Bachelors of Arts
Creative Writing
"An English/Creative Writing degree exposes you to diverse perspectives. It teaches you to think critically, to be quick on your feet, and adapt. These are the sort of skills that are applicable to nearly anything and can only support your interests, no matter what they might be." –B.A. in Creative Writing alumna
Learn about contemporary writing and poetry from award-winning authors and develop your writing skills in small faculty and student workshops.
About the Major
Become a creative, powerful writer. As a student pursuing a B.A. in Creative Writing, you will develop your writing craft under the guidance of award-winning writers at one of the top-ranked creative writing programs in the country. In addition, you will build skills in writing, creativity, critical thinking, research, literary analysis, and independent thinking.
Areas of Study
You'll take introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as courses in literature, language, literary analysis, publishing, and elective courses in a range of topics in the research specialties of our internationally renowned faculty. After your first year in the program, you will choose to specialize in either fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
As a Creative Writing major, taking electives is part of the program, so we’ve also grouped together several unofficial “specialization areas” that emphasize skills, research directions, and preparation for potential careers. You can follow one specialization area, mix-and-match between them, come up with your own, or else ignore the whole thing entirely. Overall, these are just potential recommendations for anyone interested. Likewise, there’s no need to “declare” a specialization – just enroll in your chosen electives.
See degree requirements CW Specialization Area Courses
Double Major Options
The writing and analytical skills you'll learn as a Creative Writing major can pair nicely with a second major in almost any field. Many of our students also double major in both Creative Writing and English (see double major requirements).
Career Pathways
Our graduates gain valuable skills that make them the top candidates for various employment opportunities and graduate programs. Your skills in creative writing, critical thinking, and literary analysis can be applied in a broad spectrum of industry and services. And you receive excellent training for graduate programs in creative writing, English, public policy, foreign service, rhetoric and composition, education, and many others.
Recent UA Creative Writing majors have put their degree to use in a wide variety of careers, including screenwriting, editing, publishing, technical writing, video game design, marketing, journalism, teaching, business, and professional writing.
Some of the career fields uniquely open to graduates with a Creative Writing B.A. include:
- Author
- Editor
- Journalist
- Speech writer
- Grant writer
- Teacher
- Publisher
- Video game script writer
Read more about career possibilities in our alumni stories.