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Writing

Writing - BA

Become one of the effective writers our world needs, no matter what medium you choose.

WHY STUDY WRITING?

“The creative writing classroom may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters.”—poet Richard Hugo

Good writers are needed everywhere: for magazines and websites, blogs, advertising copy, internal communications in companies or organizations, public relations, screenplays for TV and movies, works of fiction and nonfiction and poetry. Writing graduates work in education, law, business, and medicine, as journalists, speechwriters, art therapists, teachers, arts administrators, literary agents, and technical writers.

You'll have the chance to try out different genres and forms in a supportive community. You might study writing as a therapeutic process or literature about time travel or writing for children and young adults. You’ll have a chance to learn about producing a literary arts magazine, rub elbows with visiting professional writers, and participate in open mics. Your work may get published in our campus and community magazine, Baily's Beads, which has been recognized seven times by the American Scholastic Press Association as the top student literary arts magazine in the country and twice by the Scholastic Press Association at Columbia University as one of the top ten in the U.S. In addition, our creative and professional writing program was named one of the best in the country by Study.com in 2021. Our faculty are out there in the field actively publishing our work, enabling us to bring you the best, most up to date information and connections.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

You’ll learn about fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and journalism, about writing for magazines and websites, blogs, advertising copy, internal communications in companies or organizations, and public relations. You’ll get real world experience working for our award-winning literary magazine, Baily’s Beads, and you’ll get to meet professional writers, some of whom are our alumni. Our graduates work as journalists, speechwriters, art therapists, teachers, arts administrators, literary agents, and technical writers.

Students working in Library

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A DEGREE IN WRITING?

When you graduate, you'll have many kinds of jobs to choose from because employers are always looking for people who write well. Writing graduates work in education, law, business, and medicine, as journalists, speechwriters, art therapists, teachers, arts administrators, screenwriters, advertising copywriters, literary agents, novelists, attorneys, songwriters, and technical writers.

Job titles:

  • Author
  • Biographer
  • Editor
  • Editorial writer
  • Fact checker
  • Journalist
  • Proofreader
  • Fundraiser 
  • Publicity director
  • Technical writer

Employers:

  • Advertising agencies
  • Newspapers
  • Publishers
  • Magazines
  • Corporations
  • Educational institutions
  • Public relations firms
  • Law firms
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