Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in Writing
The Department of Creative and Professional Writing offers three options within the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing: Creative Writing, Journalism and Public Relations, and Business and Technical Writing. The department also offers five minors: Professional Writing, Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Creative Writing, and the new minor in Sports Media. The department’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing was the nation’s first MFA program to include professional writing in its curriculum and was the first low-residency program in the state of Connecticut, now offering residencies in Dublin, at the Highlights Foundation, and in Danbury.
Students in Creative and Professional Writing have opportunities to broaden the scope of their learning experiences through the Pi Epsilon Pi Honor Society, three magazines and a student-run newspaper (The Echo), internships and work experiences on and off campus, visiting writers and lecturers, and our innovative Writers’ Studio course sequence.
Most Flexible Program—Top 17 Nationally
High-Profile Guest Writers
With its proximity to New York City, Boston, and author-rich Fairfield, Litchfield, and Westchester Counties, WestConn has becoming a center for access to the literary arts. Recent visiting writers to the campus include Jhumpa Lahiri, Leslie Jamison, Gay Talese, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Francine Prose, Frank DeFord, Victoria Chang, Sean Thomas Dougherty, John Katzenbach.
Mission of the Department
- Engage students in excellent and innovative programs, with emphasis on the writing process; writing as a key to critical thinking; the development of style and voice; attunement to genre, purpose, and audience; and the production of high-quality imaginative, critical, and factual texts.
- Lead WCSU in the development of community through writing.
- Advise and consult with other departments to foster writing across the curriculum in the General Education sequence.
- Play a key role in General Education and thereby prepare students to integrate writing and critical thinking in their chosen fields and to exercise lifelong confidence as writers.
- Maintain, enhance, and develop innovative new programs and courses in writing, publishing, and related fields.
- Create synergies among all levels of the department—from first-year writing through the MFA program—and with other departments and offices across the university.
- Immerse students in a wealth of literary programming, writing events, and learning opportunities in the region.
Our Philosophy, Student Success, and Professional Prospects
Western’s teaching philosophy has always stressed writing as a creative process. The success of our approach is reflected in the dramatic 87% success rate (employment or book publication within two years) of our MFA alumni. Our undergraduates have high placement rates in internships and jobs in publishing, journalism, entertainment, nonprofits, business and technical communication, and graduate school. Our alumni authors have published books with St. Martin’s, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and many independent presses.
Faculty members of the department see themselves as writers among writers and work closely with students at all stages of their writing development. Small class sizes and a culture of collaboration and community welcome students into an environment that nurtures and develops their talents and interests–whether those interests lie in literary fiction or poetry; blogging or podcasting; genre fiction such as mysteries, science fiction, or fantasy; writing for Children or Young Adults; technical writing; writing for magazines; traditional reporting; scriptwriting; business communication; travel writing; reviewing; or any other genre or field. In Fall 2020, the department launched our new Writers’ Studio courses, an exciting 3-course sequence that brings the majority of all Writing majors together for communal learning, visits with guest writers and editors, discussion panels, and hands-on learning in mini-workshops and student publications.
For additional information on the undergrad and graduate programs, please contact:
Krista Brooks
Department Secretary
Higgins Hall 201
email: brooksk@wcsu.edu
(203) 837-9041