- Creative Writing
The Creative Writing major prepares you to be a writer of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, or to go into editing or publishing. At Virginia Tech, you will create your own literary events, publish your writing in on-campus journals and professional magazines, and interact with famous writers. In addition to your creative writing classes you will complete courses in literature, digital media, and critical frameworks. Under the guidance of published writers, you’ll develop a portfolio showcasing your range and versatility as a writer.
Career Options
- Creative manager
- Literary agent
- Grant writer
- Video game developer
- Editor and copywriter
- Web designer
- Television writer
- Journalist and reporter
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- College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Degree Types
- Bachelor of Arts
- Master of Fine Arts
- Autobiography
- Children's Literature
- Creative Non-Fiction
- Electronic Literature
- Experimental
- Fantasy Fiction
- Flash Fiction
- Graphic Novel
- Kid's Literature
- Literary Mag
- Literary Magazine
- Literary Realism
- Mystery Writing
- New Media Creative Writing
- Novel Writing
- Playwriting
- Post-Modernism
- Prose Poems
- Prose Poetry
- Reading Series
- Science Fiction
- Screenwriting
- Short Shorts
- Short Stories
- Short Story
- Speculative Fiction
- Visiting Writer
- Young Adult Fiction
Undergraduate Major
Undergraduate advising.
- Law and Justice
Related Programs
- Communication
- Multimedia Journalism
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- Undergraduate Course Catalog and Academic Policies
- Transfer Guide
Creative Writing Major
What is a major in creative writing.
Participate in a wide range of courses reflective of your creative interests. You'll learn about major writers, literary traditions, and contemporary innovations. Under the guidance of published writers, you'll also develop a portfolio of material showcasing your range and versatility as a creative writer.
Why Study Creative Writing at Virginia Tech?
Here, you will study with distinguished authors including Matthew Vollmer, Jeff Mann, Evan Lavender-Smith, Sophia Terazawa, and Khadijah Queen. We also host a variety of campus readings for you to attend by renowned poets, playwrights, essayists, and fiction writers. Some of our past visiting writers have included:
- Viet Than Ngyuen
- George Saunders
- Carrie Fountain
- Douglas Kearney
- Matthew Salesses
- Jenny Boully
- Zadie Smith
- Terry Tempest Williams
- Kevin Young
- Terrance Hayes
- Cheryl Strayed
- Ocean Vuong
The major offers workshops that allow you to share your poems, stories, and essays with peer's to help you grow as a writer. With this opportunity, you can improve your writing skills while building your portfolio.
3 Study Abroad Programs
24 Average Class Size
100+ English Courses Offered
Caty Gordon, '10
Caty graduated from Virginia Tech in 2010 with degrees in creative writing and professional and technical writing. After graduating from Columbia University with her M.F.A. in creative nonfiction, she moved on to serve as an editorial assistant for Simon and Schuster and Penguin Group USA, where she is presently employed.
Orlando Dos Reis, '10
Orlando graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in creative writing in 2010. Post-graduation, he moved on to Kansas State University to continue his education, earning his M.A. in English language and literature in 2013. He presently serves as an editorial assistant for Abrams in the New York City area.
Erica Corder, '16
Erica graduated from Virginia Tech in 2016 with degrees in creative writing and political science. After starting up an independent journalism publication called The Pylon, Erica accepted a job in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, where she currently works as a communications manager who tells the story of the college and its students and faculty in Blacksburg and beyond through writing, photos, and videos.
Shalini Rana, '18
Shalini graduated with double majors in creative writing and professional and technical writing. During her time at Virginia Tech, her poetry was published in undergraduate publications, Silhouette and Philologia, and received third place in the Steger Poetry Prize. Shalini works as a consultant for CollabraLink Technologies and continues writing. In the future, she plans to complete a poetry M.F.A. program.
Jessica Mardian, '20
In her creative writing courses, Jessica developed strong writing skills and found the space to express herself. She was published in the Silhouette literary magazine, was a finalist for the Steger Poetry Prize at Virginia Tech, and served as a speaker at the Creative Writing Showcase. Jessica plans to pursue a career a journalism and a MFA in Creative Writing, with a focus on poetry.
Careers and Further Study
What can you do with a major in Creative Writing?
Jobs Held by Our Graduates
- Creative manager
- Literary agent
- Grant writer
- Video game developer
- Editor and copywriter
- Web designer
- Television writer
- Journalist and reporter
Creative Writing Major at Virginia Tech
Beyond the Classroom
Experiential Learning
- INTERNSHIPS
- UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND INDEPENDENT STUDY
- STUDY ABROAD
- STRONG COMMUNITY
- WRITING WORKSHOPS
Engage in your profession by writing, researching, editing, and making connections with employers across the country. Apply the knowledge and skills you learn in the classroom to the workplace. Internships earn academic credit and provide valuable real-world experience.
You will work with a faculty mentor to experiment with language, find inspiration, grow as an artist, and share your work with peers and mentors. Learn how to brainstorm and experiment, gain experience performing your work for audiences, learn how to critique stories, poems, and plays in a workshop setting, and submit your work to literary magazines.
We host a faculty-led trip to London, an exchange program with Loughborough University, and a Wintermester Experience that visits different locations each year . These experiences enrich your understanding of the history and culture of the English language and its literature.
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Our diverse faculty is made up of published authors and poets, accomplished playwrights and essayists, and recipients of fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. We love mentoring our students and take great pride in watching them grow as writers.
During our Creative Writing major workshops, you will have the opportunity to share your stories, poems, and essays with your classmates. You'll offer critiques, compliments, suggestions, and interpretations of your peers work; you'll receive the same in return. No two workshops will ever be the same. Our goal is to help you improve your writing skills.
What You'll Study
Bachelor of Arts in English Degree
- Including Virginia Tech's Pathways
Creative Writing Major Requirements
- Introduction to Critical Reading
- Introduction to Critical Writing
- Literary History
- Acts of Interpretation
- Writing and Digital Media
- Capstone Experience
Minor and Elective Hours
Our program gives you the opportunity to build knowledge in another area by pursuing a minor, double major, or cognate.
120 hrs B.A. English
45 hrs General Education
39 hrs Major Requirements
36 hrs Elective
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2024-2025 Academic Catalog
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In accordance with university guidelines, courses satisfying degree core requirements may not be double counted to satisfy other areas of a degree (e.g. Pathways).
Note: All English courses above the 1000-level have as a pre-requisite completion of the First-Year Writing Requirement—i.e., completion of ENGL 1106 First-Year Writing or COMM 1016 Communication Skills .
Satisfactory Progress toward the B.A. in English, Major in Creative Writing
Satisfactory progress toward the B.A. in English, Major in Creative Writing, requires that upon having attempted 72 credits (including transfer, advanced placement, advanced standing, credit by examination, and course withdrawal), students must have passed 12 of the required credits in the English Core (Section I) and have attained a GPA of 2.0 or better both within the major and overall.
Graduation Requirements
The B.A. in English with a Major in Creative Writing requires 39 hours in English, distributed as follows, and 120 hours overall. In accordance with university guidelines, courses satisfying degree core requirements may not be double counted to satisfy other areas of a degree (e.g. Pathways).
Note: All English courses above the 1000-level have as a pre-requisite completion of the First-Year Writing Requirement — i.e., completion of 1106 or COMM 1016. Some courses required for this major have other pre-requisites/co-requisites and/or enrollment requirements. Please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog or consult your advisor for information about the specific pre-req/co-req or enrollment requirements for a specific course.
In order to graduate, students must complete the degree with a GPA of 2.0 or better both within the Creative Writing Major and overall. All English courses above the 1000-level are factored into the in-major GPA.
Foreign Language Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement
- 3 years in high school or
- 2 years in high school + an 1106 foreign language (e.g., FR, GR, SPAN) or
- L ess than 2 years in high school + an 1105-1106 foreign language (e.g., FR, GR, SPAN) grouping.
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Department of English
From creative expression to professional mastery.
Whether you plan to write the next great novel, immerse yourself in literature, or develop strong technical or scientific communication skills, the Department of English has a program for you.
In the Department of English, we teach students how to think critically and creatively, and we conduct research to advance knowledge about culture, language, and the written word. Our graduate and undergraduate curricula emphasize deep research skills and unbounded creativity, preparing students for successful careers in academia, business, law, and other professions, as well as nonprofit work, teaching, writing, publishing, and the arts. Courses refine students’ oral and written communication skills, teaching them to be precise, clear, and inventive stylists.
The study of literature and language is at the core of each undergraduate major, providing a common, foundational knowledge about the cultural contexts in which texts and linguistic artifacts are produced, interpreted, and circulated. Individual undergraduate majors ( English , creative writing , technical and scientfic communication , and professional and technical writing ) provide specialized approaches to textual and linguistic critique and invention. Students graduate with enhanced capacities to understand both their cultures and the experiences of others, through varied experiences of collaboration and textual border-crossing that are inherent in our curriculum.
Classes in the English department are small. Students spend quality time with our award-winning faculty and have opportunities for individual and team-based research experiences. The department supports a number of internships. We invite visiting writers and scholars to speak every semester, and each spring students share their work at an undergraduate research conference and a student-run literary festival. Our undergraduate students publish in various Virginia Tech magazines, and graduate creative writing students serve as editors for two national journals.
Graduate programs in the Department of English include a general M.A. in English , an M.F.A. in Creative Writing , and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing .
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