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Student reading poetry

Why study writing?

Knowing how to construct texts that appeal to different audiences is a critical skill for the 21st century. With the proliferation of online and accelerated communication, the ability to tell a story that engages and persuades an audience is more important than ever. A degree in writing can help you develop this ability.

As a writing major, you will have opportunities to develop storytelling skills in a wide variety of genres and media. Whether you are interested in connecting storytelling to traditional genres (academic, poetry, magazine, fiction, non-fiction) or to the latest writing technologies (document design software, content management systems), you can select courses that best prepare you for future professional careers.

What do writing students learn?

Through a unique m­­odular curriculum that combines courses in professional, academic, and creative writing, you will learn how to create, shape, design, and share texts. These abilities will allow you to enter the world in a variety of careers. You can become a web writer, freelancer, document designer, editor, publisher, or technical writer, to name a few. The flexibility and the variety of courses offered lets you shape your educational experience and future professional identity.

Through our 42-credit B.A. or B.S. degree, our writing majors develop the skill set to:

  • Write fiction and non-fiction texts.
  • Develop and tailor content to both print and online media.
  • Work with the industry standard writing, design, and web software.
  • Collaborate with other writers, editors, subject matter experts, and designers to prepare content for publication.
  • Develop promotional materials to pitch and sell content.

What do writing students become?

Our courses and extracurricular opportunities prepare you to become become a web writer, freelancer, document designer, editor, publisher, or technical writer, to name a few. The flexibility and the variety of courses offered lets you shape your educational experience and future professional identity.

You can find out more about our extraordinary graduates and what they learned as a writing student by checking out our Alumni in Action page below.

Department News and Events

Department of Writing Silver Jubilee

Friday, October 2, 2026
All Day

A day-long event to celebrate the Writing Department's 25th Anniversary

View more Events

Page last modified July 15, 2026