The Creative Writing Program is structured to allow flexible participation in its activities by a diverse body of students, whose interest or commitment may vary in nature or over time.

Participation can be as informal as attending readings and other public events, to submitting work for the literary magazines or attending a festival or a poetry slam, to meeting with a poet or writer in residence, to taking a workshop or literature course offered by our faculty, to taking as many of our courses as one might have time and energy for, to declaring a minor concentration, to applying for the Creative Writing major.

Beginning in the Fall of 2003, the Department of English will offer a B.A. in Creative Writing, as distinct from the B.A. in English, joining the select number of American universities to make this degree available to undergraduates. Unlike many comparable schools, however, the Brandeis program will be taught and administered entirely by established authors; poets, novelists, short story and non-fiction writers.

The program offers up to nine workshops annually, and interested undergraduates are invited to submit samples of their work. Eligibility extends to freshmen, who may send in their writing samples in August, immediately prior to the fall semester. All submissions will be carefully screened by our distinguished roster of authors, and no more than twelve individuals will be admitted to each workshop. Students should inquire at the English Department, in person or by email <chaucer @ brandeis.edu>, for application guidelines for each course.

To learn more about the Creative Writing Degree, read about the major itself and about the stellar faculty.

If you'd like to discuss the program with a member of the English Department, please call 781-736-2130.