The Creative Writing Minor is a flexible six-credit program available to undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering, Wharton, and the School of Nursing. The minor provides opportunities for students to pursue their own interests and develop expertise in a range of topics, methods, and approaches to the craft.
To fulfill this minor, 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.
As a Creative Writing Minor, you’ll practice your craft in small, rigorous workshops and gain a deep appreciation of the history of literary writing. You will also join the collaborative, integrated writing community that is 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, and Jacket2, provides opportunities to students in and out of the classroom, including readings, webcasts, podcasts, lectures, performances, and archives — all of which promote the living textures of contemporary writing.
Creative Writing Minors complete six courses:
- Four workshops in creative writing: these can include courses in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for children and young adults, as well as workshops in cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid writing, including writing that engages community organizing, multimedia and visual arts, and performance. For complete details on current workshops in creative writing, consult our list of courses here. Among the four required workshops, we strongly recommend any offering of Introduction to Creative Writing. While not required, this course will serve as an excellent introduction to the craft.
- Two courses in the study of literary writing: at least one should be an English literature course, and the second can be in English literature or in the literature of a language other than English. Among the two required literature courses, we particularly recommend a number of English courses in which students study the history and development of a genre, topic, or theoretical approach. For a complete list of current courses in literary writing in English, visit the Department of English.
- Minors are welcome — and encouraged — to take more than the six required courses as their schedules permit.
- Courses in the Critical Writing Program (those coded as WRIT) do not count toward the minor.
- Journalistic Writing Minors may count only two of their journalistic writing workshops toward the Creative Writing minor.
Declaring your minor
Declaring your minor is simple. To begin, please contact Julia Bloch, Director of the Creative Writing Program.
Current Creative Writing Minors
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Chinonye Alilonu 26A
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Harrison Beckler 25A
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Mihika Biswas 26A
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Emily Bornstein 25A
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Luke Burke 25A
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Angela Cen 26A
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Kate Cho 27A
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Viraj Doshi 26A
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Lila Dubois 25A
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Mmachi Ezigbo 27A
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Gabrielle Galchen 25A
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Denise Gonzalez 25A
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Demetrio Gonzalez-Bordagaray 27A
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Adailia Graham 26A
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Sophia Hernandez 26A
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Szirina Ismail 26A
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Sophia Jarrar 26A
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Preethi Jayaraman 25A
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Wei-An Jin 26A
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Abbigail Kamanu 25A
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Trevor Khangi 25A
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Madeline Kohn 26A
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Sunny Lee 25A
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Allison Li 26A
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Cathy Li 25C
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Jeslyn Li 26A
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Olga Loiek 26A
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Élan Martin-Prashad 27A
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Anusha Mathur 25A
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Connor Nakamura 25A
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Lila Shermeta 25A
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Adam Shi 25A
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Fay Shuai 25A
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Anya Stewart 27A
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Andrew Stratton 25A
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Claire Sun 25A
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Jillian Troth 25A
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Usha Umair 26A
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Elise Wallen-Friedman 25A
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Sophia Young 25A
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Alexander Zhou 25A