Creative Writing Certificate Program
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/
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About the Creative Writing Certificate Program
Creative Writing Goals and Courses
Program Goals
Creative Writing post-baccalaureate certificate students will:
- Explore a range of literary works and aesthetic approaches
- Gain a rigorous background in the fundamentals of creative writing by working with established poets and prose writers
- Learn about the literary publishing industry and develop a sense of the writer's position within it
- Build a solid portfolio through the development of a regular writing practice
Required Courses
Four from the following:
- ENGLISH 206 Reading/Writing Poetry*
- ENGLISH 207 Reading/Writing Fiction
- ENGLISH 208 Reading/Writing Creative Nonfiction
- ENGLISH 307-A Advanced Fiction I
- ENGLISH 307-B Advanced Fiction II
- ENGLISH 308-A Advanced Nonfiction I
- ENGLISH 308-B Advanced Nonfiction II
Notes:
In addition to the minimum of four required courses, students may complete literature courses in SPS.
Students should have some academic writing experience before starting the Creative Writing post-baccalaureate certificate.
The recommended start time for this program is fall quarter.
Creative Writing Tuition
Post-baccalaureate students at Northwestern's School of Professional Studies pay per course. For more information about financial obligations and tuition, visit the Tuition page.
Admission for Creative Writing
In addition to completing an online application, you'll also need to submit a few supplemental materials. A list of requirements for admission including application deadlines and tips on how to apply can be found at the Admission page.
Creative Writing Registration Information
Whether you're a first-time registrant or current and returning student, all students register using our online student registration and records systems. Important information about registering for courses at SPS, including registration timelines and adding or dropping courses in which you are already enrolled, can be found at the Registration Information page.
Find out more about the Creative Writing Certificate Program
Program Courses: | Course Detail |
---|---|
Reading and Writing Poetry <> ENGLISH 206-CN | Intended for students with little or no formal training in the elements of writing poetry, this course combines both seminar and workshop methods and includes extensive reading of poetry. Students use analytical skills presented in the course to critique each others' drafts of poems written during the quarter. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended. There is no available section. |
Reading and Writing Fiction <> ENGLISH 207-CN | Intended for students with little or no formal training in the elements of writing fiction, this course emphasizes the processes and assumptions unique to fiction writing and the development of a personal voice. Students analyze technique and form in works of various authors. Writing assignments include at least two stories developed and revised in a workshop format. Lectures, workshops, and individual conferences. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended. View ENGLISH 207-CN Sections |
Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction <> ENGLISH 208-CN | This course is for students who want to improve their writing
skills and explore the fundamentals of creative nonfiction.
Creative nonfiction borrows techniques from fiction—strong
characters, captivating narration, and compelling scenes—and bears
a certain allegiance to journalistic practices—a faithfulness to
“the facts,” sharp descriptions, and dialogue that rings true. By
learning the craft of creative nonfiction, you’ll discover how to
interest, amuse, entertain, move, persuade, and instruct your
readers. View ENGLISH 208-CN Sections |
Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction <> ENGLISH 208-CN | What is creative nonfiction? One definition is, “true stories,
well told.” There is a lot to unpack in this brief definition: what
makes a story true? How can stories be told well? How do true
stories draw on the techniques of fiction, such as character, plot,
and dialogue? This five-week intensive creative writing workshop
will explore these questions through the reading and writing of
personal essays. There is no available section. |
British Literary Traditions II <> ENGLISH 210-B | This course is an introduction to the major traditions in
British literature from the late 18th century to modernism. It is
also an introduction to the idea of literary traditions and
counter-traditions in their historical context, to specific major
writers and texts, and to a range of historical and literary terms.
This class is primarily a literature class, but we will also be
examining significant trends in the social and cultural history of
Britain from the late 18th-century to the present. Music, images,
and discussion about religion, politics, economics, and other
important aspects of life will be part of the course. There is no available section. |
Seminar: Crime in American Narratives <> ENGLISH 300-CN | In this writing-intensive course, we will read canonical and
non-canonical American texts (novels, films, graphic novels) in
order to develop some theoretical sophistication in reading
narrative and crafting literary arguments. We explore different
methods of interpreting narrative in terms of genre (What happens
to us as readers when we place a text in a specific genre, such as
the detective story or Great American Novel? How do generic
expectations work on our interpretive experience?); aesthetic form
(What do we mean when we call a writer's prose "beautiful" or a
plot well-constructed? How do literary standards work to constitute
values?); and ideological content (How do we judge a text's
position in relation to historical and contemporary political
issues, including-but not limited to-matters of gender, race and
class?). Our focusing lens is the theme of criminality: What counts
as transgression against norms, both within texts (Who are the
criminals? Who makes the laws? What are appropriate punishments for
crimes?) and in our wider literary culture (What makes a text
worthy or not worthy of being considered literature? Who makes
these literary "laws"?) As an introductory seminar and requirement
for English majors, the course focuses deeply on the composition
and revision of effective literary arguments. View ENGLISH 300-CN Sections |
Advanced Poetry I <> ENGLISH 306-A | For students who have taken courses in poetry writing or who have been writing poetry on their own, this course offers further practice and study in the development of poems. Students create and refine poems; student writing is discussed in a workshop format and individual conferences. Readings of published poems and writing exercises are also part of the course. The course will be comprised of three major components: in-class writing exercises; discussion of contemporary poetry/poets and of our own works; and a collaborative group performance at the end of the course. Assignments will include: participation (lab, homework, workshop discussion, impromptu readings, oral presentation, attendance), collaborative group performance, final portfolio "book," and assigned texts. May not be audited or taken P/N. Prerequisite: ENGLISH 206 or permission of instructor. Students should have previous poetry 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. There is no available section. |
Advanced Fiction I <> ENGLISH 307-A | Some stories run uninterrupted from start to finish, like the
exhalation of a single breath or—as George Saunders likes to say—a
toy car zipping under the couch. Other stories seek to delay,
linger, or meander using various devices, one of which is breaking
the narrative into sections or parts. This class will explore some
of the different ways that authors have used this strategy, why
they did so, and how the strategy affects a story’s structure,
pace, and ambition. Students will draft two new stories using one
method or another for dividing the narrative into parts. Other
writing will include exercises and feedback for workshop stories.
Published short stories and brief craft lessons will supplement our
focus on student work.
Must attend the first class. May not be audited for taken P/N. Prerequisite: ENGLISH 207, previous introductory level fiction writing course, or similar writing experience. Students who have not completed ENGLISH 207 should obtain instructor's consent and confirmation of appropriate writing experience. Please send an email to the professor with your writing background to request a permission number once registration for winter quarter has opened. There is no available section. |
Advanced Fiction I <> ENGLISH 307-A | For students who have taken courses in fiction writing or who
have been writing fiction on their own, ENGLISH 307-A offers
further practice and study in the development of short stories.
This intermediate-level course will focus on taking a first-draft
story through a multi-stage revision process, increasing the
story’s richness, urgency, and texture. Using prompts and other
strategies, students quickly draft and workshop a new story. Then
they will use expansion and layering techniques to deepen and
further develop character, plot, and style, taking the story
through a full, considered revision that will be workshopped a
second time by the whole class. Reading and analyzing the
structures and strategies of published stories will supplement
writing and discussions. This course will meet remotely, with
weekly remote synchronous sessions and at-home/asynchronous reading
and writing. May not be audited or taken P/N. View ENGLISH 307-A Sections |
Advanced Fiction II <> ENGLISH 307-B | In this advanced-level course, we'll focus on taking a first-draft story through a multi-stage revision process, increasing the story's richness, urgency, and texture. Using prompts and other strategies, students will quickly draft and workshop a new story, then use expansion and layering techniques to deepen and further develop character, plot, and style, taking the story through a full, considered revision that will be workshopped a second time by the whole class. Reading and analyzing the structures and strategies of published stories will supplement your writing and our discussions. For students who have completed at least one course in fiction
writing, the course will provide further study of matters of
technique and structure. 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. View ENGLISH 307-B Sections |
Advanced Nonfiction I <> ENGLISH 308-A | This workshop course is for students who have taken courses in creative nonfiction or who have been writing creative nonfiction on their own. Students apply their 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 or permission of instructor. Students should have previous creative writing experience in an academic setting. Students who have not completed ENGLISH 208 should obtain instructor's consent and confirmation of appropriate writing experience. Please send an email to the professor with your writing background to request a permission number once registration for winter quarter has opened on November 11, 2024. View ENGLISH 308-A Sections |
Advanced Nonfiction II <> ENGLISH 308-B | This advanced course is for students who have completed at least
one course in nonfiction writing. We will emphasize close reading
of contemporary nonfiction as well as careful writing and revision.
Elizabeth Hardwick states that reading is the only way to learn how
to write. We will lean into that assertion, studying the work of
Sigrid Nunez, Laura Kipnis, Phillip Lopate, and other modern
masters, using their essays as templates for creating new work.
Weekly homework will include reading and writing assignments, and
weekly meetings will include discussion, writing exercises, and
in-depth workshopping of essays. The required book for this class
is The Best American Essays, 2023, edited by Vivian
Gornick. May not be audited or taken P/N. View ENGLISH 308-B Sections |
Advanced Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction I <> ENGLISH 308-B | This course is for writers who seek to further develop voice,
skill, and technique in writing various forms of creative
nonfiction, including the personal essay and literary journalism.
Students will engage in close reading and study of well crafted,
published creative nonfiction essays to expand their awareness of
the range of subject and technique in creative nonfiction writing.
Emphasis will be placed on the artful use of language. This course
is discussion and workshop-based. Students will write two
full-length creative nonfiction essays, one of which will be a
literary journalism piece. Any student who is already working on a
creative nonfiction piece and would like to continue working on it
in this course, please feel free to bring it. Toward end of
quarter, the instructor will talk about publishing opportunities
for creative nonfiction essays, including how to submit work, write
a cover letter, and how to best determine which journals will like
your work. May not be audited or taken P/N. There is no available section. |
Studies in Medieval Literature: King Arthur ENGLISH 324-CN | One of the prevailing myths of western European culture is King
Arthur. Arthur represents the ultimate expression of chivalry,
courage, culture, refined love, and social stability, yet he and
his entire establishment fall cataclysmically. In many ways,
Arthur’s story is the image of the morality and ideals of each
society that recasts the legend – what were his accomplishments
and, ironically more importantly, why does he fail. This course is
a survey of the major texts representing the Arthurian tradition
from its putative inception in the late fifth century to its
retelling in modern times. Participants will trace the development
of the principle Arthurian themes. The course will engage a number
of texts including histories, romances, narrative poems, novels and
films, which represent the development of the Arthurian tradition
over the last 1400 years. View ENGLISH 324-CN Sections |