Creative Writing
SPS Certificate website: https://sps.northwestern.edu/post-baccalaureate/creative-writing/
Writers who are serious about their craft can create a custom course of study to prepare for graduate programs in creative writing. In this post-baccalaureate certificate program, students hone their craft, formalize their training and build a solid portfolio of work for application to MFA and MA/PhD programs in writing. Courses are conducted as writing workshops to allow for valuable feedback from a community of fellow writers. As students analyze and write creative work and learn about the publishing world, their creative development is guided by instructors who are respected writers themselves. Students can explore a variety of writing areas, or they may specialize their course of study based on experience and discipline — fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry.
Creative Writing Courses
ENGLISH 206-CN Reading and Writing Poetry (1 Unit)
Forms and techniques of verse. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended.
ENGLISH 207-CN Reading and Writing Fiction (1 Unit)
Forms and techniques of fiction. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended.
ENGLISH 208-CN Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction (1 Unit)
Forms and techniques of creative nonfiction. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition class and strong basic writing skills highly recommended.
ENGLISH 307-A Advanced Reading and Writing Fiction I (1 Unit)
For students who have taken courses in fiction writing or who have been writing fiction on their own, further practice and study in the development of short stories. May not be audited or taken P/N.
Prerequisite: ENGLISH 207-CN or permission of instructor. Students should have previous creative writing experience in an academic setting. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.
ENGLISH 307-B Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction II (1 Unit)
For students who have completed at least one course in fiction writing, further study of matters of technique and structure, with an emphasis on the exploration of character and discovery of plot through the process of revising. Short stories by contemporary authors will be read as models. The course builds on the premises, assignments, and goals of ENGLISH 307-A, but students may enroll without having completed that course. May not be audited or taken P/N.
Prerequisite: ENGLISH 207-CN or ENGLISH 307-A or comparable courses in creative writing with permission of instructor. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.
ENGLISH 308-A Advanced Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction I (1 Unit)
For students who have taken courses in creative nonfiction or who have been writing creative nonfiction on their own, further study in developing command of creative writing techniques and forms to frequent short writing exercises and essays. Class discussion of published essays and excerpts from longer works and student drafts may address such topics as voice, style, structure, the uses of research, and truth. May not be audited or taken P/N.
Prerequisite: ENGLISH 208-CN or permission of instructor. Students should have previous creative writing experience in an academic setting. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.
ENGLISH 308-B Advanced Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction II (1 Unit)
For students who have completed at least one course in fiction writing, further study of the analysis and writing of creative nonfiction, emphasizing close reading of assigned selections and careful writing and revision of student work. The course builds on the premises, assignments, and goals of ENGLISH 308-A, with focus on the writing of a longer work; students may enroll without having completed that course. May not be audited or taken P/N.
Prerequisite: ENGLISH 208-CN or ENGLISH 308-A, or comparable courses in creative writing with permission of instructor. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.