Creative Writing

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Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Honours, Double Major, Minor

Double Major Minor

Develop a portfolio of writing, including fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry with one of the few degree programs of its kind in Canada.

Program Information

The Creative Writing program introduces students to the various forms of literary writing. Students work in an environment that encourages and enhances literary and linguistic knowledge. The workshop/lecture model offers students who have the talent and the ambition the opportunity to develop their writing significantly. Specialization in one or two genres, such as fiction and poetry, is encouraged.

Degree Information

Campus: Keele
Faculty: Liberal Arts and Professional Studies
Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Honours, Double Major, Minor

Duration

4 yrs

Experiential Education

Research / Other Activities

Honours Option

Yes (Honours Only)

Degree Overview

Development as a Writer
Our program’s main objective is to give each student the opportunity to develop as a writer. We take pride in providing the type of curriculum that will allow students to learn from published writers, and from one another.

Creative Writing Reader Series
We feature an annual Creative Writing Reader Series which provides students the chance to meet and learn from prominent Canadian poets and fiction writers.

Successful Graduates
Our alumni have gone on to achieve great things in their careers and have received recognition from the writing industry including being finalists for or the recipients of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the Giller Prize, the W.H. Smith/Books First Novel Award, the Governor General’s Award for Drama and the Chalmer’s Award for Drama.

Our Creative Writing curriculum is a combination of literary context courses and workshop courses. Students will form the base knowledge for different literary styles and techniques in the early years of the program, and will be encouraged to experiment and specialize in more than one literary genre in the programs later years.

Sample Courses:
FILM 2121 Screenwriting Fundamentals
EN 2600 Introduction to Creative Writing
EN 3600 Creative Non-Fiction and Mixed Genre
EN 3610 Intermediate Prose Workshop: Fiction
EN 4610 Senior Prose Workshop: Fiction
EN 4620 Senior Poetry Workshop

Career Options

Thanks to new avenues created by the constant growth of the internet, careers for graduates with a Creative Writing degree are more varied and profitable than ever before. After graduating from York, students could enter a career writing books and advertising, web content, or find fulfilling work in the public, private, or non-profit sectors.

Careers:

Author	Blogger	Communications Consultant
Editor	Journalist	Literary Editor
Magazine Contributor	Media Correspondent	Publisher
Public Relations Representative	Speech Coach	Speech Writer