Program Overview

In the English Department at Coe, you'll have the opportunity to take courses in two majors, English and creative writing, and join a community of faculty and students committed to the literary arts.

You'll also have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on research projects and honors theses and to take what you have learned with you into the community through internships and civic engagement projects. In English courses, you can explore works of imaginative literature from different time periods and disparate parts of the world. In creative writing workshops, you can sharpen your skills in fiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. In all of your classes, you'll gain knowledge and critical and creative skills that will prepare you for a wide range of careers in fields like business, education, law, library and information science, publishing or the arts.

Creative Writing Major
The creative writing program at Coe offers courses in fiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. Students in our courses engage in creative reading and writing, with an emphasis on craft and technique. Our program focuses on the workshop method, which encourages student-centered discussion of creative works, with a focus on generative writing and revision.
The creative writing major is a nine-course collateral major, meaning it needs to be taken in conjunction with a departmental major. This ensures your writing is informed by engaged, intensive study in at least one discipline. It also allows for a richness of experience in the workshops as creative writing students study in all areas of the college.

Writing at Coe is not a solitary, lonely venture, nor is it confined to the classroom. The creative writing program emphasizes collaboration, public presentation and participation in campus publications and the visiting writers reading series.

The major culminates in the manuscript workshop your senior year — you will thoroughly revise and polish a unified manuscript, typically a collection of short stories, a novel, a collection of poems, a collection of one-act plays, a full-length play or a screenplay.