Creative Writing Major/Minor Requirements

The English Department at Lawrence offers majors in English and Creative Writing.

English majors learn to read closely, think critically, and write effectively as they explore literature, history, and culture across diverse contexts. The abilities they develop in their coursework prepare them to read perceptively, analyze thoughtfully, and communicate clearly—skills that are invaluable for success in a diverse and complex world.

The Creative Writing major allows students to combine the study of literature with artistic production. Creative writing majors learn, in both creative writing and literature courses, to interrogate the complexities of language, culture, aesthetics, identities, communities, and themselves. Students take creative writing classes in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (with options to also work in scriptwriting and playwrighting) at every level of the major, have numerous opportunities to interact with nationally and internationally renowned writers, and to interact closely with their peers and professors. The major is capped by an intimate Senior Experience seminar, in which they produce a lengthy work of poetry or creative prose and present it during a public reading.

1. Three courses at the 100 and 200-level:
   1. ENG 110: Literature and War
   2. ENG 111: Literature and Music
   3. ENG 112: Literature and Truth
   4. ENG 114: Literature, Psychology, and Memory
   5. ENG 115: Literature and Adolescence
   6. ENG 150: Reading Literature
   7. ENG 151: Reading Fiction
   8. ENG 152: Reading Poetry
   9. ENG 211: The Business of Literature
   10. ENG 180: Introduction to Creative Writing
   11. ENG 230: British Writers Before 1800
   12. ENG 240: British Writers After 1800
   13. ENG 250: American Writers
   14. ENG 260: African American Writers
   15. ENG 280: Postcolonial Writers
   16. ENG 290: Topics in the Long Novel
        
2. Two advanced courses focusing on periods before 1800:
   1. ENG 401: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 410: Newtonian Lit: Chronicles of a Clockwork Universe
   3. ENG 420: Studies in Medieval Literature
   4. ENG 425: Shakespeare (or ENG 170: Shakespeare in London, but not both)
   5. ENG 430: Renaissance Literature
   6. ENG 435: Renaissance Drama
   7. ENG 440: Milton and the Seventeenth Century
   8. ENG 441: John Donne and the Metaphysical Poets
   9. ENG 443: New England Puritan Poetry
   10. ENG 445: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy
   11. ENG 446: Gender and the Enlightenment
   12. ENG 447: Eighteenth-Century Terrors
   13. ENG 448: Enlightenment Selves
   14. ENG 451: The Revolutionary Eighteenth Century
   15. ENG 452: Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa
   16. ENG 527: History of the Book
        
3. One advanced course focusing on the nineteenth century:
   1. ENG 402: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 455: Romanticism
   3. ENG 460: The Victorian Age
   4. ENG 465: The English Novel
   5. ENG 474: American Poets of the Nineteenth Century
   6. ENG 476: Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers
   7. ENG 477: Dickinson
   8. ENG 478: Nineteenth-Century African-American Writers
       
4. One advanced course focusing on the twentieth or twenty-first centuries:
   1. ENG 403: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 481: Joyce’s Ulysses
   3. ENG 483: American Autobiography
   4. ENG 500: Contemporary American Fiction
   5. ENG 501: The Graphic Novel
   6. ENG 503: Contemporary American Poetry
   7. ENG 504: Multiethnic American Literature
   8. ENG 506: Contemporary African-American Women Poets
   9. ENG 510: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
   10. ENG 515: Gender and Modernist British/American Literature
   11. ENG 516: Literature and Human Rights
   12. ENG 517: Topics in Human Rights
   13. ENG 518: Narratives of Inequality
   14. ENG 521: Narratives of International News
   15. ENG 522: Literature and the Environment
        
5. Three additional courses in English, at least one of which must be an advanced course.
    
6. In completing the above requirements, one class must be English 401, 402, or 403: Topics in Literary Criticism
    
7. In completing the above requirements, students must take at least one course from each of the following literary and cultural traditions:
   1. British: ENG 170 (London Centre), 230, 240, 410, 420, 425, 430, 435, 440, 441, 445, 446, 447, 448, 451, 452, 455, 460, 465, 481, 515, 527
   2. American: ENG 250, 260, 443, 474, 476, 477, 478, 483, 500, 501, 503, 504, 506, 510, 522
   3. African American: ENG 260, 478, 504, 506, 510; OR postcolonial: ENG 280, 516, 517, 518, 521. A course in African-American literature may satisfy either category b or c but not both.
8. Senior Experience (ENG 600, student teaching in English, or honors project in English)

1. Two literature courses at the 100 and 200-level:
   1. ENG 110: Literature and War
   2. ENG 111: Literature and Music
   3. ENG 112: Literature and Truth
   4. ENG 114: Literature, Psychology, and Memory
   5. ENG 115: Literature and Adolescence
   6. ENG 150: Reading Literature
   7. ENG 151: Reading Fiction
   8. ENG 152: Reading Poetry
   9. ENG 211: The Business of Literature
   10. ENG 230: British Writers Before 1800
   11. ENG 240: British Writers After 1800
   12. ENG 250: American Writers
   13. ENG 260: African American Writers
   14. ENG 280: Postcolonial Writers
   15. ENG 290: Topics in the Long Novel
        
2. ENG 180: Introduction to Creative Writing
    
3. Two 300-level creative writing courses, one in prose (fiction or nonfiction) and one in poetry (ENG 351 may count as either prose or fiction):
   1. ENG 350: Creative Writing: Nonfiction
   2. ENG 351: Creative Writing: Hybrid Poetry-Nonfiction
   3. ENG 360: Creative Writing: Fiction
   4. ENG 370: Creative Writing: Poetry
       
4. Two 500-level creative writing courses in any genre. (Students may also petition for THAR 427: Playwrighting to count in place of one of these courses.):
   1. ENG 550: Advanced Creative Writing: Nonfiction
   2. ENG 560: Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction
   3. ENG 565: Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry
       
5. Two advanced literature courses focusing on periods before 1800:
   1. ENG 401: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 410: Newtonian Lit: Chronicles of a Clockwork Universe
   3. ENG 420: Studies in Medieval Literature
   4. ENG 425: Shakespeare (or ENG 170: Shakespeare in London, but not both)
   5. ENG 430: Renaissance Literature
   6. ENG 435: Renaissance Drama
   7. ENG 440: Milton and the Seventeenth Century
   8. ENG 441: John Donne and the Metaphysical Poets
   9. ENG 443: New England Puritan Poetry
   10. ENG 445: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy
   11. ENG 446: Gender and the Enlightenment
   12. ENG 447: Eighteenth-Century Terrors
   13. ENG 448: Enlightenment Selves
   14. ENG 451: The Revolutionary Eighteenth Century
   15. ENG 452: Samuel Richardson's Clarissa
   16. ENG 527: History of the Book
        
6. One advanced literature course focusing on the nineteenth century:
   1. ENG 402: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 455: Romanticism
   3. ENG 460: The Victorian Age
   4. ENG 465: The English Novel
   5. ENG 474: American Poets of the Nineteenth Century
   6. ENG 476: Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers
   7. ENG 477: Dickinson
   8. ENG 478: Nineteenth-Century African-American Writers
       
7. One advanced literature course focusing on the twentieth or twenty-first centuries:
   1. ENG 403: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 481: Joyce's Ulysses
   3. ENG 483: American Autobiography
   4. ENG 500: Contemporary American Fiction
   5. ENG 501: The Graphic Novel
   6. ENG 503: Contemporary American Poetry
   7. ENG 504: Multiethnic American Literature
   8. ENG 506: Contemporary African-American Women Poets
   9. ENG 510: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
   10. ENG 515: Gender and Modernist British/American Literature
   11. ENG 516: Literature and Human Rights
   12. ENG 517: Topics in Human Rights
   13. ENG 518: Narratives of Inequality
   14. ENG 521: Narratives of International News
   15. ENG 522: Literature and the Environment
        
8. In completing the above requirements, students must take at least one course from each of the following literary and cultural traditions:
   1. British: ENG 170 (London Centre), 230, 240, 410, 420, 425, 430, 435, 440, 441, 445, 446, 447, 448, 451, 452, 455, 460, 465, 481, 515, 527
   2. American: ENG 250, 260, 443, 474, 476, 477, 478, 483, 500, 501, 503, 504, 506, 510, 522
   3. African American: ENG 260, 478, 504, 506, 510; OR postcolonial: ENG 280, 516, 517, 518, 521. A course in African-American literature may satisfy either category b or c but not both.

ENG 601: Senior Seminar in Creative Writing

Senior Experience in English

The Senior Experience for English majors may be fulfilled through one of the following:

1. ENG 600: Senior Seminar in English: An advanced seminar focused on analyzing theoretical, historical, critical, and literary texts, culminating in a substantial research paper. Typically taken during the senior year, though some students may enroll in the spring of their junior year;
2. Student teaching in English, along with a paper co-directed by the student’s academic advisor in English and a faculty member in the education department; or
3. An honors project in English (or adequate progress toward completing an honors project as approved by departmental petition); Students pursuing double majors or double degrees are encouraged to consult with faculty from the English department and the other major department prior to taking ENG 600 if they wish to undertake a research topic that draws upon both of their majors. Students pursuing double majors or double degrees also have the option of doing an honors project that is interdisciplinary in nature, as long as one of the directors of the project is a professor in the English department.

Senior Experience in Creative Writing

Students in the Creative Writing major must take:

ENG 601: Senior Seminar in Creative Writing: A seminar involving analysis of theoretical, critical, literary, and practical (i.e., craft-related) readings at an advanced level in conjunction with the composition of original, substantial creative work. Students working in different genres will have the opportunity to read one another’s work and discuss, as a group, both the challenges and possibilities associated with composing lengthy creative projects. Each section of the seminar will focus on a theme that can accommodate variety in students’ individual research projects.

1. Two courses at the 100 and 200 level:
   1. ENG 110: Literature and War
   2. ENG 111: Literature and Music
   3. ENG 112: Literature and Truth
   4. ENG 114: Literature, Psychology, and Memory
   5. ENG 115: Literature and Adolescence
   6. ENG 150: Reading Literature
   7. ENG 151: Reading Fiction
   8. ENG 152: Reading Poetry
   9. ENG 211: The Business of Literature
   10. ENG 230: British Writers Before 1800
   11. ENG 240: British Writers After 1800
   12. ENG 250: American Writers
   13. ENG 260: African American Writers
   14. ENG 280: Postcolonial Writers
   15. ENG 290: Topics in the Long Novel
2. One advanced course focusing on periods before 1800:
   1. ENG 401: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 410: Newtonian Lit: Chronicles of a Clockwork Universe
   3. ENG 420: Studies in Medieval Literature
   4. ENG 425: Shakespeare (or ENG 170: Shakespeare in London, but not both)
   5. ENG 430: Renaissance Literature
   6. ENG 435: Renaissance Drama
   7. ENG 440: Milton and the Seventeenth Century
   8. ENG 441: John Donne and the Metaphysical Poets
   9. ENG 443: New England Puritan Poetry
   10. ENG 445: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy
   11. ENG 446: Gender and the Enlightenment
   12. ENG 447: Eighteenth-Century Terrors
   13. ENG 448: Enlightenment Selves
   14. ENG 451: The Revolutionary Eighteenth Century
   15. ENG 452: Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa
   16. ENG 527: History of the Book
3. One advanced course focusing on the nineteenth century:
   1. ENG 402: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 455: Romanticism
   3. ENG 460: The Victorian Age
   4. ENG 465: The English Novel
   5. ENG 474: American Poets of the Nineteenth Century
   6. ENG 476: Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers
   7. ENG 477: Dickinson
   8. ENG 478: Nineteenth-Century African-American Writers
4. One advanced course focusing on the twentieth or twenty-first centuries:
   1. ENG 403: Topics in Literary Criticism
   2. ENG 481: Joyce’s Ulysses
   3. ENG 483: American Autobiography
   4. ENG 500: Contemporary American Fiction
   5. ENG 501: The Graphic Novel
   6. ENG 503: Contemporary American Poetry
   7. ENG 504: Multiethnic American Literature
   8. ENG 506: Contemporary African-American Women Poets
   9. ENG 510: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
   10. ENG 515: Gender and Modernist British/American Literature
   11. ENG 516: Literature and Human Rights
   12. ENG 517: Topics in Human Rights
   13. ENG 518: Narratives of Inequality
   14. ENG 521: Narratives of International News
   15. ENG 522: Literature and the Environment
5. One additional course in English

1. Three literature courses at any level (for English majors completing the creative writing minor, these can be courses from the major)
2. Three creative writing courses at any level, including work in at least two different literary genres. Courses in creative writing include:
   1. ENG 180:  Introduction to Creative Writing
   2. ENG 350: Creative Writing: Nonfiction
   3. ENG 351: Creative Writing: Hybrid Poetry-Nonfiction
   4. ENG 360: Creative Writing: Fiction
   5. ENG 370: Creative Writing: Poetry
   6. THAR 427: Playwrighting
   7. ENG 550: Advanced Creative Writing: Nonfiction
   8. ENG 560: Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction
   9. ENG 565: Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry
   10. ENG 601: Senior Seminar in Creative Writing

Students can seek certification to teach at the secondary level. To be certified in English language arts, students must take a course in adolescent literature (such as ENG 115), a writing course (e.g., ENG 150 / 151 / 152  or 180, or 350 / 351 / 360 / 370, or 401 / 402 / 403), and a course that focuses on the literature of ethnic/racial minority groups in the United States (e.g., ENG

260, 478, 504, 506, 510). Students must also gain experience in journalism through a course or directed study, internship, or work on a student newspaper such as The Lawrentian. A course in the structures of English (LING 362) is recommended though not required. Students can add an endorsement for a second area (such as English as a second language) by completing the appropriate minor. Students who plan to seek teacher certification should review the requirements in the Education section of the catalog and meet with the director of teacher education, preferably before the end of the sophomore year.

Students can seek certification to teach English as a second language at the elementary and secondary levels by completing the Teaching ESL minor in linguistics and other certification requirements. Interested students should review the requirements in the Education section of the catalog and meet with the director of teacher education, preferably before the end of the sophomore year.

All students who have earned a 4 or 5 in the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Exam will be given credit for one course at the 100 or 200 level.

Students who earn a 4 or 5 in the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Exam will be given credit for one course at Lawrence, which will count toward graduation, but not toward the completion of the major.

Questions about exemption and placement should be addressed to the department chair. The application of AP credit towards the general education requirements for either the B.A. or the B.Mus. degrees will be determined by university policy. Please see the following link for more information about university credit for AP Examinations: AP Examination Information (PDF).

When students officially declare their major, they will choose or be assigned a departmental advisor who will be responsible for guiding them in planning and completing their major course of study. Questions about the advising of majors should be addressed to the department chair.

Creative Writing majors interested in applying for graduate school (e.g., to M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs in creative writing) should consider taking additional English courses, in both creative writing and literature, beyond the minimum required for the major. Students should also consult with their advisors about whether, and when, to apply for graduate school, and which courses within the major will be most beneficial

Students considering graduate work in English (e.g., M.A. and Ph.D. programs) will want to do more coursework than the minimum required for the major, especially advanced courses.

For a master’s degree, most graduate schools require demonstrated proficiency in at least one modern language besides English. For a doctorate, the usual requirement is demonstrated proficiency in two modern languages. ENG 525: Contemporary Critical Theory is an asset when preparing for graduate school.