Program Overview

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English Creative Writing Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Program Type

Major

Format

On Campus

Estimated Time to Complete

4 years

Credit Hours

120

Bring your words to life.

A Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing prepares you for jobs that require strong writing, communication and analytical thinking skills. Our graduates choose careers in a variety of fields, including law, publishing, education, advertising, journalism or public relations.

Why Earn an English Creative Writing Degree?

The English major is one of the largest in UNT's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. It is widely recognized as a foundational liberal arts degree, preparing you not only for graduate study in literature or creative writing, but for a range of careers - including teaching, the law, publishing and business - in which the skills of analytical thinking and effective communication are at a premium.

The curriculum develops your writing, critical thinking and analytical skills while introducing you to American, British and world literatures, creative writing, literary theory, composition, language arts and rhetoric.

Whatever path you choose, you'll also gain something invaluable: a fuller sense of the possibilities of life, expanded intellectual and imaginative horizons, and a greater capacity for understanding both yourself and others.

Marketable Skills

• Write clearly, concisely and compellingly
• Communicate meaningfully to diverse audiences
• Develop solutions to complex problems
• Think critically, creatively and independently
• Identify and evaluate credible sources

English Creative Writing Degree Highlights

Our faculty hail from the top graduate programs in the country, are active scholars and researchers, and are consistently recognized as some of the best teachers at UNT.

Some of our faculty honors include the BBC International Short Story Award, a $1 million U.S. State Department grant and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.

As an English major, you can participate in a number of student organizations, including the Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society.

Creative writing students receive feedback from published writers, and the Visiting Writers Series provides a forum to meet accomplished authors.

You may also help faculty members with research projects or with one of the department journals—the American Literary Review , Studies in the Novel , or .

At all levels, our class sizes are restricted in order to provide opportunities for collaboration with other students and close interaction with professors.

What Can You Do With an English Creative Writing Degree?

A Bachelor of Arts degree in English prepares you for jobs that require strong writing, communication and analytical thinking skills. Our graduates choose careers in a variety of fields, including law, publishing, education, advertising, journalism or public relations.

Many alumni teach English composition, British or American literature, or English as a Second Language in public and private schools. Some pursue master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields in competitive graduate programs nationwide.

Other alumni include:

• An editor with Rolling Stone magazine
• A curator in the Rare Book Division of the New York Public Library
• A member of the public relations staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm
• Novelists Karleen Koen, David Lindsey and Larry McMurtry
• Poets Chad Davidson and John Poch
• Screenplay writer and director Ken Harrison
• Various employees of government agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Government Printing Office

English Creative Writing Degree Courses You Could Take

British Literature to 1780

A broad survey of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the late-18th century; includes the study of a variety of literary genres and traditions.

American Literature 1870 to the Present

A broad survey of American literature from the late-19th century to the present; includes the study of a variety of literary genres, movements and traditions.

Beginning Fiction Writing

Principles and practices in the writing of fiction.

Beginning Poetry Writing

Principles and practices in the writing of poetry.

Beginning Creative Nonfiction Writing

Principles and practices in the writing of non-fiction.

Gender and Sexuality in Literature

Interdisciplinary exploration of how literary works represent the complex ways in which human beings experience gender and sexuality. Topics of study may include social or psychological conflicts involving gender and sexuality; changing definitions of masculinity and femininity; and the impact of economic, political, medical, and historical forces on the development of gender identity and sexual norms.