Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing
Program Learning Outcomes
- Creative Work: Students will produce a written creative work demonstrating growth as writers.
- Professional Preparation: students will demonstrate skills in fields related to literature and/or creative writing, including publishing, writing, teaching, editing, book arts, and/or arts management.
- Literature: Students will read, discuss, and analyze the work of a broad range of writers from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, and explain how literature in general, and their own genre in particular, relates to larger human experience.
- Craft Elements: Students will write and revise creative nonfiction, fiction, plays, and/or poetry using the elements of craft to embody their individual and universal visions as well as analyze and discuss craft elements in their peers’ work.
Creative Writing (B.A)— 42 units
A. Fundamentals (6 units)
Fundamentals of Creative Writing and Fundamentals of Creative Reading are prerequisites to all other Creative Writing courses. C W 302 is also a prerequisite to all upper-division English literature courses. C W 302 must be taken at SF State. Upon completion of C W 302, courses from Section G may be taken at any time. C W 301 and C W 302 may be taken concurrently.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 301 | Fundamentals of Creative Writing | 3 |
| C W 302 | Fundamentals of Creative Reading | 3 |
B. Craft (3 units)
One course in the Craft Area selected from the following must be taken after C W 301 and C W 302 and before the workshop course.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 511GW | Craft of Poetry - GWAR | 3 |
| C W 512GW | Craft of Fiction - GWAR | 3 |
| C W 513GW | Craft of Playwriting - GWAR | 3 |
C. Creative Process/Workshop (12 units)
Select four courses from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 506 | The Business of Creative Writing (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 507 | Writing on the Body (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 514 | Contemporary World Poetry (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 520 | Writers on Writing (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 550 | Poetry Center Workshop (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 602 | Playwriting (workshop) 1 | 3 |
| C W 603 | Short Story Writing (workshop) 1 | 3 |
| C W 604 | Poetry Writing (workshop) 1 | 3 |
| C W/TH A 605 | Writing and Performing Monologues (workshop) 1 | 3 |
| C W 609 | Directed Writing for B.A. Students (workshop) 2 | 3 |
| C W 640 | Transfer Literary Magazine (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 675 | Community Projects in Literature (creative process) 1 | 3 |
| C W 685 | Projects in the Teaching of Creative Writing (creative process) | 3 |
| C W 699 | Independent Study (creative process or workshop) | 1-3 |
D. Variable Topics Course (3 units)
Select one:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 510 | The Creative Process | 3 |
| C W 600 | Special Topics in Writing | 3 |
E. Revision Course (3 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 606 | Art of Revision: from Draft to Manuscript | 3 |
F. Capstone Course (3 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| C W 601 | Work in Progress | 3 |
G. Courses in the Literature Areas (12 units)
Select four courses from the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AA S 322 | Chinese American Language and Literature | 3 |
| AA S 332 | Japanese American Art and Literature | 3 |
| AA S 352 | Filipina/o American Literature, Art, and Culture | 3 |
| AA S 372 | Vietnamese American Literature | 3 |
| AA S 512 | Asian American Children's/Adolescent Literature | 3 |
| AA S 582 | Asian American Women's Literature and the Arts | 3 |
| AFRS 400 | Black Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| AFRS 411 | ||
| AFRS 645 | Literature of the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| AFRS 646 | ||
| AIS 360 | ||
| CHIN 600 | Topics in Chinese Language, Literature, and Culture in English | 3 |
| CHIN 601GW | The Poetic Tradition - GWAR | 3 |
| CHIN 602 | The Narrative Tradition | 3 |
| CHIN 611GW | The Revolutionary Tradition in Modern Chinese Literature - GWAR | 3 |
| CLAS 410/HUM 401 | Ancient Greek Literature | 3 |
| CLAS 415/HUM 402 | Ancient Roman Literature | 3 |
| C W/MGS 497 | Modern Greek Literature | 3 |
| CWL 420 | Studies in Comparative Literature | 3 |
| CWL 421 | Celtic Literature | 3 |
| CWL/HUM 423 | Going Medieval: Medieval Literature and Contemporary Adaptations | 3 |
| CWL/HUM 424 | Multicultural Middle Ages | 3 |
| CWL 432/HUM 532 | From Ghost Stories to Short Stories: Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts | 3 |
| CWL 440 | "Typical American": Narratives of Multiculturalism in the Americas from 1492 to the Present | 3 |
| CWL 450 | Literary Crossings | 3 |
| CWL 520 | Modern Prose of the Americas | 3 |
| ENG 418 | Grammar for Writers | 3 |
| ENG 420 | Introduction to the Study of Language | 3 |
| ENG 422 | History of the English Language | 3 |
| ENG 429 | Stylistics | 3 |
| ENG 460 | Literature in English to 1800 | 3 |
| ENG 461 | Literature in English Since 1800 | 3 |
| ENG 465 | Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction | 3 |
| ENG 495 | Digital Humanities and Literacies | 3 |
| ENG 501 | Age of Chaucer | 3 |
| ENG 510 | The Age of Wit | 3 |
| ENG 514 | Age of the Romantics | 3 |
| ENG 524 | Contemporary American Short Story | 3 |
| ENG 525 | Studies in American Literature | 3 |
| ENG 526 | Age of the American Renaissance: 1830-1860 | 3 |
| ENG 527 | American Literature: 1860-1914 | 3 |
| ENG 528 | American Literature: 1914-1960 | 3 |
| ENG 535 | Literature and Ecology | 3 |
| ENG/JS/WGS 546 | 20th Century American Jewish Women Writers | 3 |
| ENG 550 | The Rise of the Novel | 3 |
| ENG 554 | Modern American Novel | 3 |
| ENG 555 | The Short Story | 3 |
| ENG 571 | Shakespeare's Rivals | 3 |
| ENG 580 | Individual Authors | 3 |
| ENG 581 | Jane Austen | 3 |
| ENG 583 | Shakespeare: Representative Plays | 3 |
| ENG 584 | Shakespeare: Selected Plays | 3 |
| ENG 589 | Milton | 3 |
| ENG 600 | Theory of Literature | 3 |
| ENG 601 | Literature and Psychology | 3 |
| ENG 602 | Literature, Identity, Society: Theoretical Approaches to Identity and Cultural Critique | 3 |
| ENG 611 | Modern Criticism | 3 |
| ENG 612 | Serial Narrative | 3 |
| ENG 614 | Women in Literature: Authors and Characters | 3 |
| ENG 615 | Imagery, Metaphor, and Symbol | 3 |
| ENG 630 | Selected Studies | 3 |
| ENG/SXS 633 | Queer(ing) Narrative Literature | 3 |
| FR 310 | Creative Writing in French | 3 |
| GER 613 | Weimar Literature | 3 |
| GER 616 | Postwar German Literature: The Past as Present | 3 |
| HUM 390 | Images of Eroticism | 3 |
| HUM 415 | Thinking the Present: Comparative Arts and Culture | 3 |
| HUM 425 | Thought and Image: Humanities | 3 |
| HUM/PHIL 432 | Nietzsche and Postmodernism | 3 |
| JS 437/CWL 427/ENG 533 | Holocaust and Literature | 3 |
| JS/CWL/ENG 451 | Jewish Literature of the Americas | 3 |
| JS/CWL 480 | European Jewish Writers | 3 |
| JS 485 | Modern Israeli Literature | 3 |
| LTNS 305 | Latina/o Studies Creative Writing Workshop | 3 |
| LTNS 455 | Resistance Literature of the Americas | 3 |
| LTNS 560 | Contemporary Latina/o Literature | 3 |
| LTNS 679 | Central American Literature: Roots to the Present | 3 |
| RRS 360 | Our Stories: Literatures of Race and Resistance | 3 |
| RRS/ARAB 450 | Contemporary Arabic and Arab American Literature | 3 |
| SPAN/LTNS 531 | Creative Writing in Spanish: Poetry, Fiction, and Drama | 3 |
| WGS 541 | Women Writers and Social Change | 3 |
| WGS/SXS 551 | Queer Literatures and Media | 3 |
- 1
May be taken for two semesters of credit.
- 2
May be taken for three semesters of credit.
Complementary Studies
Bachelor of Arts students must complete at least 12 units of Complementary Studies outside of the primary prefix for the major. (Note: Students may not use an alternate prefix that is cross-listed with the primary prefix for the major.)
Creative Writing majors will satisfy this requirement from within the major by taking 12 units of literature classes required in the major, which are recognized in the major list of any or all of the following prefixes: ENG, AFRS, CWL, LTNS, WGS, HUM, AAS, MGS, or AIS.
Students who have earned AA-T or AS-T degrees and are pursuing a similar B.A. degree at SF State are required to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement as defined by the major department. Students should consult with a major advisor about how transfer units and/or SF State units can best be applied to this requirement in order to ensure degree completion within 60 units.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)
For students with an AA-T in English.
ENGL ADT Roadmap
This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in English
California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).
Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.
An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.
Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.
Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.
A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:
- How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.
Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.