Certificate in Creative Writing

There are no formal requirements for admission to undergraduate certificates. Students should speak with an academic advisor regarding their preparation for specific certificates or courses.

US Citizenship or Eligible Noncitizen

International students interested in the certificate programs must hold a visa that permits part-time study (including F-2 and J-2 visas).  Students holding  F-1 visas are not eligible for these programs.  Students holding a B-2 visa may be eligible if the coursework is recreational or avocational in nature.

NOTE: CAPS is designed for students with adult responsibilities who may require part-time and flexible course schedules. Current high school students and recent graduates seeking a traditional WashU college experience should apply through the undergraduate admissions office: admissions.wustl.edu.

Application Deadlines

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis and typically take four to six weeks. An application is incomplete and will not be reviewed until all of the application requirements have been received or processed. Applicants are encouraged to submit all materials by the following dates:

• Summer 2023: April 30, 2023
• Fall 2023: July 31, 2023
• Spring 2024: Dec. 31, 2023

Completed Application Form

The online application is available on our Apply page. Applications are ready for review when all fields on the application form are completed and the required documents have been received.

REQUIRED COURSES: 16 UNITS

Students may specialize in fiction or creative nonfiction.

Each student will take five three-credit, advanced level (300 or higher) courses, including three courses devoted to mastering the craft of writing in the chosen specialty genre, one course primarily in reading and analysis of the literature in that genre, and one course in a second genre.

The student’s final course in the program will be taken for four credits, rather than the usual three, and will include a one-credit meta-commentary assignment. This assignment requires stepping back from the particular course and describing (in 1500 words) what you have learned about the differences between and similarities among the genres investigated and how these have affected your choice of genre. You should look at the strategies you have chosen in your writing and explain why you chose them for a particular purpose. The purpose of this assignment is for you to show the skills that you have learned in the course of the certificate as you think about the genres you have examined, and how these skills govern your approach to creative writing.

Students with little previous experience in creative writing are encouraged to begin with a 200-level writing course or workshop as a foundation for the more advanced courses that will count toward the certificate.

POETRY WRITING (U11 316)

FICTION WRITING (U11 317)

FICTION SEMINAR (U11 318)

NONFICTION: READING AND WRITING THE MEMOIR (U11 3151)

NONFICTION WRITING: THE VARIETIES OF NONFICTION (U11 313K)

THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE ESSAY (U11 320)

THE ART OF THE PERSONAL ESSAY (U11 323)