Certificate in Creative Writing

The creative writing courses at WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) are open to all students with writing skills comparable to those typically learned in English Composition 111 and 203. CAPS offers a 16-unit certificate program in Creative Writing for those who want to explore in depth, and achieve significant mastery in, the art of writing fiction or creative nonfiction. Students are able to complete this certificate online, however, course availability may vary depending on the semester.

Instructors in this program are experienced professional writers, most of whom are associated with the WashU Graduate Writing Program and the Department of English. All of the craft courses are taught using the workshop model, with open discussion and detailed, constructive criticism of each student’s writing.

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Business-related programs at CAPS are not accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) at WashU. Most courses are three units.

This program is offered either mostly or fully online.  Students entering the U.S. on an F-1 or J-1 Visa must enroll in a program full time.  F-1 students are only permitted to enroll in one online course per semester and J-1 students may only enroll in non-credit online courses that do not count toward their degree program.  CAPS cannot guarantee face-to-face enrollment options each semester of full time enrollment, therefore cannot issue an I-20 or DS 2019 to F-1 and J-1 students for this program.  If you are an F-1 or J-1 student and wish to enroll in a CAPS program while here on a Visa, please contact our recruitment team to discuss your options for face-to-face program enrollment.  F-1 and J-1 students should not enroll in online courses or programs without first consulting the university’s Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS).

Students may specialize in fiction or creative nonfiction.

Each student will take five 3-credit, advanced-level (300 or higher) courses, including three courses devoted to mastering the craft of writing in the chosen specialty genre, one course primarily in reading and analysis of the literature in that genre, and one course in a second genre.

The student’s final course in the program will be taken for four credits, rather than the usual three, and will include a 1-credit meta-commentary assignment. This assignment requires students to step back from the particular course and describe (in 1500 words) what they have learned about the differences between and similarities among the genres investigated and how these have affected their choice of genre. Students should look at the strategies they have chosen in their writing and explain why they chose them for a particular purpose. The goals of this assignment are for students to demonstrate the skills that they have learned during the course of their certificate studies as they think about the genres they have examined and to show how these skills govern their approach to creative writing.

Students with little previous experience in creative writing are encouraged to begin with a 200-level writing course or workshop as a foundation for the more advanced courses that will count toward the certificate.

Sample Courses Include:

• U11 316 – POETRY WRITING
• U11 317 – FICTION WRITING
• U11 318 – FICTION SEMINAR
• U11 3151 – NONFICTION: READING AND WRITING THE MEMOIR
• U11 3153 – CREATIVE NONFICTION: WRITING OURSELVES, WRITING THE WORLD
• U11 323 – THE ART OF THE PERSONAL ESSAY
• U11 4500 – FUNDAMENTALS OF NOVEL WRITING

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Contact a student recruiter today.