Creative Writing, B.F.A.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Program Overview

As a creative writing major, you will join a community of students, faculty, and mentors who will help you develop as an imaginative writer and a bold thinker. You’ll pursue a course of study that combines training in the art and craft of writing alongside literary scholarship. Working closely with our active, publishing, and award-winning faculty, you’ll sharpen your expertise in reading and analyzing literature and develop your skills at creating meaningful, transformative narratives.

Creative Writing, B.F.A.

Where You'll Go

The skills you will learn as a creative writing major—how to read and think critically, how to write with precision and ingenuity, how to do research—will prepare you well to be a creative writer, grants writer, content strategist, editor, copywriter, social media manager, and more.

Major Details

The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2023–24 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here.

Major Requirements (47–52 Credits)

I. English 2120 and 2121 (8 credits)

English 2120 and 2121 are required. Creative writing majors should complete either English 2120 or 2121, or be enrolled in one or the other, before continuing in other electives. No ENGL course numbered lower than 2115 may count toward the major.

II. Creative writing courses (16 credits)

  • English 2301.
  • One of the following sequences:
  • One additional creative writing courses in the English Department: ENGL 2302, or any of the courses 3301–3307 that has not been used to satisfy requirement (ii)b.

III. Periods of Study (10-12 credits)

One course from from 900–1800 and two from 1800 to the present:

  1. 900–1500: English 3111, 3112, 3520, 4101; Comparative Literature 3614.
  2. 1500–1660: English 3120, 3121, 3122, 3123, 3124, 3125, 4102; Comparative Literature 3615.
  3. 1660–1800: English 3131, 3132, 3133, 3234, 4103; Comparative Literature 3616.
  4. 1800–1900: English 3140, 3141, 3142, 3143, 3145, 3151, 3156, 3157, 3158, 3160, 4104, 4107; Comparative Literature 3606, 3617.
  5. 1900–1950: English 2402, 3152, 3153, 3156, 3159, 3160, 3161, 3162, 3163, 3164, 3165, 3170, 3171, 3172, 3173, 3193, 4110, 4107, 4108; Comparative Literature 3607, 3608, 3610, 3618, 3622, 3623 , 3624, 3625.
  6. 1950–the Present: English 2402, 3154, 3161, 3162, 3166, 3167, 3174, 3180, 3187, 3193, 3194, 3254, 4109, 4112, 4113, 4114; Comparative Literature 3609, 3611, 3619, 3621, 3622, 3623, 3625, 4601, 4602.

IV. Electives (13-16 credits)

  1. Breadth and Depth Area Studies (one course each from areas A and B):
  2. Capstone seminar: ENGL 4301
  3. Three to four additional credits in advanced English Department courses. Related courses offered by other departments may be substituted with permission of the English Department chair.

Student Learning Outcomes

Department Goal 1: Read and think critically.

Program Objective 1: Learn to read literature with a focus on the ways in which form serves content.

Program Objective 2: Use close reading effectively to identify literary techniques, styles, and themes.

Program Objective 3: Learn to read and comment constructively and critically on the creative writing of peers in the workshop context.

Department Goal 2: Understand how language operates.

Program Objective 1: Demonstrate knowledge of literary tropes and techniques (e.g., metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, word play, and sonic effects such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhythm, etc.)

Department Goal 3: Express ideas—both orally and in writing—correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline.

Program Objective 1: Create original examples of creative writing that demonstrate complexity through attention to rhetoric, syntax, and tone.

Program Objective 2: Comment and write cogently and persuasively about classmates’ writing in the workshop context.

Program Objective 3: Demonstrate the ability to respond to constructive criticism from instructor and peers by effectively revising writing assignments.

Program Objective 4: Demonstrate the ability to use the currently accepted conventions of standard English mechanics and grammar, with an eye toward how those standards can be stretched in order to achieve innovative modes of expression.

Department Goal 4: Conduct research

Program Objective 1: Learn how to research and seek out historical and contemporary literary voices relevant to their individual voice.

Program Objective 2: Make use of the opportunities that Brooklyn College and New York City afford by attending readings, plays, literary panel discussions, and submitting to literary magazines.

Outcomes for demonstrating achievement of objectives

Written work (including poems/stories/plays, in-class writing exercises, short written reflections on literary techniques used by published writers, workshop responses for peers, revised writing samples, etc.)

Contributions to class discussions and workshops

Attendance at readings, panels, performances or a related research project (such as researching literary magazines/submitting one’s work); documented via written summary of the activity handed into instructor

Degree Maps

View all past degree maps.

Contact

Contact the English Department for information on academic advisers and office hours.

Or contact:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions

222 West Quad Center
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
E: adminqry@brooklyn.cuny.edu

To make an appointment with an undergraduate admissions counselor, visit:

Virtual Admissions Counselor Appointments

Internships and Employers

Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the creative writing B.F.A. program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:

  • ACLU
  • CBS News and Stations
  • Equinox
  • Harlem Children’s Zone
  • Planned Parenthood
  • PragerU
  • PXP
  • Rent the Runway
  • TikTok
  • Varsity Tutors

Learn More

Brooklyn. All in.

Brooklyn. All in.