Creative Writing
If writing is your passion and you have an affinity for the arts, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Creative Writing from the University of the Arts is for you. As a Creative Writing major, you will be immersed in poetry and fiction and gain writing experience in many different genres. Learning from award-winning published authors, you'll collaborate with your peers in an inspiring artistic environment. Your undergraduate study will culminate in a finished collection of poems or a series of short stories—your unique portfolio with potential for publication. You'll study a wide range of genres—from Speculative Fiction and Creative Nonfiction to Screenplay Adaptation and Graphic Storytelling—in workshop setting, and have the opportunity to take general arts electives such as music, theater and dance.
As a student in a truly arts-centered University, you’ll have many opportunities to collaborate with students in other majors. You might work with Illustration and Graphic Design students on our popular undergraduate literary magazine, Underground Pool. A poet or fiction writer might team up with a music major to create a joint artistic work in our Writing and Collaboration course. Creative Writing majors can also take advantage of our affiliation with the nationally renowned American Poetry Review and their student internships, housed right here at UArts.
Underground Pool Visiting Writers Series
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Katie Murphy
2018
Creative Writing
Hometown: Cressona, Pennsylvania
MeeRee Orlandini
2018
Creative Writing
Hometown: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Tyra Jamison
2020
Creative Writing
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylavania
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Elise Juska
Creative Writing
Award-winning novelist, Entertainment Weekly's "Must List", Philly Inquirer's "Best Books" List
Sebastian Agudelo
Creative Writing
Poet, winner of the Saturnalia Book Prize
Rahul Mehta
Creative Writing
Latest novel, 'No Other World,' published by HarperCollins in 2017
Sample Courses in the Creative Writing Major
First Year
The Writing Life
Introduction to Contemporary Poetry I
Introduction to Contemporary Poetry II
Introduction to Short Story I
Introduction to Short Story II
Creative Practices
Second Year
Intermediate Short Story Workshop
Intermediate Poetry Workshop
The Linked Short Story Collection
Poetic Translations & Adaptations
Big Fat Famous Novels
Art of Song Lyric
Third Year
Literary Editing & Publishing
Advanced Workshop Poetry or Short Story
Art Criticism & Reviewing
20th Century American Writers
High Modernism
Collaborative Studio
Fourth Year
Senior Seminar Poetry or Short Story I
Senior Seminar Poetry or Short Story II
Writing for the Web
Writing for Television
Creative Nonfiction
Film Story Analysis
About the Curriculum
The Creative Writing major prepares students for professional writing careers. Within the major, 45 of the 60 credits are dedicated exclusively to writing courses including small, intensive workshops in poetry and fiction. Students also take craft seminars focused on specialized writing forms and genres, literature courses, a hands-on course in publishing, and a cross-disciplinary course requiring close collaboration with a student in another artistic field.
Graduates of the Creative Writing program are expected to:
- Understand the elements of the poem and the short story 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, 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;
- Hone public speaking skills by reading work aloud, introducing visiting writers, and participating in public readings and other presentations;
- Engage in thorough, substantial revision of written work;
- Demonstrate a mature awareness of their own process of writing and revising, both in written self-assessments and exit interview;
- Produce a final portfolio of professional-quality writing;
- Have something to say.
To earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, students will complete a total of 121.5 credits as follows:
- 60 credits in the Creative Writing Major
- 4.5 credits in Creative Practices and Collaborative Studio
- 9 credits in Discipline History
- 33 credits in the Liberal Arts
- 15 credits in free Electives
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Maggie Malachi Lily
BFA '17
Creative Writing
Writer, illustrator and curator; hometown: Philadelphia
Emily Famularo
BFA '17
Creative Writing
Founder of popular online music magazine 'The Hook Journal'; hometown: Beachwood, NJ
Visiting Writers Series
The University of the Arts' Visiting Writers Series is sponsored by the Creative Writing program and features acclaimed contemporary writers who will visit campus each year. These distinguished poets, novelists, short story writers and screenwriters will give readings – all of which are free and open to the public – and meet with students in the Creative Writing major to discuss issues of craft and the writing life.
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