The Undergraduate Program

The Undergraduate Program in Creative Writing, established in 1978, provides a wide variety of opportunities for students to read, write, and study the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and playwriting. In addition to a range of creative writing courses open to undergraduates (and, under certain circumstances, graduate students and special students), the program also offers an English Major with an Emphasis in Creative Writing, a lively series of readings, visits by distinguished authors, opportunities to work on The Madison Review, and a number of contests and prize competitions. Undergraduate creative writing workshops are composed of twelve to nineteen students. In these courses—commonly called "workshops"—some time is spent on theory and technique, some time is spent reading the work of established writers, and some short writing exercises may be assigned. However, in all of our workshops the major focus is on student writing, both in the classroom and in individual conferences. For more detailed descriptions of the undergraduate courses in creative writing at the University of Wisconsin, please see our courses and registration page.

The Department of English offers an undergraduate English Major with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. The required course of study is a minimum of 31 credits in the major, including 19 credits of literature courses and 12 credits of creative writing courses. Of the 12 credits in creative writing, 9 must be acquired by taking 300-level creative writing workshops and 3 must be acquired by taking English 695: Directed Study in Creative Writing (often referred to as the "Creative Writing Thesis.") Students who wish to graduate with a creative writing emphasis must declare an English major and complete the following courses:

• English 215: British Literature before 1750 (3-4 credits)
• English 216: British and Anglophone Lit., 1750-present (3-4 credits)
• English 217: American Literature (3-4 credits)
• A course in Shakespeare (ENGL 219, 220, 226, 417, or 418—3 credits)
• A course in Modern/Contemporary Lit. (ENGL 223, 477, 478, 500-519, 610-612,
  or 630-672—3 credits)
• Any English elective numbered 215 or higher (3 credits)
• Three 300-level Creative Writing Workshops (ENGL 300-307—9 credits)
• English 695: Directed Creative Writing (3 credits)

After completing the three 300-level Creative Writing Workshops (or while completing the third) a student may register for English 695. English 695 is offered primarily in the spring semester, though a limited number of sections may be available each fall. A graduating senior who has not completed the three 300-level workshops, and is therefore ineligible to take English 695, should complete the standard English Major. Under the standard English Major, 300-level workshops count as electives.

At the moment, we do not offer a Certificate in Creative Writing for non-English majors who nevertheless wish to do a significant amount of coursework in the Creative Writing Program. Please check back here for updates regarding any future Certificate in Creative Writing.