Creative Writing Bachelor's Degree

LEARNING, NETWORKING, AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Arkansas Tech is one of only fourteen public institutions in the United States to offer a B.F.A. in Creative Writing. Established over forty years ago, Tech's B.F.A. provides a foundation of writing skills, editing techniques, literary analysis and advanced composition work to assist student writers in finding their unique voices. Practical experience and training in editing, layout and marketing prepare students for writing careers in the digital world. Enrollment in poetry, fiction and nonfiction workshops is limited to 16 students to allow for adequate attention to each student's work. Senior-level workshops are offered in a variety of genres, including screenwriting, travel writing, humor writing and historical fiction. As a capstone to the program, students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a creative writing professor on a project of their choosing. Many Creative Writing majors gain valuable practical experience with layout software and the contemporary publishing environment by editing and staffing Nebo, Tech’s nationally distributed literary journal.

The requirements for the B.F.A. in Creative Writing leave students with over 30 hours of true electives. Some student use these hours to take additional creative writing course, but others add a second major or minors in English, film studies, journalism, TESOL, Spanish, German, or Japanese.

 

HANDS-ON LEARNING opportunities

  • Creative Writing Education majors can gain valuable editing and publishing experience by enrolling in either ENGL 2881 Practicum: Literary Journal Publication or ENGL 4881-4 Practicum: Editing Literary Journal. The student editor and staff produce two issues of Tech's nationally distributed literary magazine Nebo each year.

  • Each year the Department of English and World Languages hosts two visiting authors who conduct a workshop with creative writing majors and give public reading.

 

SKILLS YOU WILL LEARN

  • Mastery of the conventions of standard written English.
  • Advanced skill in critical thinking and literary analysis
  • Familiarity with major figures, works and movements in British and American literature
  • Ability to conduct research and use it effectively.
  • Ability to complete original poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
  • Ability to critique and copyedit one's own work and the work of others.
  • Knowledge of the 21st century publishing industry.
  • Awareness of the cultural role of languages in the global community.
  • Ability to apply current instructional methods in teaching and assessing English language arts at the secondary level.

Students living in states bordering Arkansas receive in-state tuition.

Financial Aid is available for those who qualify. The Arkansas Tech University school code to use on the FAFSA is 001089.

Payment Options:

  • Financial Aid
  • Payment Plan
  • Graduate Assistantships


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You could work as a(n):

  • Teacher
  • Lawyer
  • Manager
  • Professor
  • Counselor
  • Editor
  • Entrepreneur

Alumni of our program work at:

  • Community College of Denver, Lionsgate, Texas - Austin
 

View the links below to better understand the courses, the course timeline, and who your faculty will be when you enroll as an ATU student.

Credentials that stack with this degree:

  • Graduate study in creative writing, screenwriting, English, linguistics, TESOL, technical and professional Writing, college student personnel, instructional leadership, and library science.
  • Certificate of proficiency in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  • ESL endorsement

 

 
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Point of Pride

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at ATU is the only BFA in Creative Writing in Arkansas.

 

IT'S TIME TO STEP UP

Find out how we will empower you to meet every challenge head-on.fredf

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