may be allowed) | 15 | |
| SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE I | ||
| SURVEY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE II | ||
| BRITISH LITERATURE I: BEGINNINGS THROUGH 18TH CENTURY | ||
| BRITISH LITERATURE II: ROMANTICISM TO THE PRESENT | ||
| WORLD LITERATURES | ||
| SHAKESPEARE | ||
| SURVEY OF NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| FOLKLORE | ||
| MYTHOLOGY | ||
| LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE | ||
| WOMEN, LITERATURE AND SOCIAL CHANGE | ||
| Required Form and Theory Writing Courses–choose two from the following | 10 | |
| FORM AND THEORY OF FICTION | ||
| FORM AND THEORY OF POETRY | ||
| FORM AND THEORY OF LITERARY NONFICTION | ||
| Required Workshop–must be repeated twice with choice of Fiction, Nonfiction or Poetry | 10 | |
| CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP | ||
| Additional Creative Writing credits–choose from the following | 5 | |
| FORM AND THEORY OF FICTION | ||
| FORM AND THEORY OF POETRY | ||
| FORM AND THEORY OF LITERARY NONFICTION | ||
| PRACTICUM: WILLOW SPRINGS MAGAZINE, LIT. EDITING AND DESIGN (variable credit course) | ||
| PRACTICUM: WILLOW SPRINGS BOOKS, LIT. ED. AND DESIGN (variable credit course) | ||
| CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP | ||
| ZINE AND PUBLICATION DESIGN | ||
| Senior Thesis | ||
| CRWR 491 | CREATIVE WRITING SENIOR THESIS (must have senior status or have completed all 200–400 level requirements) | 5 |
| Total Credits | 71 | |
Plan of Study
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRWR 111 | 1 | ENGL 201 | 5 | CRWR 210 | 5 |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 | MATH 107 | 5 |
| Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 21 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 21 | 5 |
| Social Science BACR 11 | 5 | ||||
| 16 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRWR 217, 218, or 219 | 5 | CRWR 217, 218, or 219 | 5 | English Literature Elective2 | 5 |
| CRWR 301 | 5 | CRWR 302 | 5 | Global Studies - graduation requirement1 | 5 |
| Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | Diversity - graduation requirement1 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRWR 311, 312, or 313 | 5 | CRWR 311, 312, or 313 | 5 | CRWR 417 | 5 |
| English Literature Elective2 | 5 | English Literature Elective2 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| CRWR 417 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | CRWR 491 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
| Creative Writing Elective3 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 4 |
| 15 | 15 | 14 | |||
| Total Credits 180 | |||||
- 1
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
- 2
Required English Literature Surveys–CRWR majors are required to choose three from the approved list.
- 3
Additional Creative Writing credits–choose from the approved list.
University Competencies and Proficiencies
English
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who earn a BA in Creative Writing at EWU should be able to:
- analyze works of literature using the technical language of the craft specific to their genre of study (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry);
- articulate a critical understanding of the contemporary literary landscape;
- demonstrate an understanding of the publishing process;
- produce texts that conform to the conventions specific to the genre being studied (literary fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry);
- provide constructive criticism of written works in progress.