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2024-2025 University Catalog
Creative Writing, BA
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 Return to: College of Liberal Arts (Undergraduate)
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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.
The Bell Tower, an undergraduate-run magazine for the arts affiliated with Purdue University’s Department of English, was founded in 1995 and is published yearly.
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.
College of Liberal Arts
Degree Requirements
120 Credits RequiredLiberal 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)
Grade Requirements
- A grade of “B-” or better in ENGL 20500 is required before attempting courses in Area A.
Course Requirements and Notes
- All Creative Writing courses (Area A) 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.)
College of Liberal Arts Pass/No Pass Option Policy
- P/NP cannot be used to satisfy Liberal Arts Core, Liberal Arts major, minor, or certificate requirements.
University Requirements
University Core Requirements
For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate 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)
Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement
The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.
To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test. The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused. There are three different pathways:
- Civics Event pathway - Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
- Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
- Approved course pathway - Complete one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.
More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.
Upper Level Requirement
- Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
- Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.
Additional Information
- Liberal Arts offers a streamlined plan of study for students pursuing a second degree outside CLA. Contact the CLA Advising Office for more information.
Fall 1st Year
- ENGL 20200 - Engaging English Credits: 3.00 ♦
- 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
Spring 1st Year
- ENGL 20500 - Introduction To Creative Writing Credits: 3.00 ♦
- Oral Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level II - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Humanities (CLA Core I: 2 of 6) - Credit Hours 3.00
- Science - Credit Hours: 3.00
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
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
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
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
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
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
Pre-Requisite Information
For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.
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. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.
Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
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Return to: College of Liberal Arts (Undergraduate)
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