EIU Department of English

Creative Writing

The English major with an emphasis in creative writing allows students to develop their craft in the major literary genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and drama.  The program is designed to serve students who are committed to developing as writers whether they plan to pursue graduate study in creative writing or to apply their creative and writing skills in other fields.

The emphasis requires 21 credits, including a multi-genre introductory course, four writing workshops selected from two genres, and a senior capstone course in genre. In addition, the emphasis recommends the one-credit Career Development course, and students select 15 credits worth of electives in English.

New Features: 

• The new introductory course allows students to experience the full range of genres, regardless of which they choose to emphasize in their upper-division coursework

• The new elective in Literary Editing and Publishing focuses on the practice of editing and publishing in both print and digital formats, with hands-on experience editing a journal built into the course

• The capstone course, Studies in Genre, allows students to synthesize literary theory as applied to the genres they have studied as writers

2021-2022 Checklist - Emphasis in Creative Writing