Creative Studies in Writing

Put your imagination to work

Whether you aspire to be a poet, an essayist, a freelance writer, a blogger or work in business, education or the medical field, your development as a creative writer will be an asset to your professional and personal development.

This program prepares you for a wide range of professional positions that demand creative thinking, a distinctive voice and style, strong narrative skills and a sophisticated use of language. The program also teaches you how to navigate the challenging world of publishing and getting published if your interests are in that area.

Creative Studies in Writing introduces you to a variety of genres (e.g. fiction, poetry, Manga, creative non-fiction, children’s literature, comics, script writing) from which you may choose an area to deepen your practice.

Across the three required courses in the program, you will begin the process of producing publishable work whether it is a short story or a piece of creative non-fiction. And if you simply want to expand your imagination and stimulate your creativity, you may design the program’s electives to complement your major area of study. To this end, the program is broad-based, inter-disciplinary and practical in its approach to the discipline of creative writing.

Internships and professional experience

From the first course in the program through to the final capstone experience, Creative Studies in Writing expects students to be part of a community of writers and creative thinkers. Students connect work closely with faculty who are also published writers and have opportunities to learn from writers in the community who are invited to teach workshops and class sessions.

The program also gets you out of the classroom and into the world of writing through a wide range of publishing and creative arts internships in the community and beyond. In the past students have interned for Milwaukee Magazine, WTMJ Channel 4, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Shepherd Express and the University of Wisconsin Press, as well as a variety of internships in marketing, traditional and new media.

Finally, the capstone course for the program is organized around the writing, design and production of Alverno College’s online literary magazine.