Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 University Catalog 
    
2020-2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Creative Writing, BA


About the Program

While pursuing a BA in Creative Writing, students study literary texts and then produce their own poetry or fiction. The creative writing student is an artist. This major is perfect for those who love to write poems or stories, and who plan to do so no matter what. In addition to the required five courses in poetry or fiction writing, students must take five courses in English Literature or English Language. While some creative writing students attend graduate school to hone their skills and develop their art, others practice their craft in commercial industries like marketing or publishing. Ultimately, creative writers learn many skills that employers find desirable.

Sycamore Review, a nonprofit journal for the arts, was founded in 1988 and is published twice annually by Purdue University’s Department of English.

Books and Coffee talks (hosted by the Department of English) are held several times throughout the school year. Coffee and tea are available, followed by a half-hour talk about a selected work. The series is popular with faculty, staff, and students.

Please visit Creative Writing for more information.

Degree Requirements


120 Credits Required

Liberal Arts Curriculum


Each liberal arts major is designed as a four-year plan of study and includes three types of courses: Major, Core, and Elective. Most students take five courses per semester, with some of each type.

Professional academic advisors meet individually with each of our students on a regular basis to help with course selection, academic planning, and career development, as well as to help students find additional resources on campus.

Departmental/Program Major Course Requirements (30 credits)


Required Course (3 credits)


A grade of “B-” or better is required before attempting courses in Area A.

A. Creative Writing Courses - Choose Four (12 credits)


All Creative Writing courses except 20500, 31600, and 31700 may be repeated once by Creative Writing majors for credit. (The 40000 and 50000 level courses should be taken in order in any given genre; exceptions are granted by the permission of instructor.)

B. Engaging English (3 credits)


May be taken concurrently with ENGL 20500.

C. Literature/Linguistics/English Education (12 credits)


  • Any ENGL course not taken above; at least 9 credit hours must be at the 30000 level or above.

Other Departmental (31-55 credits)


The College of Liberal Arts Other Departmental area is designed to be experiential, informative, and relevant to life in a rapidly changing universe. It combines courses that fulfill University Core foundational outcomes, discipline diversity, social diversity, and other languages to produce a well-rounded background for students. Coursework is integrative and collaborative and fosters insight, understanding, independence, initiative, and the desire to reach across divides and redefine our relationship to the peoples and the worlds that surround us.

Core I: Disciplinary Diversity (6-18 credits)


Choose 1 course in 6 different disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts.

Note: Disciplines are differentiated by course prefix. Undistributed credit does not count to satisfy this requirement.

Core II: Social Diversity (1-3 credits)


Culture, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity all play a role in how others perceive us and how we experience the world, and as such, are meaningful categories for analyzing social change and social problems past and present. The purpose of this category is to acquaint students with the pluralistic nature of the world and foster an appreciation and awareness of the diverse range of lived human experience. Courses in this list will expose students to important aspects of human diversity and foster understanding about different world views.

Choose one course from this list: CLA Core II - Social Diversity Selective List .

Core III: Linguistic Diversity (3-4 credits)


Proficiency through Level IV in one world language. Courses may be required to reach Level IV proficiency; these courses will be counted toward electives.

Foundational Requirements (21-30 credits)


Students must complete approved coursework that meet the following foundational outcomes. Many of these can also be used to fulfill Core I, Core II, or Core III.

  • Humanities - all approved courses accepted.
  • Behavioral/Social Science - all approved courses accepted.
  • Information Literacy - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science #1 - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science #2 - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science, Technology, and Society - all approved courses accepted.
  • Written Communication - all approved courses accepted.
  • Oral Communication - all approved courses accepted.
  • Quantitative Reasoning - all approved courses accepted.

Notes


  • Double counting of courses is allowed across the various categories.
  • All accredited programs whose accreditation is threatened by CLA Core requirement, both professional BAs and BFAs, are exempt from Liberal Arts Core I & II in order to meet accreditation standards and requirements. Liberal Arts Core III: Linguistic Diversity is still required for such programs.
  • “Degree +” students (students with a second major outside of Liberal Arts) are exempt from the CLA Core.

Electives (35-59 credits)


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the Provost’s Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC)

Prerequisite Information:


For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.


 

Program Requirements


Fall 1st Year


  •  

  • Written Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
  • World Language Level I  - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Quantitative Reasoning - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Behavioral/Social Sciences (CLA Core I: 1 of 6) - Credit Hours: 3.00

15-16 Credits


Spring 1st Year


15 Credits


Fall 2nd Year


  • Area A Creative Writing Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Area C Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • World Language Level III - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 3 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


  • Area A Creative Writing Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Area C Selective - Credit Hours: 3.0
  • World Language Level IV (CLA Core III) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science, Technology, and Society - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 4 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


  • Area A Creative Writing Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Area C Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 5 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core II: Diversity Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 3rd Year



  • Area A Creative Writing Selective - Credit Hours 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 6 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • Area C Selective - Credit Hours 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Notes


  • 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
  • 32 credit hours of Purdue coursework at the 30000 level or higher required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
  • Liberal Arts offers a streamlined plan of study for students pursuing a second degree outside CLA. Contact the CLA Advising Office for more information.

World Language Courses


World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor.

ASL-American Sign Language

ARAB-Arabic CHNS-Chinese FR-French
GER-German GREK-Greek (ancient) HEBR-Hebrew (Biblical) HEBR-Hebrew (modern)
ITAL-Italian JPNS-Japanese KOR-Korean LATN-Latin
PTGS-Portuguese RUSS-Russian SPAN-Spanish  

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.  Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful.  These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”. 

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.