Creative Writing Major

Jamie-Lee Josselyn celebrates Yiwei Chai at the Kelly Writers House 2022 Senior Capstone Celebration.

The Creative Writing Concentration for English majors (colloquially referred to as the “Creative Writing Major”) provides students with a solid grounding in literature as well as advanced study in creative writing. To fulfill this major, students may take courses in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults. They may also take innovative workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid writing, including writing that engages community organizing, multimedia and visual arts, and performance, as well as for-credit apprenticeships and courses in the independent study of a genre or topic.

Creative Writing Concentrators take at least three creative writing workshops as part of their major curriculum. As a major, you’ll discuss what makes good writing not only with other English majors, but also with students from Engineering, Nursing, and Wharton, each bringing a different perspective on the craft and study of literature, creating out of many voices a collaborative, integrated writing community that is part of Penn’s Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, home to Penn’s writing programs, platforms, and projects. The cluster of programs at CPCW, which includes the Kelly Writers House, PennSound, ModPo, Jacket2, and the RealArts@Penn program of paid internships in arts and media, provides opportunities to our majors in and out of the classroom, including readings, webcasts, podcasts, lectures, performances, and archives — all of which promote the living textures of contemporary writing. 

For a complete list of the creative writing workshops we offer, please click here to read descriptions of courses that attract around 800 students each year from across the university. 

Click here to read about our award-winning faculty in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults.

All Creative Writing Majors are eligible to apply for Honors in English, writing either a critical thesis or a creative thesis.

Declaring your major

For complete details on English major requirements and to declare your major, please consult the comprehensive overview of the undergraduate major available at the Department of English, which includes information on next steps.

Current Majors with a Creative Writing Concentration
 

• Immanuel Anaborne 26A

• Brandon Anaya 24A 

• Margaret Arfaa 24A

• Samantha Bohn 25C

• Emily Bornstein 25A

• Josephine Buccini 25A

• Mikayla Cassidy 24A

• Armando Chardiet 25A

• Rachel Collison 24A

• Vishwesh Desai 24A

• Olivia Domansky 25A

• Niki Donoughe 25A

• Anna Frankl 25A

• Dylan Fritz 25A

• Daphne Glatter 25A

• David Hess-Dunlop 25A

• Chloe Hunt 25A

• Zelda Kellogg 25A

• Esther Lim 24A

• Julia Lingenfelter 26A

• Jillian Lombardi 24A

• Anna Sophia Lotman 24A

• Margarita Matta 25A

• Erica Messics 24A

• Rae Norman 24A

• Jack Nycz 24A

• Tess O'Brien 25A

• Alexander O'Connor 25A

• Delaney Parks 24A

• Gabriella Raffetto 24A

• Julia Rotgin 25A

• Keemia Sarafpour 25A

• Wahid Sarwar 25A

• Erin Schott 24A

• Lucas Schrier 24A

• Sarah Shin 24A

• Arielle Stanger 24A

• Mira Sydow 24A

• Nikki Velletri 24A

• Izzy Welsh 26A

• Amanda Yagerman 24A