Creative Writing Major
Participate in a wide range of courses reflective of your creative interests. You'll learn about major writers, literary traditions, and contemporary innovations. Under the guidance of published writers, you'll also develop a portfolio of material showcasing your range and versatility as a creative writer.
3
STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
22
AVERAGE CLASS
SIZE
1:5
FACULTY TO STUDENT RATIO
100+
ENGLISH COURSES OFFERED
Total Credit Hours: 120
Creative Writing Courses (18 hours)
English Core Requirements (21 hours)
General Education (45 hours)
Electives (36 hours)
What You'll Study
- 120 credit hours for a Bachelor of Arts in English, including Virginia Tech's Pathways
- 21 credits of English core courses, including:
- Introduction to Critical Reading
- Introduction to Critical Writing
- Literary History
- Acts of Interpretation
- Writing and Digital Media
- Capstone Experience
- 18 credits of creative writing courses, including:
- Poetry and Fiction Writing
- Modern or Contemporary Literature
- Playwriting, Nonfiction Writing, or Writing Fiction for Young People
- 36 credits of free elective courses
Curious about adding a minor or additional major? Email Dawn Knight at dknight1@vt.edu.
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What is a Major in Creative Writing?
You will earn a degree in English with a major in creative writing. It prepares you for a career as a writer of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, or drama, and those who wish to enter the fields of editing or publishing. As a creative writing major, you will be able to take courses in:
- Poetry
- Fiction
- Playwriting
- Writing for young people
- Creative non-fiction
Why Study Creative Writing Here?
Here, you will study with distinguished authors including Nikki Giovanni and Matthew Vollmer. We also host a variety of campus readings for you to attend by renowned poets, playwrights, essayists, and fiction writers. Some of our past visiting writers have included:
- Junot Diaz
- C.D. Wright
- Leslie Marmon Silko
The major offers workshops that allow you to share your poems, stories, and essays with peers to help you grow as a writer. With this opportunity, you can improve your writing skills while building your portfolio.
Writing Workshops
During our Creative Writing major workshops, you will have the opportunity to share your stories, poems, and essays with your classmates. You'll offer critiques, compliments, suggestions, and interpretations of your peers work; you'll receive the same in return. No two workshops will ever be the same. Our goal is to help you improve your writing skills.
Beyond the Classroom
Get Experience
Engage in your profession by writing, researching, editing, and making connections with employers across the country. Apply the knowledge and skills you learn in the classroom to the workplace. Internships earn academic credit and provide valuable real-world experience.
Collaborate
You will work with a faculty mentor to experiment with language, find inspiration, grow as an artist, and share your work with peers and mentors. Learn how to brainstorm and experiment, gain experience performing your work for audiences, learn how to critique stories, poems, and plays in a workshop setting, and submit your work to literary magazines.
Study Away
We host a faculty-led trip to London, an exchange program with Loughborough University, and a Wintermester Experience that visits different locations each year. These experiences enrich your understanding of the history and culture of the English language and its literature.
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Faculty Mentors
Our diverse faculty is made up of published authors and poets, accomplished playwrights and essayists, and recipients of fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. We love mentoring our students and take great pride in watching them grow as writers.
What Our Students Are Saying
"The creative writing program at Tech instilled in me a deep rooted search for truth."
Devin Cornwall, '11
"How fortunate I have been to have my poetry workshoped by such wonderful writers and professors."
Allison Donohue, '12
"I was impressed with the dedication of the faculty members and their willingness to guide students through the creative process."
Thomas Beckwith, '10
"Not only did VT help acquaint me with the existing opportunities and logistics for pursuing poetry further past my writing desk, it also brought me closer to poetry as a genre - as a practice and as a discipline of study."
Conor Bracken, '09
"The skills I learned helped me to become a better writer, intern in the UK Parliament in London, and cofound a local publication. I appreciate the small liberal arts college feel of the community — I get to know my professors while enjoying the perks of a large university."
Erica Corder, '16
Careers and Further Study
Caty Gordon, '10
Caty graduated from Virginia Tech in 2010 with degrees in creative writing and professional and technical writing. After graduating from Columbia University with her M.F.A. in creative nonfiction, she moved on to serve as an editorial assistant for Simon and Schuster and Penguin Group USA, where she is presently employed.
Orlando Dos Reis, '10
Orlando graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in creative writing in 2010. Post-graduation, he moved on to Kansas State University to continue his education, earning his M.A. in English language and literature in 2013. He presently serves as an editorial assistant for Abrams in the New York City area.
Erica Corder, '16
Erica graduated from Virginia Tech in 2016 with degrees in creative writing and political science. After starting up an independent journalism publication called The Pylon, Erica accepted a job in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, where she currently works as a communications manager who tells the story of the college and its students and faculty in Blacksburg and beyond through writing, photos, and videos.
Shalini Rana, '18
Shalini graduated with double majors in creative writing and professional and technical writing. During her time at Virginia Tech, her poetry was published in undergraduate publications, Silhouette and Philologia, and received third place in the Steger Poetry Prize. Shalini works as a consultant for CollabraLink Technologies and continues writing. In the future, she plans to complete a poetry M.F.A. program.
Jessica Mardian, '20
In her creative writing courses, Jessica developed strong writing skills and found the space to express herself. She was published in the Silhouette literary magazine, was a finalist for the Steger Poetry Prize at Virginia Tech, and served as a speaker at the Creative Writing Showcase. Jessica plans to pursue a career a journalism and a MFA in Creative Writing, with a focus on poetry.
What do I do with a creative writing major?
A degree in creative writing will prepare you for careers, including:
- Author
- Creative manager
- Literary agent
- Publisher
- Grant writer
- Blogger
- Archivist
- Marketer
- Curator
- Video game developer
- Editor and copywriter
- Web designer
- Television writer
- Teacher
- Journalist and reporter
Our graduates have been accepted to Master of Fine Arts programs at schools like:
- George Mason University
- Ohio State University
- Texas Tech
- Columbia University
- Iowa Writers' Workshop.
They have also published numerous stories, poems, essays, and novels.
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