English Major, Creative Writing Emphasis

Major Requirements

Writing workshops engage students in the dynamic process of creating their own poems, stories, novellas, essays, or memoirs. Creative writing students are also invited into a wider literary community beyond the classroom -- on campus -- that includes working on Colgate's student edited journal, The Portfolio, meeting writers at guest readings on campus and the possibility of giving their own readings in various venues on and off campus. Because the creation of literature is inseparable from the study of literature, students majoring in English/CW fulfill all the requirements for the English major while also taking at least three creative writing workshops.

Eleven total courses are required, with six courses following the English major requirements.

Survey Courses

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ENSU in the course offerings.

• at least two survey courses. Survey courses encompass a broad range of material, allowing students to appreciate how writers influence one another and observe (and perhaps reconsider) canonicity, that is, how some writers have come to be considered more significant than others. Survey courses are normally completed at the 200 level. Survey courses include: , , and  

Literature Electives From Three Historical Periods

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ENMR, EN89, or EN90 in the course offerings.

• at least one literature course at the intermediate (300) level from each of three historical periods:
  • medieval/early modern (to 1700)
  • the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (1701-1900) 
  • the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (1901 to now)

Electives

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ENEL in the course offerings.

• two literature electives at any level
  • only one may be at the 100-level

Workshops

ENGL 217 may be taken only once. Instructor permission is necessary for admission to creative writing courses at the 300 and 400 levels.

Three workshop courses chosen from among the following:

• ENGL 217 - Introductory Workshop in Creative Writing (may be taken only once)
• ENGL 374 - Creative Nonfiction Workshop
• ENGL 376 - Playwriting II
• ENGL 377 - Fiction Writing Workshop
• ENGL 378 - Poetry Writing Workshop
• ENGL 477 - Advanced Workshop

English Seminar

Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of ENSE in the course offerings.

• at least one seminar in literature, that is, a course at the 400-level in which students engage in advanced reading, discussion, and writing about a specific literary topic

GPA Requirement

Passing grades must be earned in all courses counted for this major, with a GPA of 2.00 averaged over all courses taken in the department.

Honors

The privilege to work toward honors is granted at the discretion of the faculty. Seniors with an average of 3.5 in ENGL courses are eligible to apply to pursue an honors project. Interested students should begin discussing their projects with potential directors in their junior year.

The process for pursuing honors in creative writing is competitive. A minimum 3.5 GPA in departmental courses is required. Interested English/CW majors should speak with a member of the creative writing faculty in their junior spring. They must take 

, and they are strongly encouraged to take , a master class in the craft of writing. Every fall, the faculty member teaching  will collect proposals from interested students and present them to the entire English and Creative Writing faculty, which will decide which projects are worthy of advancing. The department's decisions will be announced at semester's end. The following spring, successful applicants will enroll in , their 12th course in the major. They will work independently, in close collaboration with two members of the department, to produce an ambitious creative work: a novella or novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of essays or a memoir, or a collection of poems. In May, the honors candidates will present their work to the entire faculty of the department, who will decide whether the work is worthy of honors.

Students pursuing an honors project are enrolled in  during the spring term of their senior year. 

 must be taken in addition to the required 400-level seminar and in addition to the minimum number of courses required for the major. Students must successfully complete the honors seminar and submit a final version of the thesis on a date specified by the department. If the thesis is provisionally approved by the faculty supervisors and the director of the honors program, the student then discusses the project at an oral presentation scheduled during finals week.

A student who completes a project judged worthy of honors by the department and maintains at least a 3.5 average in all ENGL courses, including ; and who gives a strong end-of-semester thesis presentation to the faculty is awarded a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing with honors. If a student withdraws from the program, or if the thesis is not approved for honors,  is converted to , and a grade is assigned by the faculty member who supervises the completion of the work.

Students with further questions should contact the director of honors in the Department of English and Creative Writing.

English and Creative Writing Department

For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the  catalog page.