Department of Creative Writing

http://www.uncw.edu/writers

Dr. M.J. White, chair. Ms. L. Adams (graduate program coordinator), Mr. Bass (undergraduate program coordinator), Ms. Brenner, Ms. M. Chai, Mr. M. Cox, Ms. M. de Gramont, Dr. Edgerton, Dr. Furia, Mr. P. Gerard, Mr. Gessner, Ms. Lee, Ms. Messer, Ms. Mörling, Mr. Siegel, Ms. E. Smith.

The Department of Creative Writing offers a major leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and the optional Certificate in Publishing. The B.F.A. program offers an intensive apprenticeship in writing, informed by the close study of literature, to serious, aspiring writers, among a community of accomplished professional writers. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree provides training in the art of writing within the context of studies in aesthetics, the literary tradition, the craft and profession of publishing, and broad liberal arts subject matter relevant to the student’s needs and goals. Students choose to concentrate their study in any of our three writing genres: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction.

Faculty and students interact in a variety of ways with the community and region. Our Publishing Laboratory replicates the functions of a typical book publisher, allowing students hands-on experience with new technologies in the process of publishing and the techniques of getting published. Our Younger Writers’ Summer Workshop is an annual four-day conference that brings together high school students from all over the state and region to study with the faculty and students of the Department of Creative Writing.

The department has four primary educational goals for undergraduate students: 1) providing dedicated and talented students with a rigorous apprenticeship in the art and craft of creating literature; 2) developing students’ critical faculties, their understanding of literary forms, and their aesthetic judgment; 3) providing students with a strong intellectual foundation in the historical literary tradition, grounding their practice of the art of writing in an understanding of how that art has been practiced by the greatest classic and contemporary authors; and 4) developing a thoughtful interdisciplinary foundation for understanding creative writing’s relationship to other arts and scholarly areas. Additionally, the course of study engenders improved problem-solving skills, analytical reasoning, communication abilities, and both independent and group work ethics.

Students may declare a major in pre-creative writing upon the successful completion of 24 hours of course work at UNCW.

To gain admission to the full creative writing major and thus enter the B.F.A. degree program, students must complete the following courses:

CRW 201 - Introduction to Creative Writing
CRW 203 - Forms of Creative Writing
CRW 207 - Fiction Writing , CRW 208 - Poetry Writing , or CRW 209 - Creative Nonfiction with a grade of “B” or higher.
CRW 302 - Forms of Creative Nonfiction , CRW 303 - Forms of Poetry , CRW 304 - Forms of Dramatic Writing , or CRW 306 - Forms of Fiction with a grade of “B” or higher.
CRW 322 - Editing for Publication with a grade of “B” or higher.
Upon completion of these core courses, and after declaring pre-creative writing as their major, students must submit an application to the full major. The application consists of a cover form and a sample of the students’ writing in their chosen genre. Applications will be reviewed by the faculty, and successful applicants will be granted admission to the full major.