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Undergraduate Major Creative Writing & English (BA)

Tell Your Story with a Creative Writing Major from SNHU

Unleash your creativity with Southern New Hampshire University’s BA in Creative Writing and English.

This undergraduate creative writing major prepares you for a career in creative writing, publishing, journalism, communications, the law and many other professions, as well as graduate programs such as the University’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Fiction and Nonfiction Writing.

Creative writing courses begin during freshman year, unlike many other undergraduate writing programs. Undergraduate students can choose between a traditional four-year program and an accelerated three-year plan. Three-year plan graduates who enroll in the Master of Fine Arts program can earn their bachelor's and master's degrees in five years.

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See Yourself Succeed as a Creative Writing Major

Learn from faculty members who are critically acclaimed writers and who understand the industry. Spend classroom and one-on-one time with publishers, agents and editors, and participate in workshops, readings, book-signings and networking events with bestselling authors and poets.

As a private, nonprofit university, SNHU has one mission - to help you see yourself succeed. The benefits of earning your creative writing major at SNHU include:

  • Supportive community. Join the SNHU college campus community of fewer than 3,000 students, with faculty and staff dedicated to your success.
  • Affordability. SNHU is one of the most affordable private, nonprofit universities in New Hampshire, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships. (This scholarship amount is only for students who do not need a visa to study in the U.S.)
  • Innovative programs. Study abroad at little or no extra cost.
  • Accessible faculty. Learn from highly credentialed faculty who are experts in their fields and interact with you in the classroom, dining hall, fitness center and the stands.
  • Opportunity. Tap into our nationwide network of alumni and strong connections with employers for internship and career opportunities.
  • Campus experience. Enjoy more than 50 student clubs, champion Division II athletics and fun events on our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH, named a "Best Place to Live" by Money magazine.

​Internships & Outcomes

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of writers and authors is projected to grow 2 percent through 2024. Salaried writing and editing positions are to increase slightly. Specific job titles include:

  • Writer/Author
  • Literary Agent
  • Publisher
  • Manuscript Reader 
  • Editor

Get a leg up before you graduate. Publishing opportunities include the student literary journal, The Manatee; the University's national journal, Assignment; high-profile magazines and literary contests. Join the Creative Writing Club and the New Hampshire Writers' Project - the only statewide literary organization for writers of all levels and genres, which is housed on our Manchester campus.

Curriculum

Four creative writing workshops are at the heart of this BA program. Choose three genre workshops followed by an advanced workshop in which you'll write a senior thesis in a genre of your choice, such as fiction, poetry, nonfiction or scriptwriting.

Required Core Courses
General Education Program

Free elective Credits: 33

Degree Courses
ENG 226 Introduction to Creative Writing

An introductory creative writing course designed to acquaint students with the craft of creative writing and the skills that will be required in subsequent creative writing workshops. Students will explore such craft issues as point of view, voice, characterization, dialogue, setting, conflict, rhythm, imagery, poetic structure, and dramatic scene development. Students will be expected to submit a number of writing exercises, including stories and poems. Student will also be expected to read and comment on their peers' writing with thoughtful and constructive criticism, as well as read and discuss published work.
ENG 340 Context of Writing: Writers/Publishing

ENG 340 is a survey course in contemporary literature designed for students interested in creative writing. Students will study contemporary American literature from a writer's perspective with a special focus on prose style, structure, scene development, and other elements of the craft of writing. Students will also be introduced to the workings of the American publishing industry, including the roles of literary agent and editor.
ENG 350 The English Language

This course is an introduction to the following topics in English linguistics: history of English, etymology, vocabulary (morphology), phonology, dictionaries, syntax, semantics, dialects, discourse analysis, and child language acquisition. The course is designed for students who want to learn about the English language as preparation for teaching, or for becoming better writers, or for studying literature. Students will have the opportunity to research, write about, and present on a linguistic topic of individual interest such as the language of advertising or propaganda.
ENG 431 Advanced Creative Writing

This course is designed to support a sequence of writing workshops in the creative writing and English major, to provide students serious about their writing an opportunity to study a particular genre (fiction, poetry, scriptwriting or nonfiction) beyond the 300-level workshops. The course also prepares the student for his or her senior thesis in creative writing. In addition to extensive reading within the chosen genre, workshops require participation in class discussions, student presentations and analyses of other students' work. Select class periods will be devoted to individual tutorials with the instructor.
LIT 300 Literary Theory

This course is an introduction to the major schools of contemporary critical theory, and an examination of principal exponents of these theories. The student will become familiar with the most important features of psychoanalytic criticism, Marxism and feminism and examine the meaning of structuralism and post-structuralism. In addition, the course affords an opportunity to practice applying the theories to specific literary texts.
LIT 319 Shakespeare

Students in LIT 319 study selected Shakespearian comedies, tragedies and chronicle plays. The course also provides the students with a general overview of the Elizabethan era and the world in which Shakespeare lived and worked.

3 credit(s) from subject(s): LIT  within the range of course numbers 200 - 299

3 credit(s) from subject(s): LIT  within the range of course numbers 400 - 499
HUM 201 Intro to Humanities I

Assuming little or no previous exposure to its content, this course offers vocabulary, understanding, and appreciation of the visual arts in their cultural contexts of history, religious settings, literature and ideas. It focuses on the achievements of ancient Greece and Rome, the medieval period and the Renaissance, while also exploring related issues in non-European cultures. May be taken independently of HUM 202.
HUM 202 Intro to Humanities II

Assuming little or no previous exposure to its content, this course offers vocabulary, understanding and appreciation of the visual arts in their cultural contexts of history, music, literature, and ideas. It focuses on the cultural periods of the Baroque, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism and Early Modernism, while also exploring related issues in non-European cultures. May be taken independently of HUM 201.

Select one of the following:
COM 212 Public Speaking

This course is designed to help students develop abilities, including organization and delivery skills, for all speaking situations. The evaluation and improvement of voice, diction, articulation and posture also are studied. May not be used as literature elective.

PHL 210 Introduction to Philosophy

This course provides a general introduction to the big questions of philosophy, including questions of existence, knowledge, freedom and meaning. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to great thinkers and theories while engaging them in the exploration of the same beginning questions applied to contemporary issues.

Select three of the following:
ENG 327 Playwriting Workshop

This course is a roundtable forum in which 10 to 15 students will write stage plays of various lengths using traditional and experimental methods and forms. Members of the class will produce at intervals to be established by the instructor and will take turns presenting their works to the group for comment and discussion. The class will produce some student plays during the term. May not be used as a literature elective. Writing Intensive Course.
ENG 328 Poetry Writing Workshop

This course is a roundtable forum in which 10 to 15 students will write short or long poems using traditional and experimental forms. Members of the class will produce on a weekly basis and take turns presenting their manuscripts to the group for commentary and discussion. May not be used as a literature elective.
ENG 329 Fiction Writing Workshop

This course is a roundtable forum in which 10 to 15 students will write short or long fiction using the techniques of 19th-century realism as well as modernist and experimental techniques. Members of the class will produce on a weekly basis and take turns presenting their manuscripts to the group for commentary and discussion. May not be used as a literature elective.
ENG 330 Nonfiction Writing Workshop

This course introduces students to the basic skills and principles of writing creative nonfiction and magazine feature articles. Student-centered workshop critiques and frequent conferences with the instructor are the primary methods used in the course. The course includes significant reading assignments in nonfiction genres.
LIT - Select one 200-level Literature elective
LIT - Select one 400-level Literature elective

Program Outcomes

Campus Undergraduate Costs

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We believe that college should change your life, not break the bank. That's why more than 90 percent of our students receive some form of financial aid, and students who qualify could receive up to $20,000 in grants and scholarships.

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University Accreditation

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as several other accrediting bodies. More...

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