Concentrations
English majors registered for the creative writing or professional writing and editing concentration may count up to 60 hours of English courses toward the 128 hours required for the B.A. degree.
Creative Writing Concentration
The Creative Writing program at WVU offers a creative writing concentration for undergraduate English Majors and a minor for students majoring in other areas. It also offers students the opportunity to participate in a writing community both in and out of the classroom.
Our widely published creative writing faculty, along with a distinguished visiting writers series and a wide range of creative writing activities, make for an exciting atmosphere for the study of writing. The creative writing faculty includes Mark Brazaitis, James Harms, Ellesa Clay High, Kevin Oderman, Mary Ann Samyn, Ethel Morgan Smith, and Glenn Taylor, who collectively have published more than 20 books. Their awards include the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Fulbright Fellowship, the Bakeless Prize, the PEN/Revson Fellowship, the Ohio State University Press/ The Journal Award, the Iowa Short Fiction Prize, the Richard Sullivan Prize, the George Garrett Fiction Award, and a West Virginia Commission on the Arts Fellowship.
Our writers and teachers are accessible and dedicated to developing new talent. Within a large, diverse university, it is possible to become an important member of a small, close-knit community of enthusiastic writing faculty and students.
The concentration in creative writing requires 15 credit hours taken in the following sequence.
1. One course, with a grade of ‘B’ or better, from the following three courses:
- English 212—Introduction to Fiction
- English 213—Introduction to Poetry
- English 214—Introduction to Nonfiction
2. One course, after having received a grade of ‘B’ or higher in one of the classes above:
- English 312—Advanced Workshop in Fiction
- English 313—Advanced Workshop in Poetry
- English 314—Advanced Workshop in Nonfiction
3. With permission of the instructor, English 318
4. With permission of the Director of the Creative Writing Program, English 418.
5. One additional course from group 1 (which may be taken at any time) or group 2 (which must be taken after the completion of one of the courses in group 1.)
To register for the Creative Writing Concentration or Minor:
- If you are an English major, see an English advisor in 118 Colson Hall.
- If you are a major in another department or school, see your major advisor and fill out a Declaration of Minor Field form.
Please direct questions about this concentration to Mark Brazaitis.
Professional Writing and Editing Concentration
Professionally oriented students can take courses in writing for business, industry, and science. Professional writing and editing courses enable students to work with specialized and complex information; to sharpen writing skills necessary for working in areas of business, industry, public relations, journalism, science, medicine, and government; and to develop skills of graphic and textual production for reports, manuals, grants, research proposals, and other business and technical documents. Students majoring in English with a focus on professional writing are encouraged to supplement the major by taking courses in communications, journalism, business, science, computer science, graphic design, or engineering.
The concentration in PWE requires at least 15 hours in the following distribution:
- English 301: Writing Theory & Practice
- English 302: Editing
- English 303: Multimedia Writing
- English 491A: Professional Field Experience (Internship/Capstone)
- Either English 304: Business and Professional Writing OR English 305: Technical Writing
Please direct questions about this concentration to Brian Ballentine
