College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Emory College
• New York University
• Columbia University
• Brown University
• John Hopkins University

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of Iowa
• University of Virginia
• University of Texas – Austin
• University of Arizona
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Classes in the Major

Fiction Workshops. As a creative writing major, you'll be spending a lot of time in writing workshops. Although you'll have the freedom to choose which mediums you work with, you'll probably end up taking a fiction workshop at some point. Workshops are great alternatives to traditional classes because they focus on peer engagement rather than endless lectures. Just be prepared: you will have at least one classmate who only writes stories about sexy vampires. There's always one.

Creative Non-Fiction Workshops. If you consider yourself an essayist rather than an author, you'll find yourself at home in non-fiction workshops. One day, you might dive into personal essays and be tasked with unlocking the memories of your childhood for fun and profit. Other days, you might be asked to write a compelling essay on a topic near and dear to your heart. As with fiction workshops, these courses focus on group discussion rather than tests and quizzes…which is way better, in our opinion.

Poetry Workshops. Are you more sensitive than most people? Would you rather stay at home and scribble in your notebook than go to a raging party? Do you think entirely in haiku form? If any of these sound familiar, then we have two suggestions. First, take a bunch of poetry workshops. It might be frightening to imagine reading your poems in front of your peers, but it's an important step if you want to become a real poet. Second, you should really get that haiku thing checked out. That's really weird.

English Literature. You'll have a generous side of literature classes to go along with your main course of writing workshops. Luckily, their flavors blend perfectly. Like chocolate and peanut butter…or tuna and banana. Try it before you knock it.

Your American Post-Modernism class might introduce you to some crazy new techniques to use in your next short story. Or maybe your Downton Abbey-loving self will find endless inspiration in Victorian Literature courses. It always helps to learn from the masters. So get ready to unleash your creativity on the unsuspecting masses, spinning yarns that put Odysseus to shame.

Screenwriting. Although this isn't a part of every program, many colleges focus their Creative Writing departments on the silver screen. After all, successful TV and film writers can end up making a pretty penny. After learning the basics of screenwriting, you'll take workshops and collaborate with fellow students (are you detecting a trend here yet?) to make your film dreams into film reel-ity. (Sorry.) If you're interested in making movies but don't want to dive head-first into film school, this is a great place to start.