Carnegie Mellon University

Creative Writing - Primary Major

In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, which include the General Education curriculum, Creative Writing majors must complete coursework in the following areas below.

Learn how to declare your primary major in Creative Writing.

Curriculum: 11 courses, 99 units total

All courses are 9.0 units each, unless otherwise noted.

Introductory Genre Writing Courses (2 courses, 18 units):

76-260   Introduction to Writing Fiction
76-261   Introduction to Writing Creative Nonfiction   
76-265   Introduction to Writing Poetry
76-269   Introduction to Screenwriting

Reading in Forms (1 course, 9 units):

76-362   Reading in Forms: Nonfiction
76-363   Reading in Forms: Poetry
76-363   Reading in Forms: Poetry: Intro to Literary Translation    
76-364   Reading in Forms: Fiction

Creative Writing Workshops (4 courses, 36 units):

Students must take at least two workshops in a single genre. Workshops in all genres may be taken more than once for credit, except for Literary Journalism. In order to be eligible to enroll in a particular workshop, students must earn a grade of A or B in the introductory genre writing course of that same genre. If students earn a C in an introductory genre writing course, they may enroll in a related workshop only with the permission of the instructor. If they earn a D or R (failing grade) in an introductory genre writing course, they may not take a workshop in that genre.

76-360   Literary Journalism Workshop   
76-365   Beginning Poetry Workshop       
76-366   Essay Writing Workshop                         
76-460   Beginning Fiction Workshop       
76-462   Advanced Fiction Workshop       
76-465   Advanced Poetry Workshop       
76-464   Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Magazines and Journals 
76-469   Screenwriting Workshop

English Electives (4 courses, 36 units):

Complete four additional courses from the English Department’s offerings.

  • Only one of the four English Electives may be at the 200 level. The remaining English Electives must be at the 300 or 400 level.
  • Two of the four English Electives must be courses that are designated as fulfilling the literature requirement and focus on close reading of literary texts.
Please consult the list of courses published each semester by the Department. English Electives may include any 200- to 400-level course offered by the Department. In choosing English Electives, students are encouraged to sample courses from across the Department.