2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog (20273)

Creative and Professional Writing, B.F.A. major

A total of 120 semester credits are needed for the Creative and Professional Writing B.F.A. degree and include the following:

• Completion of a minimum of 40 upper division credits (level 3000/4000)
• Completion of all required major credits 
• Completion of Core Curriculum credits (Minnesota Transfer Curriculum [MnTC] Goal Areas 1-10 with a minimum of 40 credits) required for all baccalaureate degrees
• Completion of BSU Focus and Nisidotaading Course Requirements

Required Credits: 42
Required GPA: 2.25

I REQUIRED WRITING COMPONENT (PART I)

Select 15 semester credits from the following:

Note: Some courses have pre-requisites not required
in this major or require consent of instructor.

FICTION:

• ENGL 2190 Introduction to Creative Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3115 Writing Fiction I (3 credits)
• ENGL 4116 Writing Fiction II (3 credits)
• ENGL 4157 Topics in Writing, Editing and Publishing (3 credits)

POETRY:

• ENGL 3125 Writing Poetry I (3 credits)
• ENGL 4126 Writing Poetry II (3 credits)
• ENGL 4157 Topics in Writing, Editing and Publishing (3 credits)

CREATIVE NON:

• ENGL 3145 Writing Creative Nonfiction I (3 credits)
• ENGL 4146 Writing Creative Nonfiction II (3 credits)
• ENGL 4157 Topics in Writing, Editing and Publishing (3 credits)

PR WRT/TECH CM:

• ENGL 2150 Technical Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3155 Professional Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3510 Writing Center Practicum (1-3 credits)
• ENGL 4157 Topics in Writing, Editing and Publishing (3 credits)

DIG WRT&PUBL:

• ENGL 3177 Rhetoric of Social Media (3 credits)
• ENGL 3179 Elements of Digital Rhetoric (3 credits)
• ENGL 3183 Topics in Writing or Rhetoric (3 credits)
• ENGL 4183 Advanced Topics in Writing or Rhetoric (3 credits)

INTERNSHIPS:

• ENGL 4860 Internship in Writing, Editing or Publishing (3 credits)

REQUIRED WRITING COMPONENT (PART II)

Select 6 additional credits from the above areas and/or
from the following courses for a total of 21 credits
of required writing component:

• MASC 3720 Media Writing II (3 credits)
• MASC 3790 Screenwriting (3 credits)

II REQUIRED LITERATURE COMPONENT

A. Select 9 semester credits from the following:

• ENGL 2300 Introduction to Indigenous American Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 2330 Diverse American Literatures to 1865 (3 credits)
• ENGL 2337 American Literature from 1865 to Present (3 credits)
• ENGL 2357 British Literature to 1800 (3 credits)
• ENGL 2358 Diverse British Literatures from 1800 to Present (3 credits)
• ENGL 2370 World Literature to 1600 (3 credits)
• ENGL 2377 World Literature from 1600 to Present (3 credits)

B. Select 12 additional credits from the following
courses; those courses with 'Topics' in the title
may be taken multiple times with different topic
subtitles:

• ENGL 2340 The American Film (3 credits)
• ENGL 2410 Myth (3 credits)
• ENGL 2925 People of the Environment: American Nature Writers Perspective (3 credits)
• ENGL 3540 Literature for Young Adults (3 credits)
• ENGL 3580 The English Language (3 credits)
• ENGL 3590 Race, Power, and Justice in Global Literatures (3 credits)
• ENGL 3600 Author Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 3606 Culture Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 3607 Film Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 3608 Genre Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 3609 Period Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 4420 Shakespeare and His Age (3 credits)
• ENGL 4429 Shakespeare for Teachers (3 credits)
• ENGL 4455 Seminar: Literary Criticism and Theory (3 credits)
• ENGL 4700 Advanced Author Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 4706 Advanced Culture Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 4707 Advanced Film Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 4708 Advanced Genre Topics (3 credits)
• ENGL 4709 Advanced Period Topics (3 credits)
• PHIL 2240 Aesthetics (3 credits)

Program Learning Outcomes | Creative and Professional Writing, B.F.A.

1. Create & evaluate original prose or poetry: Students will create and evaluate the formal features of original prose or poetry.

2. Critical thinking, reading, writing: Students will demonstrate skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing.

3. Texts in contexts: Students will demonstrate understanding of diverse texts in diverse contexts.

4. World literatures: Students will demonstrate knowledge of world literatures.

5. Writing for a variety of purposes and audiences: Students will demonstrate effective writing for a variety of purposes and audiences.

6. Writing for professional purposes: Students will demonstrate understanding of the uses of writing for a variety of professional purposes.