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Creative Writing

College Magazine ranks Purdue’s English Department #1 in the United States, and it’s easy to see why. Our degree programs offer individualized attention and access to excellent teachers and experts who shape how people think about literature, linguistics, and writing.

While pursuing a BA in Creative Writing, students study literary texts and then produce their own poetry or fiction. The creative writing student is an artist. This major is perfect for those who love to write poems or stories, and who plan to do so no matter what. In addition to the required five courses in poetry or fiction writing, students must take five courses in English Literature or English Language. While some creative writing students attend graduate school to hone their skills and develop their art, others practice their craft in commercial industries like marketing or publishing. Ultimately, creative writers learn many skills that employers find desirable.

Creative Writing faculty include: Casey Gray, Brian LeungDonald Platt, and Sharon Solwitz.  Students interested in Creative Writing might also explore Professional Writing or English Literature, and English Language.

Preparation

All Purdue University College of Liberal Arts majors prepare students with skills contributing to professional and managerial success: communicating and listening well, understanding and appreciating of diverse points of view, creative thinking and problem solving, collaborating with others, synthesizing complex ideas and expressing them clearly, and a Boilermaker work ethic.

Within the field of English, students develop skills that are applicable to many different careers. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • Exceptional writing for multiple audiences, and in multiple styles (stories, poems, reviews, reports, memos, essays, and critical analyses)
  • Deep reading (how to read patiently, with empathy and insight; how to recognize patterns in texts; and how to express your observations about them effectively)
  • Creative and literary thinking (metaphorical and other non-literal reasoning; historical and global awareness; connecting the dots and telling stories with data)
  • Analytical and research skills (how to take texts and ideas apart for a greater understanding of the whole; how to find, compile, and synthesize important information)
  • Cutting-edge presentation skills (how to produce, read, and understand images and digital texts; how to present your ideas in the most effective manner)