English Department Will Launch New Creative Writing Concentration for Fall 2023

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The University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of English will launch its new undergraduate creative writing curriculum in fall 2023 highlighted by a new Concentration in Creative Writing for English majors and a revamped Letter of Specialization for non-majors. The curriculum prepares students to enter a variety of professional fields, including publishing, marketing, project management, journalism, copywriting, education, and more. 

Both the creative writing concentration and specialization lead students through a sequence of five introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses taught by esteemed poets and writers. Students work in various forms, styles, and modes, and are trained in the elements of prosody and the craft of storytelling.  

Students will workshop their original stories, novel chapters, poems, and essays; study the craft of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with a focus in one genre; and learn to read like writers. This curriculum equips students with valuable skills in creativity and in expressive written communication, qualities prized among employers across professions and applicable in any career.  

“The creative writing faculty and the undergraduate offerings at UMass have been first rate for many years,” said Jeff Parker, associate professor and director of the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing, who teaches prose. “The new curriculum is more robust and tiered—introductory, intermediate, advanced—which will support young writers in learning the crafts of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. We hope the five-course sequence is attractive to majors and to non-majors seeking an area of study and a credential in creative writing.” 

The Concentration is pending final approval by the UMass Faculty Senate, but students can begin enrolling for courses when Fall registration opens on April 19. See a listing of Fall courses counting toward the Concentration and Specialization here.  

For more information, contact the Director and Professor of Creative Writing John Hennessy at jjhennes [at] english [dot] umass [dot] edu (jjhennes[at]english[dot]umass[dot]edu).